Neurology Research International最新文献

{"title":"Sensitivity of Awaji Criteria and Revised El Escorial Criteria in the Diagnosis of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) at First Visit in a Tunisian Cohort.","authors":"Bademain Jean Fabrice Ido,&nbsp;Imen Kacem,&nbsp;Mahamadi Ouedraogo,&nbsp;Amina Nasri,&nbsp;Saloua Mrabet,&nbsp;Amina Gargouri,&nbsp;Mouna Ben Djebara,&nbsp;Bawindsongré Jean Kabore,&nbsp;Riadh Gouider","doi":"10.1155/2021/8841281","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/8841281","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal disease whose diagnosis and early management can improve survival. The most used diagnostic criteria are the revised El Escorial criteria (rEEC) and Awaji criteria (AC). The comparison of their sensitivities showed contradictory results. Our study aimed to compare the sensitivities of these two criteria in the diagnosis of definite ALS, at first visit, in a Tunisian hospital cohort.</p><p><strong>Materials and methods: </strong>This was a retrospective study including 173 patients diagnosed with ALS at the Department of Neurology of the Razi Hospital between January 2003 and April 2018.After studying the clinical features of the disease in our study population,each patient was categorized according to the rEEC and AC based on data collected in his medical record during his first visit to our department. Then, we compared the sensitivities of these two criteria in the diagnosis of definite ALS.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Our Tunisian cohort was characterized by a slower disease progression. The sensitivity of the AC (69.4%) was significantly higher than that of the rEEC (40.5%) (<i>p</i> < 0.001). When the clinical signs evolved for less than 6 months, the sensitivities were 61% for AC and 12% for rEEC (<i>p</i> < 0.001). After 24 months of disease progression, the sensitivities were 78.2% for AC and 69.1% for rEEC (<i>p</i> = 0.063). It was impossible to categorize seventeen patients by the two criteria.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Our study demonstrated that patients in AC are more sensitive than rEEC in the early diagnosis of ALS in our Tunisian cohort. However, this superiority is gradually reduced during the evolution of the disease.</p>","PeriodicalId":19124,"journal":{"name":"Neurology Research International","volume":"2021 ","pages":"8841281"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2021-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7847325/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"25341755","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Parkinson's Disease Gravity Index: A Method by means of Optimal Scaling.","authors":"Marcos Serrano-Dueñas, Luis Masabanda, Maria-Rosario Luquin","doi":"10.1155/2020/8871870","DOIUrl":"10.1155/2020/8871870","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>This study has been designed with the aim of using optimal scaling to perform the allocation of scores and to be able to construct an indicator of the Parkinson's Disease Gravity Index. Scores were assigned to interrelated dimensions that share information about the patient's situation, to have an objective, holistic tool which integrates scores so that doctors can have a comprehensive idea of the patient's situation. <i>Patients and Methods.</i> 120 consecutive patients with Parkinson's diagnosis were chosen according to the United Kingdom Parkinson's Disease Society Brain Bank criteria. Subsequently, all the chosen dimensions were transformed into interval variables for which the formula proposed by Sturges was used. Once the dimensions were transformed into interval variables, optimal scaling was carried out. Subsequently, the following attributes were analyzed: quality and acceptability of the data; reliability: internal consistency, reliability index, Cronbach's alpha, and standard error of measurement; finally, validity: convergent validity and validity for known groups.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>There were no missing data. An appropriate Cronbach's alpha value of 0.71 was gathered, and all items were found to be pertinent to the scale. The item homogeneity index was 0.36. Precision evaluated with the standard error of measurement was 7.8. The Parkinson's Disease Gravity Index discriminant validity (validity for known groups), assessed among the different stages of Hoehn and Yahr scale by the Kruskal-Wallis test, showed major significance (<i>X</i> ² = 32.7, <i>p</i> ≤ 0.001).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The Parkinson's Disease Gravity Index has shown adequate metric properties.</p>","PeriodicalId":19124,"journal":{"name":"Neurology Research International","volume":"2020 ","pages":"8871870"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2020-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7758146/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"38767732","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Comparison of Cognitive Rehabilitation versus Donepezil Therapy on Memory Performance, Attention, Quality of Life, and Depression among Multiple Sclerosis Patients.","authors":"Mohammad Mahdi Shahpouri, Majid Barekatain, Mahgol Tavakoli, Omid Mirmosayyeb, Ali Safaei, Vahid Shaygannejad","doi":"10.1155/2020/8874424","DOIUrl":"10.1155/2020/8874424","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a demyelinating disease of the central nervous system that affects cognitive performance and leads to depression and decreased quality of life (QOL). The current study aims to assess the effects of cognitive rehabilitation versus donepezil therapy on memory, attention, depression, and QOL in MS patients compared to placebo and control groups.