Depressive Symptoms Negatively Impact Montreal Cognitive Assessment Performance: A Memory Clinic Experience.

OBJECTIVE: The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is a general cognitive screening tool that has shown sensitivity in detecting mild levels of cognitive impairment in various clinical populations. Although mood dysfunction is common in referrals to memory clinics, the influence of mood on the MoCA has to date been largely unexplored. METHOD: In this study, we examined the impact of mood dysfunction on the MoCA using a memory clinic sample of individuals with depressive symptoms who did not meet criteria for a neurodegenerative disease. RESULTS: Half of the group with depressive symptoms scored below the MoCA-suggested cutoff for cognitive impairment. As a group, they scored below healthy controls, but above individuals with Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia. A MoCA subtask analysis revealed a pattern of executive/attentional dysfunction in those with depressive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: This observed negative impact of depressive symptomatology on the MoCA has interpretative implications for its utility as a cognitive screening tool in a memory clinic setting.

The relationship between coping styles and affective/behavioural symptoms among individuals with an acquired brain injury.

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of combined Axis I and II emotional profiles, demographic and psychosocial variables on coping responses in an Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) population using the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) and the Coping Response Inventory (CRI). RESEARCH DESIGN: This was a retrospective study examining the relationship between coping styles with affective, demographic and psychosocial variables using a multi-dimensional profile analysis. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Participants completed the PAI and CRI during a regular clinical visit at the ABI Program (n = 100). Profile data was divided into seven established sub-types and analysed with coping responses. Traumatic (TBI; n = 78) and non-traumatic (n = 24) brain-injured individuals comprised the sample. MAIN OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: Previous findings were confirmed showing that highly symptomatic patients primarily use negative coping strategies. Also, affective symptoms, gender, relationship status, perceived stress and psychosocial supports mediate the use of different negative coping responses. Interesting, anxiety-based symptoms were associated with positive responses similar to asymptomatic ABI patients. CONCLUSIONS: Coping strategies adopted by brain-injured individuals are mediated by Axis I and II symptoms as well as psychosocial support, stress, marital status and gender. As a result, this has implications for developing treatment strategies.

Immune activation and neuropsychiatric symptoms in HIV infection.

This study examined the role of biological processes in the development of specific neuropsychiatric complications in HAART-naive adults with HIV/AIDS. Depressive symptoms were modestly associated with elevated IL-6 mRNA expression (r(s)=0.40, p<0.05) even after removing the influences of other subjective complaints (pr=0.39, p<0.05). Elevated serum neopterin was strongly associated with depressive symptoms in individuals taking antidepressants (r(s)=0.83, p<0.001), though the association was nullified in those not on antidepressants (r(s)=-0.25, p>0.05). Mean neopterin levels were higher in the depressed as compared with nondepressed group but only for those taking antidepressants (F=45.66, df=1, 11, p<0.001). Neuropsychological impairment was not associated with the biological markers. These findings suggest that systemic immune markers (like neopterin) may be useful in differentiating treatment-resistant individuals at greater risk of developing chronic depression.

A case of foreign accent syndrome resulting in regional dialect.

BACKGROUND: Foreign Accent Syndrome (FAS) is a rare acquired syndrome following neurological damage that results in articulatory distortions that are commonly perceived as a "foreign" accent. The nature of the underlying deficit of FAS remains controversial. We present the first reported Canadian case study of FAS following a stroke. We describe a stroke patient, RD, who suffered an acute infarction to the left internal capsule, basal ganglia and frontal corona radiata. She was diagnosed as having FAS without any persistent aphasic symptoms. Family, friends, and health care professionals similarly described her speech as sounding like she had a Canadian East Coast accent, a reported change from her native Southern Ontario accent. METHOD: An investigation of this case was pursued, incorporating neuroimaging, neuropsychological and speech pathology assessments, and formalized linguistic analyses. RESULTS: Linguistic analyses confirmed that RD's speech does in fact have salient aspects of Atlantic Canadian English in terms of both prosodic and segmental characteristics. However, her speech is not entirely consistent with an Atlantic Canadian English accent. INTERPRETATION: The fact that RD's speech is perceived as a regional variant of her native language, rather than the "generic foreign accent" of FAS described elsewhere, suggests that the perceived "foreignness" in FAS is not primarily due to dysfluencies which indicate a non-native speaker, but rather due to very subtle motor-planning deficits which give rise to systemic changes in specific phonological segments. This has implications for the role of the basal ganglia in speech production.

Comparing depression screening tools in persons with multiple sclerosis (MS).

OBJECTIVE: Depression is more common among persons with multiple sclerosis (MS) than the general population. Depression in MS is associated with reduced quality of life, transition to unemployment, and cognitive impairment. Two proposed screening measures for depression in MS populations are the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the Beck Depression Inventory-Fast Screen (BDI-FS). Our objective was to compared the associations of the BDI-FS and the HADS-D scores with history of depressive symptoms, fatigue, and functional outcomes to determine the differential clinical utility of these screening measures among persons with MS. METHOD: We reviewed charts of 133 persons with MS for demographic information; scores on the HADS, BDI-FS, a fatigue measure, and a processing speed measure; and employment status. RESULTS: Structural equation modeling results indicated the HADS-D predicted employment status, disability status, and processing speed more effectively than did the BDI-FS, whereas both measures predicted fatigue. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests the HADS-D is more effective than the BDI-FS in predicting functional outcomes known to be associated with depression among persons with MS. (PsycINFO Database Record

Dialectical Behavior Group Therapy is Feasible and Reduces Emotional Dysfunction in Multiple Sclerosis.

