Physical, sensory, and simulated mastication properties of texture-modified Spanish sauce using different texturing agents.

This study aims to evaluate the colour texture, flow, viscoelastic, sensory, and simulated mastication properties, in the presence and absence of artificial saliva, of texture-modified Spanish sauce at different temperatures (25 °C, 37 °C and/or 55 °C). Sauce texture was modified using five hydrocolloids (modified starch (MS), guar gum (GG), tara gum (TG), sodium carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), and chia seed mucilage (CSM) as an alternative texturing agent), achieving two well-differentiated consistencies: honey-like and pudding-like. The MS, GG, TG and CSM sauces showed greater consistency, firmness, stiffness, and resistance to flow than the CMC samples. Furthermore, the internal structure of CMC sauces was the most affected by temperature changes. The addition of saliva decreased the apparent viscosity, consistency, and adhesiveness of the sauces. Among the samples studied, the GG and CSM texture-modified sauces would be suitable for dysphagic patients because of their good elasticity, relatively high resistance to deformation and structural stability, as well as better resistance to salivary α-amylase action. However, CSM sauces obtained the lowest sensory attribute scores. This work opens the door to the use of CSM as a texturing agent and demonstrates the importance of considering not only the hydrocolloid type and consistency level, but also the administration temperature of dysphagia-oriented products. Selecting a suitable texturing agent is of great importance for safe and easy swallowing by dysphagic patients.

Exploring Associations Between a Biological Marker of Chronic Stress and Reported Depression and Anxiety in People With Aphasia.

Purpose Living with the communication impairment of aphasia can be stressful. Chronic stress, depression, and anxiety are intimately linked, may be more pervasive in people with poststroke aphasia than the general population, and may influence cognitive function and treatment outcomes. In this project, we explored the psychological constructs of depression and anxiety and their associations with a biomarker measure of chronic stress in people with aphasia. Method Fifty-seven participants with aphasia completed measures of depression and anxiety and provided a hair sample from which to extract the stress hormone cortisol. Pearson product-moment correlational analyses were used to identify associations between depression, anxiety, and long-term level of cortisol via hair sample. Results While cortisol level was not associated with depression and anxiety across this sample of people with aphasia, a post hoc analysis showed a significant, positive correlation between a subset of participants with moderate and higher levels of depression and elevated cortisol level. Conclusions Chronic stress, depression, and anxiety have been little explored in people with aphasia to date, yet they are associated with future health consequences and impaired cognitive function, motivating further research as well as consideration of these factors in aphasia rehabilitation.

Diurnal Cortisol Dynamics, Perceived Stress, and Language Production in Aphasia.

Purpose The current study investigated diurnal cortisol dynamics in adults with and without aphasia, along with subjective reports of stress and measures of language production. Dysregulation of cortisol, a common biomarker of stress, is associated with cognitive dysfunction in different clinical populations. However, little is known about the consequences of stress-induced cortisol disturbances for stroke survivors, including those with aphasia. Method Nineteen participants with aphasia and 14 age-matched neurotypical adults were tested. Saliva samples were collected from participants to assess the cortisol awakening response, a marker of the integrity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Participants also completed 2 subjective stress questionnaires. Language was evaluated using 3 short, picture description narratives, analyzed for discourse (dys)fluency and productivity markers. Results In contrast to neurotypical participants, adults with aphasia did not show the predictable cortisol awakening response. Participants with aphasia also showed an unusual heightened level of cortisol upon awakening. Additionally, neurotypical participants demonstrated an association between intact language performance and the cortisol awakening response, whereas the participants with aphasia did not, although they did perceive the language tasks as stressful. Conclusion This study indicates that the functionality of the HPA axis, as indexed by cortisol, contributes to optimal language performance in healthy adults. The absence of an awakening response among participants with aphasia suggests that stroke leads to dysregulation of the HPA axis, although the degree to which this impairment affects language deficits in this population requires further investigation.

Regional Distribution, Asymmetry, and Clinical Correlates of Tau Uptake on [18F]AV-1451 PET in Atypical Alzheimer's Disease.