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Eighty MS patients were randomly selected from parallel randomized trials and divided into four groups: A: cognitive rehabilitation (10 sessions of 120 minutes), B: control (no intervention), C: donepezil (10 mg daily), and D: placebo. Patients received the intervention for three months. They were assessed for cognitive status, depression, and QOL prior to the intervention and immediately after that using abbreviated mental test (AMT), prospective and retrospective memory questionnaire (PRMQ), everyday memory questionnaire (EMQ), digit span, MSQOL-54, and second edition Beck depression inventory (BDI). We compared scores between groups after the intervention, as well as the progression of scores in every single group.</p><p><strong>Result: </strong>s. The cognitive rehabilitation group showed improvement in EMQ, RPMQ, digit span, physical and mental health subscales of MSQOL54, and depression (<i>P</i> < 0.05). We observed the same effect for donepezil except for the digit span test (<i>P</i> = 0.15). Intergroup comparison of scores showed the superiority of cognitive rehabilitation over donepezil in digit span, depression, and mental health scores.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Both donepezil and cognitive rehabilitation effectively improve memory performance, attention, depression, and QOL in MS patients. Cognitive rehabilitation is superior altogether. This study is registered with the Iranian registry of clinical trials http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/IRCT2016042227522N1.</p>","PeriodicalId":19124,"journal":{"name":"Neurology Research International","volume":"2020 ","pages":"8874424"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2020-11-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7704202/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"38705804","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effect of Task-Specific Training on Trunk Control and Balance in Patients with Subacute Stroke.","authors":"Mohamed E Khallaf","doi":"10.1155/2020/5090193","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/5090193","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Impairment of static and dynamic posture control is common after stroke. It is found to be a predictor and an essential component for balance, walking ability, and activities of daily living (ADL) outcomes. Studies investigating effect of physical therapy techniques with an aim to improve trunk function after stroke are limited. This study aimed at studying the effect of task-specific training on trunk control and balance in patients with subacute stroke.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>In this randomized controlled trail, thirty-four patients were alienated into two equal groups. The study group (<i>n</i> = 17) received task-specific training, and the control group (<i>n</i> = 17) received conventional physical therapy based on the neurodevelopmental technique. Task-specific training was applied through two phases with criteria of progression based on Chedoke-McMaster Stroke Assessment postural control stages. The interventions were applied in a dosage of 60 min per session, three times a week for ten weeks. Static and dynamic balance were measured by the trunk impairment scale (TIS), postural assessment scale (PAS), and functional reach test (FRT). Laser-guided digital goniometer was used to measure the trunk ranges of motions (ROM) as a secondary outcome.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Significant differences between the baseline and the follow-up measures including TIS, PAS, FRT, and trunk (ROM) were found in both groups (<i>P</i> ≤ 0.05). In-between group comparison also showed significant differences between the results of both groups indicating more improvements among patients representing the study group.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Task-specific training may be effective in improving the static and dynamic postural control and trunk ranges of motion among subacute stroke patients.</p>","PeriodicalId":19124,"journal":{"name":"Neurology Research International","volume":"2020 ","pages":"5090193"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2020-11-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1155/2020/5090193","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"38689339","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Acute Ischemic Stroke in COVID-19: Putative Mechanisms, Clinical Characteristics, and Management.","authors":"Ademola S Ojo, Simon A Balogun, Ahmed O Idowu","doi":"10.1155/2020/7397480","DOIUrl":"10.1155/2020/7397480","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The emergence and spread of the highly contagious novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) have triggered the greatest public health challenge of the last century. Aside from being a primary respiratory disease, acute ischemic stroke has emerged as a complication of the disease. While current evidence shows COVID-19 could cause ischemic stroke especially in severe disease, there are similarities in the risk factors for severe COVID-19 as well as ischemic stroke, underscoring the complex relationship between these two conditions. The pandemic has created challenges for acute stroke care. Rapid assessment and time-sensitive interventions required for optimum outcomes in acute stroke care have been complicated by COVID-19 due to the need for disease transmission preventive measures. The purpose of this article is to explore the putative mechanisms of ischemic stroke in COVID-19 and the clinical characteristics of COVID-19 patients who develop ischemic stroke. In addition, we discuss the challenges of managing acute ischemic stroke in the setting of COVID-19 and review current management guidelines. We also highlighted potential areas for future research.