We examined whether dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) was feasible and effective in multiple sclerosis (MS). A convenience sample of 20 patients with anxiety or depression symptoms received either DBT (n = 10) or standard medical care (n = 10). The DBT protocol was found to be feasible in the MS population studied (e.g., good retention and acceptability). For the DBT group, significant improvements were demonstrated in self-rated and clinician-rated depressive symptoms, clinician-rated anxiety symptoms, self-rated general psychopathology symptoms, and quality of life. In contrast, the standard medical care group retained for exploratory purposes showed no significant improvements. This pilot work provides preliminary support for the utility of DBT in MS, but further work is needed to clarify this benefit using a large, randomized controlled approach.

The mediating role of processing speed in the relationship between depressive symptoms and cognitive function in multiple sclerosis.

INTRODUCTION: Although disorders of mood and cognition are frequently observed in multiple sclerosis, their relationship remains unclear. We aimed to investigate whether this mood-cognition relationship is mediated by inefficient processing speed, a deficit typically associated with mood symptomatology in the psychiatric literature and a common deficit observed in multiple sclerosis patients. METHOD: In this study, comprehensive cognitive data and self-reported mood data were retrospectively analyzed from 349 patients with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis. We performed a bootstrapping analysis to examine whether processing speed provided an indirect means by which depressive symptoms influenced cognitive functioning, specifically memory and executive function. RESULTS: We observed that processing speed mediated the relationship between depressive symptoms and measures of memory and executive function. Interestingly, exploratory analyses revealed that this mediational role of processing speed was specific to MS patients who were younger, had a lower disability level, and had fewer years since MS diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: Together, these findings have implications for mood and cognitive intervention with multiple sclerosis patients.

Weight loss and biomedical health improvement on a very low calorie diet: the moderating role of history of weight cycling.

In this study, the authors examined biomedical consequences of participation in a professionally delivered, multifaceted very low calorie diet (VLCD) program and whether the degree of benefit associated with treatment was moderated by history of weight cycling. The authors monitored body weight and biomedical health indicators in 66 severely obese outpatients on a VLCD liquid fast. Participants remained on the VLCD for a median of 55 (range 9 to 247) days. Treatment was associated with significant pre-to-post improvements on body weight, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, triglycerides, and cholesterol. History of weight cycling (independent of age) was inversely related to the magnitude of absolute pre-to-post treatment changes in systolic and diastolic blood pressure, as well as to the rate of weight change. More intensive, longer term, and explicit maintenance components, especially aimed at individuals with multiple weight loss-regain episodes, may be necessary to facilitate weight loss and attain optimal health benefits from VLCDs.

Profiles of emotional and behavioral sequelae following acquired brain injury: cluster analysis of the Personality Assessment Inventory.

Due to the multidimensional nature of symptom complaints within the acquired brain injury (ABI) population, emotional and behavioral profiles obtained from using comprehensive validated measures often yield more relevant information than tools that assess for symptoms of a single diagnostic disorder. The current study used the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) to detect emotional and behavioral profiles in a sample of 440 adult ABI patients. Using a rigorous three-step cluster analytic approach, seven clusters were identified, indicating that half of the sample (50%) showed clinically significant affective and behavioral symptoms typified by multiple Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) Axis I and/or II features. Two of the subtypes showed severe and diverse affective symptoms but were distinguished from each other by antisocial features and substance use. Two other subtypes, with predominantly internalized presentations, were characterized by mainly depressive and somatic features, and the second by mild anxiety and cognitive disturbance. One group, predominantly externalized presentation, showed high substance use and antisocial features. The other part of the sample (50%) had no significant affective or behavioral complaints but were characterized by two profile types classified as essentially normal, but distinguishable by one having an increased tendency to minimize symptoms. Sex, age, marital status, education/preinjury, and vocation typified various subtypes. The identified profiles taken in the context of important demographic information can provide descriptive insight into the nature of postinjury affective and behavioral symptoms, facilitating more comprehensive conceptualization of the client's needs that can be addressed through more tailored interventions.

Psychiatric disturbances after traumatic brain injury: neurobehavioral and personality changes.

Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) are frequently accompanied by psychiatric disturbances, which can include striking to relatively minor alterations in personality, behavior, and emotional regulation. The persistence of these neurobehavioral syndromes often leads to deleterious effects on recovery and rehabilitation outcomes. A recent surge of studies has emerged in the past several years to quantify the extent of psychiatric disorders in TBI and to describe differential clinical presentations. Various pre- and post-injury factors also have been hypothesized to contribute to the development and maintenance of psychiatric symptoms in survivors of brain injuries. The identification of high-risk individuals with distinct neuropathophysiological and psychosocial features permits the development of multidisciplinary and tailored approaches to the assessment, prevention, and management of the negative effects of personality and behavioral changes in TBI. This article summarizes the most recent research in these areas and highlights the gaps that need to be filled in subsequent future.