BACKGROUND: Despite common pathology, Alzheimer's disease (AD) can have multiple clinical presentations which pathological studies suggest result from differences in the regional distribution of tau pathology. Positron emission tomography (PET) ligands are now available that can detect tau proteins in vivo and hence can be used to investigate the biological mechanisms underlying atypical AD. OBJECTIVE: To assess regional patterns of tau uptake on PET imaging in two atypical AD variants, posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) and logopenic progressive aphasia (lvPPA). METHODS: Eighteen PCA and 19 lvPPA subjects that showed amyloid-ß deposition on PET underwent tau-PET imaging with [18F]AV-1451. Group comparisons of tau uptake in PCA and lvPPA were performed using voxel-level and regional-level analyses. We also assessed the degree of lobar tau asymmetry and correlated regional tau uptake to age and performance on clinical evaluations. RESULTS: Both syndromes showed diffuse tau uptake throughout all cortical regions, although PCA showed greater uptake in occipital regions compared to lvPPA, and lvPPA showed greater uptake in left frontal and temporal regions compared to PCA. While lvPPA showed predominant left-asymmetric tau deposition, PCA was more bilateral. Younger subjects showed greater tau uptake bilaterally in frontal and parietal lobes than older subjects, and sentence repetition, Boston naming test, simultanagnosia, and visuoperceptual function showed specific regional tau correlates. CONCLUSION: Tau deposition is closely related to clinical presentation in atypical AD with age playing a role in determining the degree of cortical tau deposition.

Tau-PET imaging with [18F]AV-1451 in primary progressive apraxia of speech.

Apraxia of speech is a motor speech disorder characterized by combinations of slow speaking rate, abnormal prosody, distorted sound substitutions, and trial-and-error articulatory movements. Apraxia of speech is due to abnormal planning and/or programming of speech production. It is referred to as primary progressive apraxia of speech (PPAOS) when it is the only symptom of a neurodegenerative condition. Past reports suggest an association of PPAOS with primary 4-repeat (4R) tau (e.g., progressive supranuclear palsy, corticobasal degeneration), rather than amyloid, pathology. The goal of the current study was to investigate the distribution of tau tracer uptake using [18F]AV-1451 positron emission tomography (PET) imaging in patients with PPAOS. Fourteen PPAOS patients underwent [18F]AV-1451 PET (tau-PET) imaging, [C11] Pittsburgh Compound B (PiB) PET and structural MRI and were matched 3:1 by age and sex to 42 cognitively normal controls. Tau-PET uptake was assessed at the region-of-interest (ROI) level and at the voxel-level. The PPAOS group (n = 14) showed increased tau-PET uptake in the precentral gyrus, supplementary motor area and Broca's area compared to controls. To examine whether tau deposition in Broca's area was related to the presence of aphasia, we examined a subgroup of the PPAOS patients who had predominant apraxia of speech, with concomitant aphasia (PPAOSa; n = 7). The PPAOSa patients showed tau-PET uptake in the same regions as the whole group. However, the remaining seven patients who did not have aphasia showed uptake only in superior premotor and precentral cortices, with no uptake observed in Broca's area. This cross-sectional study demonstrates that elevated tau tracer uptake is observed using [18F]AV-1451 in PPAOS. Further, it appears that [18F]AV-1451 is sensitive to the regional distribution of tau deposition in different stages of PPAOS, given the relationship between tau signal in Broca's area and the presence of aphasia.

Calidad de vida a los 6 meses tras un ictus / Quality of life 6 months after a stroke