</p>","PeriodicalId":19124,"journal":{"name":"Neurology Research International","volume":"2020 ","pages":"7397480"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2020-11-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7673935/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"38736731","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"High Prevalence of Poststroke Depression in Ischemic Stroke Patients in Ethiopia.","authors":"Fikru Tsehayneh,&nbsp;Abenet Tafesse","doi":"10.1155/2020/8834299","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/8834299","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>There is limited information and research carried out regarding the prevalence of poststroke depression (PSD) in the study area. Psychiatric disorders complicate a significant proportion of patients suffering from stroke. This of course have a great negative impact on our knowledge about poststroke depression in Ethiopia, and poststroke depression complicates a significant number of stroke patients and their rehabilitation.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A cross-sectional study on all patients aged above 18 years and diagnosed with stroke in the past two years who attended the neurology follow-up clinics of Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital (TASH) and Zewditu Memorial Hospital (ZMH) was done by using a structured questionnaire containing Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) depression screening tool.</p><p><strong>Result: </strong>Of 84 patients who were eligible for the study, 32.2% of patients have depressive symptoms. Women (OR 0.001, 95% CI 0.12-0.87) and aphasic patients (OR 0.034, 95% CI 0.19-1.27) were more likely to have depressive symptoms.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Depressive symptoms after stroke are common in Ethiopian patients. Our study demonstrates female and aphasic patients are more likely to screen positive for PSD. Hence, screening all poststroke patients with different screening tools is practical, and further studies are needed to assess the validity of these screening tools and also to assess PSD as a predictor of stroke outcome.</p>","PeriodicalId":19124,"journal":{"name":"Neurology Research International","volume":"2020 ","pages":"8834299"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2020-10-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1155/2020/8834299","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"38591219","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Nonadherence to Antiepileptic Medications and Its Determinants among Epileptic Patients at the University of Gondar Referral Hospital, Gondar, Ethiopia, 2019: An Institutional-Based Cross-Sectional Study.","authors":"Misganaw Tilahun,&nbsp;Netsanet Habte,&nbsp;Kenean Mekonnen,&nbsp;Mengesha Srahbzu,&nbsp;Daniel Ayelegne","doi":"10.1155/2020/8886828","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/8886828","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Nonadherence to antiepileptic medication is the extent of a patient's passive failure to follow the prescribed therapeutic regimen. The prevalence and impact of nonadherence to antiepileptic medication are high globally. The main purpose of this study was to assess nonadherence to antiepileptic medications and its associated factors among epileptic patients at the University of Gondar Referral Hospital, Gondar, Ethiopia, 2019.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>An institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 365 epileptic patients at the University of Gondar Referral Hospital, who were selected by a systematic random sampling technique. Data were collected by face to face interviews using a structured pretested questionnaire. Data were entered into EPI Info version 7 and then exported to SPSS version 22 for analysis. The data were described by descriptive statistics. Binary logistic regression analysis was used as a model, and variables with a <i>p</i> value of less than 0.05 were considered as statistically significant with nonadherence to antiepileptic medications.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 356 epileptic patients participated in the study yielding a response rate of 97.5%. The overall prevalence of nonadherence to antiepileptic medications among epileptic patients attending at the University of Gondar Referral Hospital was 38.5% (95% CI: 33.1-43.8). Divorced and/or widowed marital status (AOR: 3.38 (95% CI: 1.54, 7.44)), treatment duration of 3-5 years (AOR = 3.58 (95% CI: 1.38, 9.29)), treatment duration of 5 and above years (AOR: 3.49 (95% CI: 1.53, 7.95)), comorbidity (AOR: 2.42 (95% CI: 1.08, 5.43)), side effects of antiepileptic medications (AOR: 3.36 (95% CI: 1.67, 6.74)), absence of health information (AOR: 1.98 (95% CI: 1.11, 3.52)), epilepsy-related stigma (AOR: 2.81 (95% CI: 1.57, 5.02)), and negative attitude towards antiepileptic medications (AOR: 2.46 (95% CI: 1.36, 4.45)) were significantly associated with nonadherence to antiepileptic medications.