精神分裂症患者童年创伤与认知功能损害、敌意归因偏向和自我怜悯能力的相关性研究

摘要 目的：探讨精神分裂症患者童年创伤与认知功能损害、敌意归因偏向和自我怜悯能力的相关性。方法：选取2019年3月至2021年6月我院收治的70例精神分裂症患者（精神分裂症组）和53例社区健康志愿者（对照组）。采用童年创伤问卷（CTQ）、中文版精神分裂症认知功能成套测验（MCCB）、中文版模棱两可、目的和敌意问卷（AIHQ-C）、中文版自我怜悯量表（SCS-C）评估所有受试人员的童年创伤、认知功能、敌意归因偏向和自我怜悯能力。Pearson相关分析精神分裂症患者CTQ评分与MCCB、AIHQ-C、SCS-C评分的相关性。结果：精神分裂症组CTQ各分量表评分及总分、AIHQ-C各项目评分及总分均高于对照组（P＜0.05）;精神分裂症组MCCB各项目评分及总分、SCS-C各因子（自我友善、普遍人性、正念）评分及总分均低于对照组（P＜0.05）。Pearson相关性分析结果显示,精神分裂症患者CTQ总分与MCCB总分、SCS-C总分呈负相关（r=-0.327、-0.470,P＜0.05）,与AIHQ-C总分呈正相关（r=0.362,P＜0.05）。结论：精神分裂症患者的童年心理创伤水平较高,且与当前认知功能受损、敌意归因偏向和自我怜悯水平降低有关。     

Psychometric Properties of the Child PTSD Checklist in a Community Sample of South African Children and Adolescents

Objective

The current study assessed the basic psychometric properties of the Child PTSD Checklist and examined the structure of symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in a large sample of South African youth.

Methodology

The checklist was completed by 1025 (540 male; 485 female) South African youth (aged between 10 and 19 years). The factor structure of the scale was assessed with a combination of confirmatory and exploratory techniques. Internal consistencies for the full scale and all subscales were evaluated with Cronbach’s alpha and McDonald’s omega. Validity was assessed by comparing PTSD scores obtained by children who had and had not experienced a traumatic event, and by examining associations between total PTSD scores and known correlates of PTSD.

Results

Scores on the Child PTSD Checklist clearly discriminated between youth who had experienced a traumatic event and those who had not. Internal consistencies for the full scale (and all subscales) were acceptable to good and hypothesized correlations between PTSD, depression, anxiety, somatic symptoms, and age were observed. Two of the reported fit statistics for the tripartite DSM-IV-TR model of PTSD did not meet traditional criteria and further exploratory analyses revealed a four-factor structure (broadly consistent with Simms and colleagues’ Dysphoria Model of PTSD symptoms) which provided a better fit to the observed data.

Conclusion

Given the continued use of the Child PTSD Checklist in South Africa, findings offer an important first step in establishing the reliability and validity of the checklist for use with South African youth. However, further evaluation of the checklist in South African samples is clearly required before conclusions regarding its use as diagnostic tool in this context can be made.     

Minimization of Childhood Maltreatment Is Common and Consequential: Results from a Large,Multinational Sample Using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire

Childhood maltreatment has diverse, lifelong impact on morbidity and mortality. The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) is one of the most commonly used scales to assess and quantify these experiences and their impact. Curiously, despite very widespread use of the CTQ, scores on its Minimization-Denial (MD) subscale—originally designed to assess a positive response bias—are rarely reported. Hence, little is known about this measure. If response biases are either common or consequential, current practices of ignoring the MD scale deserve revision. Therewith, we designed a study to investigate 3 aspects of minimization, as defined by the CTQ’s MD scale: 1) its prevalence; 2) its latent structure; and finally 3) whether minimization moderates the CTQ’s discriminative validity in terms of distinguishing between psychiatric patients and community volunteers. Archival, item-level CTQ data from 24 multinational samples were combined for a total of 19,652 participants. Analyses indicated: 1) minimization is common; 2) minimization functions as a continuous construct; and 3) high MD scores attenuate the ability of the CTQ to distinguish between psychiatric patients and community volunteers. Overall, results suggest that a minimizing response bias—as detected by the MD subscale—has a small but significant moderating effect on the CTQ’s discriminative validity. Results also may suggest that some prior analyses of maltreatment rates or the effects of early maltreatment that have used the CTQ may have underestimated its incidence and impact. We caution researchers and clinicians about the widespread practice of using the CTQ without the MD or collecting MD data but failing to assess and control for its effects on outcomes or dependent variables.     