Objetivo. Describir la calidad de vida (CV) de los pacientes a los 6 meses de evolución del ictus y su relación con variables sociodemográficas, clínicas y funcionales. Material y métodos. Estudio multicéntrico de cohortes longitudinal (n = 157). Los pacientes incluidos ingresaron en la fase subaguda tras un ictus en 2 Servicios de Rehabilitación. Se recogieron los siguientes datos a los 6 meses postictus: género, edad, riesgo social, comorbilidad, disfagia, afasia, estado cognitivo, depresión y grado de discapacidad evaluado mediante el índice de Barthel modificado. Se evaluó la influencia de estas variables en la CV, para lo que se empleó la escala específica de calidad de vida para el ictus ECVI-38. Resultados. La media de edad fue de 70,93 ± 11,85 años; fue significativamente superior en las mujeres. El paciente tipo presentó una elevada comorbilidad, un bajo riesgo social y dependencia moderada. La puntuación media total de la escala ECVI-38 fue de 35,30 ± 16,17 y los dominios más afectados los referentes a las actividades comunes y básicas de la vida diaria. Las variables que más se relacionan con la CV fueron el género, la afasia, la disfagia, la depresión, el déficit cognitivo y el estado funcional. El dolor de elevada intensidad estuvo presente en un 21% de los pacientes. Conclusión. Son muy diversas las variables que influyen en la CV del paciente con ictus que se deben considerar, para su potencial abordaje, en la planificación de las intervenciones rehabilitadoras (AU)

Objective. To describe quality of life (QoL) in patients at 6 months poststroke and its relationship with sociodemographic, clinical and functional characteristics. Material and method. This multicenter longitudinal cohort study (n = 157) included patients from 2 hospital rehabilitation services who were admitted for stroke in the subacute phase. The following data were gathered at 6 months poststroke: gender, age, social risk, comorbidity, dysphagia, aphasia, cognitive status, depression, and disability measured by the modified Barthel Index. The influence of these variables on QoL was evaluated using the stroke-specific quality of life scale, ECVI-38. Results. The mean age was 70.93 ± 11.85 years and was significantly higher in women. Most of the patients had high comorbidity, low social risk and moderate dependence. The mean total score on the ECVI-38 scale was 35.30 ± 16.17 and the most affected domains were those concerning common and basic activities of daily living. The variables associated with QoL were gender, aphasia, dysphagia, depression, cognitive impairment, and functional status. High-intensity pain was present in 21% of patients. Conclusion. Numerous variables influence QoL in patients with stroke and should be considered in the planning of rehabilitation interventions (AU)

Regional ß-amyloid burden does not correlate with cognitive or language deficits in Alzheimer's disease presenting as aphasia.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: A subset of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) present with early and prominent language impairment (aphasic AD). Our previous study demonstrated an association between global ß-amyloid burden measured on [(11)C] Pittsburgh compound B (PiB) positron emission tomography and general cognitive impairment, but not with aphasia, in such subjects. As a follow-up, whether there is any association between regional ß-amyloid burden, atrophy on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and global cognitive impairment, aphasia or other cognitive and functional impairment in aphasic AD is assessed. METHODS: Forty-four aphasic AD subjects who underwent PiB scanning and volumetric MRI and were determined to be positive for ß-amyloid deposition were analyzed. All had completed detailed neurological, neuropsychological and language batteries. Spearman's rank-order correlation was utilized to assess for associations. RESULTS: Greater visuospatial impairment was associated with increased ß-amyloid burden in the primary visual cortex (P = 0.001). Although there were many trends for associations between neurocognitive and language deficits and regional ß-amyloid burden, there were no strong associations that survived correction for multiple comparisons. However, neurocognitive and language impairment in these subjects strongly correlated with the degree of left lateral temporal and inferior parietal atrophy (P < 0.004). CONCLUSIONS: The findings from this study suggest a close relation between the severity of regional atrophy and cognitive and language impairment, but argue against a strong association between regional ß-amyloid burden and such deficits in aphasic AD subjects. Hence, other pathological factors may be driving the previously identified association between global ß-amyloid deposition and general cognitive impairment in aphasic AD.