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Prevalence of nonadherence to antiepileptic medications among epileptic patients at the University of Gondar Referral Hospital was found to be high. Hence, giving health information about epilepsy and its management will help to reduce antiepileptic medications' nonadherence.</p>","PeriodicalId":19124,"journal":{"name":"Neurology Research International","volume":"2020 ","pages":"8886828"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2020-10-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1155/2020/8886828","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"38608326","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Medication Beliefs and Adherence to Antiseizure Medications.","authors":"Devender Bhalla,&nbsp;Elham Lotfalinezhad,&nbsp;Fatemeh Amini,&nbsp;Ahmad Delbari,&nbsp;Reza Fadaye-Vatan,&nbsp;Vida Saii,&nbsp;Kurosh Gharagozli","doi":"10.1155/2020/6718915","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/6718915","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Introduction: &lt;/strong&gt;The primary objective of our study was to determine the nature of medication beliefs and their association with adherence to antiseizure medications (ASMs) among elderly epilepsy patients. Our secondary objective was to enhance the psychometric properties and factor structure parameters of the Beliefs about Medications Questionnaire (BMQ) adapted to epilepsy and affected aged subjects.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Methods: &lt;/strong&gt;A population-based survey was performed in which older adults (≥60 years of age) were invited for a free face-to-face consultation with the specialists as well as for the collection of necessary data. The eligible subjects were those who are affected with epilepsy and having epileptic seizures of any type. In addition, the participants were required to be of any sex, currently under treatment with ASMs, resident of Tehran, and able and interested to participate independently. All were carefully examined with a reasonably detailed case-history examination. Two Persian questionnaires used were Medication Adherence Rating Scale (MARS) and BMQ. Those with a MARS score of ≥6 were considered as adherent to ASMs. All data were described in descriptive terms. We did a group comparison of means and proportions for all possible independent variables between adherents and nonadherents. Then, we did a hierarchical multiple linear regression. For this, independent variables were categorized into three different blocks: (a) sociodemographic block (Block-1), (b) treatment side-effect block (Block-2), and (c) BMQ block that included ten items of the BMQ scale (Block-3). We also did a forward step-wise linear regression by beginning with an empty model. We also estimated the psychometric properties and factor structure parameters of BMQ and its two subdomains.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Results: &lt;/strong&gt;Of all (&lt;i&gt;N&lt;/i&gt; = 123, mean age: 63.3 years, 74.0% males), 78.0% were adherent (mean score: 7.0, 95% CI 6.2-7.8) to ASMs. The MARS scores were not different between males and females. The mean BMQ score was 23.4 (95% CI 19.8-27.0) with the mean need score of 20.0 (95% CI 18.0-22.0) and mean concern score of 16.5 (95% CI 14.3-18.7). A positive need-concern differential was 20.4%. Upon hierarchical regression, the adjusted &lt;i&gt;R&lt;/i&gt; &lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt; for Block-1 was 33.8%, and it was 53.8% for Block-2 and 92.2% for Block-3. Upon forward step-wise linear regression, we found that \"ASMs disrupt my life\" (&lt;i&gt;ß&lt;/i&gt; -1.9, ES = -1.1, &lt;i&gt;p&lt;/i&gt;=0.008) as the only belief associated with adherence. The alpha coefficient of BMQ was 0.81.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Conclusions: &lt;/strong&gt;Ours is one of the very few studies that evaluated medication beliefs and their association with adherence to ASMs among elderly epilepsy patients in a non-western context. In our context, medication beliefs are likely to have an independent role in effecting adherence to ASMs, particularly the concern that \"ASMs disrupt life.\" Treating physicians should cultivate good conscienc","PeriodicalId":19124,"journal":{"name":"Neurology Research International","volume":"2020 ","pages":"6718915"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2020-10-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1155/2020/6718915","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"38683848","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Neurological Components in Coronavirus Induced Disease: A Review of the Literature Related to SARS, MERS, and COVID-19","authors":"Jonathan Adrián Zegarra-Valdivia, B. Chino-Vilca, T. Tairo-Cerron, V. Munive, C. Lastarria-Perez, R. Ames-Guerrero","doi":"10.1155/2020/6587875","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/6587875","url":null,"abstract":"Background. COVID-19 has been declared the pandemic of the 21st century, causing more than 45,000 deaths worldwide. The abrupt release of SARS-CoV-2 demonstrated the potential infection, morbidity, and lethality of zoonotic viruses and human-to-human transmission. Fever, cough, and fatigue are reported as