Presence and Significant Determinants of Cognitive Impairment in a Large Sample of Patients with Multiple Sclerosis

Objectives

To investigate the presence and the nature of cognitive impairment in a large sample of patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), and to identify clinical and demographic determinants of cognitive impairment in MS.

Methods

303 patients with MS and 279 healthy controls were administered the Brief Repeatable Battery of Neuropsychological tests (BRB-N); measures of pre-morbid verbal competence and neuropsychiatric measures were also administered.

Results

Patients and healthy controls were matched for age, gender, education and pre-morbid verbal Intelligence Quotient. Patients presenting with cognitive impairment were 108/303 (35.6%). In the overall group of participants, the significant predictors of the most sensitive BRB-N scores were: presence of MS, age, education, and Vocabulary. The significant predictors when considering MS patients only were: course of MS, age, education, vocabulary, and depression. Using logistic regression analyses, significant determinants of the presence of cognitive impairment in relapsing-remitting MS patients were: duration of illness (OR = 1.053, 95% CI = 1.010–1.097, p = 0.015), Expanded Disability Status Scale score (OR = 1.247, 95% CI = 1.024–1.517, p = 0.028), and vocabulary (OR = 0.960, 95% CI = 0.936–0.984, p = 0.001), while in the smaller group of progressive MS patients these predictors did not play a significant role in determining the cognitive outcome.

Conclusions

Our results corroborate the evidence about the presence and the nature of cognitive impairment in a large sample of patients with MS. Furthermore, our findings identify significant clinical and demographic determinants of cognitive impairment in a large sample of MS patients for the first time. Implications for further research and clinical practice were discussed.     

Retinal Vascular Fractal Dimension,Childhood IQ,and Cognitive Ability in Old Age: The Lothian Birth Cohort Study 1936

Purpose

Cerebral microvascular disease is associated with dementia. Differences in the topography of the retinal vascular network may be a marker for cerebrovascular disease. The association between cerebral microvascular state and non-pathological cognitive ageing is less clear, particularly because studies are rarely able to adjust for pre-morbid cognitive ability level. We measured retinal vascular fractal dimension (D _f) as a potential marker of cerebral microvascular disease. We examined the extent to which it contributes to differences in non-pathological cognitive ability in old age, after adjusting for childhood mental ability.

Methods

Participants from the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 Study (LBC1936) had cognitive ability assessments and retinal photographs taken of both eyes aged around 73 years (n = 648). IQ scores were available from childhood. Retinal vascular D _f was calculated with monofractal and multifractal analysis, performed on custom-written software. Multiple regression models were applied to determine associations between retinal vascular D _f and general cognitive ability (g), processing speed, and memory.

Results

Only three out of 24 comparisons (two eyes × four D _f parameters × three cognitive measures) were found to be significant. This is little more than would be expected by chance. No single association was verified by an equivalent association in the contralateral eye.

Conclusions

The results show little evidence that fractal measures of retinal vascular differences are associated with non-pathological cognitive ageing.     

SAHA Improves Depressive Symptoms,Cognitive Impairment and Oxidative Stress: Rise of a New Antidepressant Class

Neurochemical Research - Depression is a disabling psychiatric disorder affecting millions of people all around the world. Under current therapeutic choices, a portion of patients are not...     

Dystrophin Gene Mutation Location and the Risk of Cognitive Impairment in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

Background

A significant component of the variation in cognitive disability that is observed in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is known to be under genetic regulation. In this study we report correlations between standardised measures of intelligence and mutational class, mutation size, mutation location and the involvement of dystrophin isoforms.

Methods and Results

Sixty two male subjects were recruited as part of a study of the cognitive spectrum in boys with DMD conducted at the Sydney Children''s Hospital (SCH). All 62 children received neuropsychological testing from a single clinical psychologist and had a defined dystrophin gene (DMD) mutation; including DMD gene deletions, duplications and DNA point mutations. Full Scale Intelligence Quotients (FSIQ) in unrelated subjects with the same mutation were found to be highly correlated (r = 0.83, p = 0.0008), in contrast to results in previous publications. In 58 cases (94%) it was possible to definitively assign a mutation as affecting one or more dystrophin isoforms. A strong association between the risk of cognitive disability and the involvement of groups of DMD isoforms was found. In particular, improvements in the correlation of FSIQ with mutation location were identified when a new classification system for mutations affecting the Dp140 isoform was implemented.