Neuroimagen en las demencias: correlatos cognitivos y conductuales / No disponible

En la última década los avances en neuroimagen estructural y funcional permiten generar unos potenciales biomarcadores de neuroimagen que mejoran la capacidad del clínico para diferenciar ciertas demencias y aumentar su certeza diagnóstica. Reconocen una circunscrita topografía anatómica, en fases iniciales e intermedias, de la afectación estructural o funcional que define y caracteriza a la demencia. Ello posibilita una clasificación topográfica de las demencias dividiéndolas según su localización lesional (difusas, focales o lobares y multifocales) y establecer una relación con el perfil cognitivo del proceso neurodegenerativo. Ciertamente, aunque sólo la evaluación clínica puede llevar a un diagnóstico de demencia, se puede afirmar que las diferentes modalidades de neuroimagen estructural y funcional contribuyen al diagnóstico, pronóstico y comprensión de la patofisiología de las diferentes demencias y es una herramienta de gran valor para el clínico en el diagnóstico diferencial. A la luz de los recientes estudios, se vislumbra un panorama nuevo y más positivo para la neuroimagen en el manejo del diagnóstico pre-sintomático de las demencias, especialmente en la enfermedad de Alzheimer respecto al Deterioro Cognitivo Leve, de su curso clínico evolutivo y de la potencial respuesta terapéutica. El futuro de la neuroimagen, para completar dichos objetivos, implicará la incorporación de nuevas modalidades de estudio en la práctica clínica de rutina y una combinación de biomarcadores. En el presente artículo se revisan diferentes métodos de neuroimagen utilizados para el diagnóstico clínico de las demencias más prevalentes en la actualidad y su relación con el perfil cognitivo que las caracteriza

In the last decade, advances in structural and functional neuroimaging can generate potential imaging biomarkers that improve the clinician’s ability to differentiate certain dementias and increase its diagnostic accuracy. Allow circumscribed anatomical topography, at initial and intermediate stages, of structural or functional impairment that defines and characterizes dementia. This allows a topographic classification of dividing dementia according lesion localization (diffuse, focal or lobar and multifocal) and establishes a relationship with the cognitive profile of the neurodegenerative process. Certainly, if only clinical evaluation may lead to a diagnosis of dementia, it can be said that different patterns of structural and functional neuroimaging contribute to the diagnosis and understanding of the pathophysiology of various dementias and it’s a valuable tool for clinical differential diagnosis. In light of recent studies, a new landscape looms and more positive for neuroimaging in the management of pre-symptomatic diagnosis of dementia, especially Alzheimer’s disease compared to mild cognitive impairment, their clinical course and the potential therapeutic response. The future of neuroimaging, to complete these objectives, will involve the incorporation of new modalities of study in routine clinical practice and a combination of biomarkers. In this article different neuroimaging methods used for clinical diagnosis of the most prevalent dementia today and its relation to cognitive profile that characterizes reviewed

Working memory and language network dysfunctions in logopenic aphasia: a task-free fMRI comparison with Alzheimer's dementia.

We aimed to determine whether network-level functional connectivity differs in 2 clinical variants of Alzheimer's disease: logopenic primary progressive aphasia (lvPPA) and dementia of the Alzheimer's type (DAT). Twenty-four lvPPA subjects with amyloid deposition on positron emission tomography and task-free functional magnetic resonance imaging were matched to 24 amyloid-positive DAT subjects and 24 amyloid-negative controls. Independent-component analysis and spatial-temporal dual regression were used to assess functional connectivity within the language network, left and right working memory networks, and ventral default mode network. lvPPA showed reduced connectivity in left temporal language network and inferior parietal and prefrontal regions of the left working memory network compared with controls and DAT. Both groups showed reduced connectivity in the parietal regions of the right working memory network compared with controls. Only DAT showed reduced ventral default mode network connectivity compared with controls. Aphasia severity correlated with connectivity in the left working memory network within lvPPA. Patterns of network dysfunction differ across these 2 clinical variants of Alzheimer's disease, with lvPPA particularly associated with disruptions in the language and left working memory networks.

Relation between aphasia and arcuate fasciculus in chronic stroke patients.