the most common symptoms of the disease, including acute respiratory distress syndrome, and also signs of severe illness, such as shock, acute cardiac injury, and renal lesions, are described. Considering the previous works related to human coronavirus and other zoonotic infections, it has been demonstrated that the neuroinvasive propensity is a common characteristic of coronaviruses, especially in SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV. Objective. In the present review, we analyzed the potential neurological components involved in coronavirus infections and detailed the neurological syndromes related to COVID-19. We also examined the mechanism of transmission and CNS pathology related to other viruses with similar structures such as SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV. Methods. A comprehensive search of different original articles and clinical, experimental, and review studies was conducted in MEDLINE/PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. We selected 92 articles that have been published in journals or preprints according to the search words and the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results. COVID-19 patients may experience neurological symptoms such as headache, impaired mental status, confusion, dizziness, nausea and vomiting, anosmia/hyposmia, and dysgeusia/hypogeusia as initial symptoms, with more severe manifestations such as seizures or coma later on. The neurological signs shown are clinical symptoms similar to those reported for SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV. Given that both SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV have similar structures, these viruses may share comparable neurological symptoms and similar progression. Coronaviruses are linked to central nervous system dysfunction, and they are also reported as the probable cause of multiple sclerosis, encephalitis, and meningitis.","PeriodicalId":19124,"journal":{"name":"Neurology Research International","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2020-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"88626449","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Neurocognitive Functioning among Children with Sickle Cell Anemia Attending SCA Clinic at MNH, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.","authors":"Limi O Matondo,&nbsp;Edward Kija,&nbsp;Karim P Manji","doi":"10.1155/2020/3636547","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/3636547","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Children with sickle cell anemia are at a higher risk of developing neurological sequelae like abnormal intellectual functioning, poor academic performance, abnormal fine motor functioning, and attentional deficits. There is a paucity of data about neurocognitive impairment among children with sickle cell anemia in Tanzania. Recognition of the magnitude of neurocognitive impairment will help to provide insight in the causative as well as preventive aspects of the same. Therefore, this study was carried out to determine the prevalence and factors associated with neurocognitive impairment in children with sickle cell anemia.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This is a cross-sectional comparative study between children with SCA and a control group of the hemoglobin AA sibling. It was carried out in Muhimbili National Hospital during a five-month period. The Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure test (ROCF) which is used to test memory and visual special functions and KOH block design tools that have been previously validated through another study locally were used. Additional information on demographic characteristics was also collected using a predetermined questionnaire. Proportions and comparisons of means were used to examine associations between neurocognitive impairment and independent variables for associated factors.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 313 children were included in the final analysis. Among all the participants, the majority of the participants in the sickle cell group were of the age group 14-15 years (45.9%). In the comparison group, the majority were of the age group 9-10 years (43.8%). The neurocognitive scores in children with sickle cell anemia were significantly different from the normal siblings. In the copy ROCF, the neurocognitive function in SCA participants was 68.2% below the mean as compared to 45% of their counterparts, <i>p</i> ≤ 0.001. Additionally, there was no difference in memory in children with SCA compared to normal siblings (14.8% vs. 12.5%, respectively, <i>p</i>=0.606). Children with SCA had a higher proportion of impaired IQ (85.4%) as compared to children without SCA (72.5%), and the difference was statistically significant, <i>p</i>=0.009. Factors associated with neurocognitive impairment were age above 13 years, BMI, and absenteeism from school. <i>Conclusion and Recommendation</i>. Children with SCA had more impairment in terms of copying and IQ. We recommend assessment at the younger age group, increased sample size in future studies, and long-term cohort follow-up.</p>","PeriodicalId":19124,"journal":{"name":"Neurology Research International","volume":"2020 ","pages":"3636547"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2020-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1155/2020/3636547","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"38399828","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}