Significance

These data represent one of the largest studies of FSIQ and mutational data in DMD patients and is among the first to report on a DMD cohort which has had both comprehensive mutational analysis and FSIQ testing through a single referral centre. The correlation between FSIQ results with the location of the dystrophin gene mutation suggests that the risk of cognitive deficit is a result of the cumulative loss of central nervous system (CNS) expressed dystrophin isoforms, and that correct classification of isoform involvement results in improved estimates of risk.     

Loss of Dickkopf-1 Restores Neurogenesis in Old Age and Counteracts Cognitive Decline

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Highlights? Dkk1 antagonizes Wnt activity in NPCs ? Loss of Dkk1 increases NPCs, neuronal progeny, and neuronal activity in DG ? Loss of Dkk1 has beneficial effects on affective behavior in the tail suspension test ? Loss of Dkk1 in NPCs restores DG neurogenesis and cognition in old age     

Childhood Trauma and Personal Mastery: Their Influence on Emotional Reactivity to Everyday Events in a Community Sample of Middle-Aged Adults

Childhood trauma is associated with premature declines in health in midlife and old age. Pathways that have been implicated, but less studied include social-emotional regulation, biological programming, and habitual patterns of thought and action. In this study we focused on childhood trauma’s influence via alterations in social-emotional regulation to everyday life events, a pathway that has been linked to subsequent health effects. Data from a 30-day daily diary of community residents who participated in a study of resilience in Midlife (n = 191, M_age = 54, SD = 7.50, 54% women) was used to examine whether self-reports of childhood trauma were associated with daily well-being, as well as reported and emotional reactivity to daily negative and positive events. Childhood trauma reports were associated with reporting lower overall levels of and greater variability in daily well-being. Childhood trauma was linked to greater reports of daily negative events, but not to positive events. Focusing on emotional reactivity to daily events, residents who reported higher levels of childhood trauma showed stronger decreases in well-being when experiencing negative events and also stronger increases in well-being with positive events. For those reporting childhood trauma, higher levels of mastery were associated with stronger decreases in well-being with negative events and stronger increases in well-being with positive events, suggesting that mastery increases sensitivity to daily negative and positive events. Our results suggest that childhood trauma may lead to poorer health in midlife through disturbances in the patterns of everyday life events and responses to those events. Further, our findings indicate that mastery may have a different meaning for those who experienced childhood trauma. We discuss social-emotional regulation as one pathway linking childhood trauma to health, and psychosocial resources to consider when building resilience-promoting interventions for mitigating the detrimental health effects of childhood trauma.     

Memory Concerns,Memory Performance and Risk of Dementia in Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment

Background

Concerns about worsening memory (“memory concerns”; MC) and impairment in memory performance are both predictors of Alzheimer''s dementia (AD). The relationship of both in dementia prediction at the pre-dementia disease stage, however, is not well explored. Refined understanding of the contribution of both MC and memory performance in dementia prediction is crucial for defining at-risk populations. We examined the risk of incident AD by MC and memory performance in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

Methods

We analyzed data of 417 MCI patients from a longitudinal multicenter observational study. Patients were classified based on presence (n = 305) vs. absence (n = 112) of MC. Risk of incident AD was estimated with Cox Proportional-Hazards regression models.

Results

Risk of incident AD was increased by MC (HR = 2.55, 95%CI: 1.33–4.89), lower memory performance (HR = 0.63, 95%CI: 0.56–0.71) and ApoE4-genotype (HR = 1.89, 95%CI: 1.18–3.02). An interaction effect between MC and memory performance was observed. The predictive power of MC was greatest for patients with very mild memory impairment and decreased with increasing memory impairment.

Conclusions

Our data suggest that the power of MC as a predictor of future dementia at the MCI stage varies with the patients'' level of cognitive impairment. While MC are predictive at early stage MCI, their predictive value at more advanced stages of MCI is reduced. This suggests that loss of insight related to AD may occur at the late stage of MCI.     

Relationship between the COMT-Val158Met and BDNF-Val66Met Polymorphisms,Childhood Trauma and Psychotic Experiences in an Adolescent General Population Sample

Objective

Psychotic experiences occur at a much greater prevalence in the population than psychotic disorders. There has been little research to date, however, on genetic risk for this extended psychosis phenotype. We examined whether COMT or BDNF genotypes were associated with psychotic experiences or interacted with childhood trauma in predicting psychotic experiences.

Method

Psychiatric interviews and genotyping for COMT-Val158Met and BDNF-Val66Met were carried out on two population-based samples of 237 individuals aged 11-15 years. Logistic regression was used to examine for main effects by genotype and childhood trauma, controlling for important covariates. This was then compared to a model with a term for interaction between genotype and childhood trauma. Where a possible interaction was detected, this was further explored in stratified analyses.