BACKGROUND: The role of the arcuate fasciculus (AF) in the dominant hemisphere in stroke patients with aphasia has not been clearly elucidated. We investigated the relation between language function and diffusion tensor tractography (DTT) findings for the left AF in chronic stroke patients with aphasia. METHOD: Twenty five consecutive right-handed stroke patients with aphasia following lesions in the left hemisphere were recruited for this study. The aphasia quotient (AQ) of Korean-Western Aphasia Battery was used for assessment of language function. We measured values of fractional anisotropy (FA), apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), voxel number of the left AF. We classified patients into three groups: type A--the left AF was not reconstructed, type B--the left AF was discontinued between Wernicke's and Broca's areas, and type C--the left AF was preserved around the stroke lesion. RESULTS: Moderate positive correlation was observed between AQ and voxel number of the left AF (r = 0.471, p < 0.05). However, no correlation was observed between AQ and FA (r = 0.275, p > 0.05) and ADC values (r = -0.286, p > 0.05). Significant differences in AQ scores were observed between the three types (p < 0.05); the AQ score of type C was higher than those of type A and B, and that of type B was also higher than that of type A (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: According to our findings, the remaining volume of the left AF, irrespective of directionality and diffusivity, showed moderate positive correlation with language function in chronic stroke patients with aphasia. Discontinuation or non-construction of the left AF was also an important factor for language function.

Amyloid burden correlates with cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease presenting with aphasia.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: A subset of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) present with early and prominent language deficits. It is unclear whether the burden of underlying ß-amyloid pathology is associated with language or general cognitive impairment in these subjects. METHODS: The relationship between cortical ß-amyloid burden on [(11) C]Pittsburgh compound B (PiB) positron emission tomography (PET) and performance on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), the Wechsler Memory Scale - Third Edition (WMS-III), the Boston Naming Test (BNT) and the Western Aphasia Battery (WAB) was assessed using regression and correlation analyses in subjects presenting with aphasia who showed ß-amyloid deposition on PiB PET. RESULTS: The global PiB ratio was inversely correlated with MoCA (P = 0.02) and the WMS-III Visual Reproduction (VR) subtest (VR I, P = 0.02; VR II, P = 0.04). However, the correlations between PiB ratio, BNT (P = 0.13), WAB aphasia quotient (P = 0.11) and WAB repetition scores (P = 0.34) were not significant. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that an increased cortical ß-amyloid burden is associated with cognitive impairment, but not language deficits, in AD subjects presenting with aphasia. The results suggest that ß-amyloid deposition could be partly contributing to impaired cognition in such patients whilst language dysfunction may be more influenced by other pathological mechanisms, perhaps downstream pathways of ß-amyloid deposition.

Aphasia with left occipitotemporal hypometabolism: a novel presentation of posterior cortical atrophy?

Alzheimer's disease is a common neurodegenerative disease often characterized by initial episodic memory loss. Atypical focal cortical presentations have been described, including the logopenic variant of primary progressive aphasia (lvPPA) which presents with language impairment, and posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) which presents with prominent visuospatial deficits. Both lvPPA and PCA are characterized by specific patterns of hypometabolism: left temporoparietal in lvPPA and bilateral parietoccipital in PCA. However, not every patient fits neatly into these categories. We retrospectively identified two patients with progressive aphasia and visuospatial deficits from a speech and language based disorders study. The patients were further characterized by MRI, fluorodeoxyglucose F18 and Pittsburgh Compound B (PiB) positron emission tomography. Two women, aged 62 and 69, presented with a history of a few years of progressive aphasia characterized by fluent output with normal grammar and syntax, anomia without loss of word meaning, and relatively spared repetition. They demonstrated striking deficits in visuospatial function for which they were lacking insight. Prominent hypometabolism was noted in the left occipitotemporal region and diffuse retention of PiB was noted. Posterior cortical atrophy may present focally with left occipitotemporal metabolism characterized clinically with a progressive fluent aphasia and prominent ventral visuospatial deficits with loss of insight.

Aphasia severity and salivary cortisol over time.

The current study explored the complicated interplay between aphasia and the stress biomarker, cortisol, in left-hemisphere (LH) and right-hemisphere (RH) stroke patients. Nineteen LH patients and 12 RH patients began the study between one to six months post stroke and were followed for three months. During this time, language skills were assessed monthly while afternoon salivary cortisol samples were collected biweekly. The LH and RH groups showed improvements in language test scores over the course of three months; however, only naming skills in the RH group appeared to be associated with afternoon salivary cortisol levels. Furthermore, contradicting previous reports regarding laterality and cortisol regulation in humans, the current study found that both LH patients and RH patients exhibited similar afternoon salivary cortisol levels across all time points.