Results

While childhood trauma showed a borderline association with psychotic experiences, COMT-Val158Met and BDNF-Val66Met genotypes were not directly associated with psychotic experiences in the population. Testing for gene x environment interaction was borderline significant in the case of COMT-Val158Met with individuals with the COMT-Val158Met Val-Val genotype, who had been exposed to childhood trauma borderline significantly more likely to report psychotic experiences than those with Val-Met or Met-Met genotypes. There was no similar interaction by BDNF-Val66Met genotype.

Conclusion

The COMT-Val158Met Val-Val genotype may be a genetic moderator of risk for psychotic experiences in individuals exposed to childhood traumatic experiences.     

Memory and Language in Middle Childhood in Individuals with a History of Specific Language Impairment

This study reports on the sensitivity of sentence repetition as a marker of specific language impairment (SLI) in different subgroups of children in middle childhood and examines the role of memory and grammatical knowledge in the performance of children with and without language difficulties on this task. Eleven year old children, 197 with a history of SLI and 75 typically developing (TD) peers were administered sentence repetition, phonological short term memory (PSTM) and grammatical morphology tasks. Children with a history of SLI were divided into four subgroups: specific language impairment, non-specific language impairment, low cognition with resolved language and resolved. Performance on the sentence repetition task was significantly impaired in all four subgroups of children with a history of SLI when compared to their age peers. Regression analyses revealed grammatical knowledge was predictive of performance for TD children and children with a history of SLI. However, memory abilities were significantly predictive of sentence repetition task performance for children with a history of SLI only. Processes involved in sentence repetition are more taxing of PSTM for individuals with a history of SLI in middle childhood in a way that does not appear to be the case for TD children.     

谷红联合尼莫地平在小血管病性认知障碍与大动脉粥样硬化性认知障碍中的疗效分析

摘要 目的：谷红联合尼莫地平对小血管病性认知障碍与大动脉粥样硬化性认知障碍进行治疗,考察对两种类型血管性认知障碍的疗效。方法：以2017年-2019年12月就诊于我院血管性认知功能障碍(vascular cognitive impairment,VCI)患者为研究对象,大动脉粥样硬化型(large artery atherosclerotic,LAA)204例,为LAA组,小血管性(small vessel disease,SVD)226例,为SVD组,所有患者均给予基础治疗,在此基础上,LAA组和SVD组均进行谷红注射液和尼莫地平联合治疗,以临床疗效、认知功能评分以及不良反应情况为考察指标,考察谷红联合尼莫地平对两种类型血管性认知障碍的治疗效果。结果：经过谷红注射液联合尼莫地平的治疗,LAA组和SVD组均取得了较好的疗效,LAA组总有效率为90.20%,SVD组总有效率为88.05％,两组总有效率比较,无显著差异（P＞0.05）;治疗前两组患者的蒙特利尔认知量表(Montreal Cognitive Assessment,MoCA)评分和简易精神状态量表(Mini-Mental State Exam,MMSE)评分均无统计学差异(P>0.05);治疗后,LAA组和SVD组患者的MOCA评分和MMSE评分均显著的改善（P<0.05）,其中LAA组MOCA评分由19.31±5.45提升至22.31±6.21,MMSE评分由21.45±5.91提升至25.23±3.21,SVD组MOCA评分由19.28±4.01提升至22.88±5.73,MMSE评分由21.30±7.76提升至25.08±6.19,但两组间各项评分无显著差异（P>0.05）;治疗期间LAA组和SVD组均未出现严重不良反应,共有7例患者出现轻度头部胀痛、面部潮红等,其中LAA 组3（1.47 %）例,SVD组4（1.96 %）例,两组间比较无显著差异（P＞0.05）。结论：谷红注射液联合尼莫地平治疗小血管病性认知障碍与大动脉粥样硬化性认知障碍,均能显著缓解患者认知功能障碍症状,临床疗效显著,无严重不良反应,有一定的推广价值。     

Risk Factors for Late-Life Cognitive Decline and Variation with Age and Sex in the Sydney Memory and Ageing Study

Introduction

An aging population brings increasing burdens and costs to individuals and society arising from late-life cognitive decline, the causes of which are unclear. We aimed to identify factors predicting late-life cognitive decline.

Methods

Participants were 889 community-dwelling 70–90-year-olds from the Sydney Memory and Ageing Study with comprehensive neuropsychological assessments at baseline and a 2-year follow-up and initially without dementia. Cognitive decline was considered as incident mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia, as well as decreases in attention/processing speed, executive function, memory, and global cognition. Associations with baseline demographic, lifestyle, health and medical factors were determined.

Results

All cognitive measures showed decline and 14% of participants developed incident MCI or dementia. Across all participants, risk factors for decline included older age and poorer smelling ability most prominently, but also more education, history of depression, being male, higher homocysteine, coronary artery disease, arthritis, low health status, and stroke. Protective factors included marriage, kidney disease, and antidepressant use. For some of these factors the association varied with age or differed between men and women. Additional risk and protective factors that were strictly age- and/or sex-dependent were also identified. We found salient population attributable risks (8.7–49.5%) for older age, being male or unmarried, poor smelling ability, coronary artery disease, arthritis, stroke, and high homocysteine.

Discussion

Preventing or treating conditions typically associated with aging might reduce population-wide late-life cognitive decline. Interventions tailored to particular age and sex groups may offer further benefits.     

弥散张量成像技术对系统性红斑狼疮合并认知功能障碍患者的诊断价值及发生认知功能障碍的危险因素分析

摘要 目的：探讨弥散张量成像技术（DTI）对系统性红斑狼疮（SLE）合并认知功能障碍患者的诊断价值,并分析SLE发生认知功能障碍的危险因素。方法：选择2012年1月～2022年3月河北省人民医院收治的SLE患者92例,根据蒙特利尔认知功能评估量表（MoCA）评估结果分为合并认知功能障碍组（MoCA评分＜26分,35例）和未合并认知功能障碍组（MoCA评分≥26分,57例）。比较两组常规磁共振结果和DTI检查结果,分析向异性分数（FA）、表观扩散系数（ADC）与MoCA评分结果的相关性。应用多因素Logistic回归分析SLE发生认知功能障碍的危险因素。结果：常规磁共振检查显示合并认知功能障碍组中14例患者出现异常信号灶,而未合并认知功能障碍组未发现异常信号。合并认知功能障碍组左侧额叶、右侧额叶、左侧颞叶、右侧颞叶、左侧基底节区、右侧基底节区、半卵圆中心FA值均明显低于未合并功能障碍组（P＜0.05）,而上述部位ADC值均明显高于未合并认知功能障碍组（P＜0.05）。SLE合并认知功能障碍患者的额叶、颞叶、基底节区、半卵圆中心FA值与MoCA评分均呈正相关,而上述部位ADC值与MoCA评分均呈负相关（P＜0.05）。合并认知功能障碍组受教育年限≥12年的患者比例明显低于未合并认知功能障碍组,而神经精神性系统性红斑狼疮（NPSLE）的患者比例明显高于未合并认知功能障碍组（P＜0.05）。多因素Logistic回归分析显示,NPSLE是SLE患者合并认知功能障碍的危险因素,受教育年限≥12年是SLE患者合并认知功能障碍的保护因素（P＜0.05）。结论：DTI技术对SLE合并认知功能障碍具有一定诊断价值,是否为NPSLE以及受教育程度会影响SLE患者的认知功能障碍发生风险,值得临床关注。     

Pathways to Age of Onset of Heroin Use: A Structural Model Approach Exploring the Relationship of the COMT Gene,Impulsivity and Childhood Trauma

Background

The interaction of the association of dopamine genes, impulsivity and childhood trauma with substance abuse remains unclear.

Objectives

To clarify the impacts and the interactions of the Catechol -O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene, impulsivity and childhood trauma on the age of onset of heroin use among heroin dependent patients in China.

Methods

202 male and 248 female inpatients who meet DSM-IV criteria of heroin dependence were enrolled. Impulsivity and childhood trauma were measured using BIS-11 (Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11) and ETISR-SF (Early Trauma Inventory Self Report-Short Form). The single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs737866 on the COMT gene-which has previously been associated with heroin abuse, was genotyped using a DNA sequence detection system. Structural equations model was used to assess the interaction paths between these factors and the age of onset of heroin use.

Principal Findings

Chi-square test indicated the individuals with TT allele have earlier age of onset of heroin use than those with CT or CC allele. In the correlation analysis, the severity of childhood trauma was positively correlated to impulsive score, but both of them were negatively related to the age of onset of heroin use. In structure equation model, both the COMT gene and childhood trauma had impacts on the age of onset of heroin use directly or via impulsive personality.

Conclusions

Our findings indicated that the COMT gene, impulsive personality traits and childhood trauma experience were interacted to impact the age of onset of heroin use, which play a critical role in the development of heroin dependence. The impact of environmental factor was greater than the COMT gene in the development of heroin dependence.