Statistical mapping analysis of brain metabolism in patients with subcortical aphasia after intracerebral hemorrhage: a pilot study of F-18 FDG PET images.

PURPOSE: This study was aimed to evaluate the brain metabolism in patients with subcortical aphasia after intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) and the relationship between the severity of aphasia and regional brain metabolism, by using statistical mapping analysis of F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (F-18 FDG PET) images. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixteen right-handed Korean speaking patients with subcortical aphasia following ICH were enrolled. All patients underwent Korean version of the Western Aphasia Battery and the brain F-18 FDG PET study. Using statistical parametric mapping analysis, we compared the brain metabolisms shown on F-18 FDG PET from 16 patients with subcortical aphasia and 16 normal controls. In addition, we investigated the relationship between regional brain metabolism and the severity of aphasia using covariance model. RESULTS: Compared to the normal controls, subcortical aphasia after ICH showed diffuse hypometabolism in the ipsilateral cerebrum (frontal, parietal, temporal, occipital, putamen, thalamus) and in the contralateral cerebellum (P (corrected)<0.001), and showed diffuse hypermetabolism in the contralateral cerebrum (frontal, parietal, temporal) and in the ipsilateral cerebellum (P (FDR corrected)<0.001). In the covariance analysis, increase of aphasia quotient was significantly correlated with increased brain metabolism in the both orbitofrontal cortices, the right hippocampal and the right parahippocampal cortices (P (uncorrected)<0.01). CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that frontal, parietal, and temporal cortices, which are parts of neural network for cognition, may have a supportive role for language performance in patients with subcortical aphasia after ICH.

Subtypes of progressive aphasia: application of the International Consensus Criteria and validation using ß-amyloid imaging.

Primary progressive aphasia comprises a heterogeneous group of neurodegenerative conditions with diverse clinical profiles and underlying pathological substrates. A major development has been the publication of the recent International Consensus Criteria for the three major variants namely: semantic, non-fluent/agrammatic and logopenic. The logopenic variant is assumed to represent an atypical presentation of Alzheimer pathology although evidence for this is, at present, limited. The semantic and non-fluent/agrammatic variants are largely associated with frontotemporal lobar degeneration with TDP-43 and tau pathology, respectively. The applicability of the International Consensus Criteria to an unselected clinical sample is unknown and no agreed clinical evaluation scale on which to derive the diagnosis exists. We assessed 47 consecutive cases of primary progressive aphasic seen over a 3-year period in a specialist centre, using a newly developed progressive aphasia language scale. A subgroup of 30 cases underwent (11)C-labelled Pittsburgh Compound B positron emission tomography imaging, a putative biomarker of Alzheimer's disease that detects ß-amyloid accumulation, and they were compared with an age-matched group (n = 10) with typical, predominately amnestic Alzheimer's disease. The application of an algorithm based on four key speech and language variables (motor speech disorders, agrammatism, single-word comprehension and sentence repetition) classified 45 of 47 (96%) of patients and showed high concordance with the gold standard expert clinical diagnosis based on the International Consensus Criteria. The level of neocortical ß-amyloid burden varied considerably across aphasic variants. Of 13 logopenic patients, 12 (92%) had positive ß-amyloid uptake. In contrast, one of nine (11%) semantic variant and two of eight (25%) non-fluent/agrammatic cases were positive. The distribution of ß-amyloid across cortical regions of interest was identical in cases with the logopenic variant to that of patients with typical Alzheimer's disease although the total load was lower in the aphasic cases. Impairments of sentence repetition and sentence comprehension were positively correlated with neocortical burden of ß-amyloid, whereas impaired single-word comprehension showed a negative correlation. The International Consensus Criteria can be applied to the majority of cases with primary progressive aphasic using a simple speech and language assessment scale based upon four key variables. ß-amyloid imaging confirms the higher rate of Alzheimer pathology in the logopenic variant and, in turn, the low rates in the other two variants. The study offers insight into the biological basis of clinical manifestations of Alzheimer's disease, which appear topographically independent of ß-amyloid load.

Relationship between the rheological properties of thickener solutions and their velocity through the pharynx as measured by the ultrasonic pulse Doppler method.

The dependence of the dynamic viscoelastic parameters of carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), xanthan gum, and guar gum solutions on the angular frequency (omega) was compared with that of their viscosity (mu) on the shear rate (gamma). In addition, the effect of these rheological properties on the maximum velocity through the pharynx, V(max), as measured by the ultrasonic pulse Doppler method, was investigated. The CMC and guar gum solutions examined were taken as a dilute solution and a true polymer solution, respectively. The xanthan gum solution was taken as a weak gel above 0.5% and a true polymer solution below 0.2%. The maximum velocity, V(max), of the thickener solutions correlated well with mu, the dynamic viscosity eta', and the complex viscosity eta(*), especially those measured at gamma or omega of 20-30 s(-1) (or rad/s) and above, suggesting that mu, eta', and eta(*) are suitable indexes for care foods of the liquid type for dysphagic patients.

Identifying behavioral measures of stress in individuals with aphasia.

PURPOSE: To develop valid indicators of stress in individuals with aphasia (IWA) by examining the relationship between certain language variables (error frequency [EF] and word productivity [WP]) and cortisol reactivity. METHOD: Fourteen IWA and 10 controls participated in a speaking task. Salivary cortisol was collected pre- and posttask. WP and EF were calculated from the language sample elicited during the speaking task. RESULTS: As expected, IWA had less WP and a higher EF than did control participants, and these effects were related to aphasia severity. Cortisol reactivity of IWA was moderately associated with WP, such that those with higher WP showed greater cortisol reactivity. The control group did not demonstrate this relation. Neither group demonstrated a relation between salivary cortisol reactivity and EF. CONCLUSION: WP in individuals with aphasia holds potential as a behavioral index of stress in this population.

Biological approaches to aphasia treatment.

In this review, we discuss the basic mechanisms of neural regeneration and repair and attempt to correlate findings from animal models of stroke recovery with clinical trials for aphasia. Several randomized controlled clinical trials involving manipulation of different neurotransmitter systems, including noradrenergic, dopaminergic, cholinergic, and glutamatergic systems, have shown signals of efficacy. Biological approaches such as anti-Nogo and cell replacement therapy have shown efficacy in preclinical models but have yet to reach proof of concept in the clinic. Finally, noninvasive cortical stimulation techniques have been used in a few small trials and have shown promising results. It appears that the efficacy of all these platforms can be potentiated through coupling with concomitant behavioral intervention. Given this array of potential mechanisms that exist to augment and/or stimulate neural reorganization after stroke, we are optimistic that approaches to aphasia therapy will transition from compensatory models to models in which brain reorganization is the goal.

Skp2, p27kip1 and EGFR assessment in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: prognostic implications.

EGFR, p27kip1 and Skp2, have been implicated in human cancer development. We have studied these molecules in a search for molecular markers that may have prognostic value in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC). Tissue samples of 62 patients were collected and immunohistochemical analysis was carried out for p27kip1, Skp2 and EGFR protein evaluation. Western blot analysis of p27kip1 was performed. The p27kip1 expression is frequently down-regulated in HNSCC (44.4%, 20/45 cases). The immunohistochemical analysis showed p27kip1 cytoplasmic retention in 7/38 tumors. Strong Skp2 signals were detected at the invasive edge of the tumor in cells lacking p27kip1 staining. We found a high EGFR staining in 49% (23/47) of the cases. The staining tended to be more frequent in lymph node-positive cases. The dysplastic tissue exhibited no Skp2 immunoreactivity, whereas 51.06% (24/47) of invasive tumors expressed high levels. Of note is that Skp2 overexpression was the only factor that significantly correlated with a shorter overall survival in multivariate analysis (p=0.048). Our results suggest that Skp2 is a useful prognostic marker for HNSCC management.