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Bruce Volpe

Publications and source records attributed to Bruce Volpe.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Use of computerized assessment to predict neuropsychological functioning and emotional distress in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

OBJECTIVE: Cognitive dysfunction and neuropsychiatric disturbance are common in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). This study addressed the ability of the Automated Neuropsychological Assessment Metrics (ANAM), a computerized cognitive testing battery consisting of cognitive subtests, a sleepiness rating scale, and a mood scale, to predict neuropsychological status in patients with SLE. METHODS: Sixty individuals with SLE and no overt neuropsychiatric symptoms were administered ANAM to determine its validity as a screening measure of cognitive dysfunction and emotional distress in SLE. RESULTS: Performance on ANAM was compared with results of a consecutively administered, 2-hour battery of traditional neuropsychological tests and the Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II). Individual ANAM cognitive test scores were significantly correlated with most neuropsychological tests, particularly those measuring psychomotor processing speed and executive functioning. Using logistic regression, ANAM cognitive subtests successfully predicted individuals with SLE who had probable versus no impairment after controlling for premorbid levels of cognitive ability. Sensitivity of group classification was 76.2% and specificity was 82.8%, with 80% correct classification overall. ANAM's ability to predict neuropsychological functioning remained even after controlling for subjective reports of depressed mood and current sleepiness. Further, the ANAM mood scale was significantly correlated with the BDI-II (r = 0.67, P < 0.001), indicating its potential future use as a screening tool for emotional distress. CONCLUSION: ANAM shows promise as a time- and cost-efficient tool for screening and monitoring cognitive and emotional functioning in SLE, and can indicate when a more thorough neuropsychological investigation is warranted.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antibodies, cognitive dysfunction, and depression in systemic lupus erythematosus.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the association of cognitive dysfunction and depression with serum antibodies to N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor (anti-NR2) and analyze clinical and neuroimaging correlates in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). METHODS: Sixty patients underwent neurocognitive assessment, evaluation for depression with the Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II) and psychiatric interview (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition [DSM-IV] criteria), brain magnetic resonance imaging, and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy imaging (1H-MRSI). Cognition was assessed in 5 domains: memory, attention/executive, visuospatial, motor, and psychomotor, and adjusted to each individual's best level of prior cognitive functioning estimated from the reading subtest of the Wide Range Achievement Test-3 (WRAT-3). Serum anti-NR2 antibodies were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using a pentapeptide from the human NMDA receptor. RESULTS: Cognitive dysfunction was found in 28 of 60 patients (mild in 8, moderate in 20) before adjustment for WRAT-3 and in 35 of 60 patients (mild in 15, moderate in 11, and severe in 9) after adjustment for WRAT-3. The changes were most pronounced in the memory and visuospatial domains. There was no significant association between anti-NR2 antibody levels and cognition. On 1H-MRSI, patients with moderate or severe cognitive dysfunction had significantly higher choline:creatine ratios in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the white matter, compared with patients with mild or absent cognitive dysfunction. Anti-NR2 antibodies were significantly correlated with BDI scores; patients with BDI-II scores of > or =14 had higher serum levels of anti-NR2 antibodies (P = 0.005, 95% confidence interval 0.83, 4.31), and there was a trend toward higher anti-NR2 antibody levels among patients who fulfilled the DSM-IV criteria for major depression. CONCLUSION: Serum anti-NR2 antibodies are associated with depressive mood but not with cognitive dysfunction in SLE at a given time point. Larger longitudinal studies are needed to address the possible association between anti-NR2 antibodies and depression in SLE.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Submovements grow larger, fewer, and more blended during stroke recovery.

Submovements are hypothesized building blocks of human movement, discrete ballistic movements of which more complex movements are composed. Using a novel algorithm, submovements were extracted from the point-to-point movements of 41 persons recovering from stroke. Analysis of the extracted submovements showed that, over the course of therapy, patients' submovements tended to increase in peak speed and duration. The number of submovements employed to produce a given movement decreased. The time between the peaks of adjacent submovements decreased for inpatients (those less than 1 month post-stroke), but not for outpatients (those greater than 12 months post-stroke) as a group. Submovements became more overlapped for all patients, but more markedly for inpatients. The strength and consistency with which it quantified patients' recovery indicates that analysis of submovement overlap might be a useful tool for measuring learning or other changes in motor behavior in future human movement studies.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Traumatic brain injury brief outcome interview.

There is much evidence that deficits in physical and psychological functioning persist long after traumatic brain injury occurs. This paper presents a brief outcome interview (BOI) that can be administered in person or over the telephone, with evaluation of change in functioning in three areas: (a). occupational status, (b). mobility/activities of daily living (ADL), and (c). social relationships. Forty-four traumatic brain injury participants were evaluated at an average of 6.2 years postinjury with the present BOI as well as with the Glasgow Outcome Scale and Karnofsky Performance Scale (KPS). The BOI demonstrated strong concurrent validity with both scales, as well as strong test-retest reliability. IQ and memory scores obtained at an average of 4.1 months postinjury suggested that the injury was moderately severe. The average score on the GPS suggested "good recovery" and the average score on the KPS suggested "normal activity with effort, some signs or symptoms." These descriptions matched the BOI for the mobility/ADL dimension, for which all respondents reported some form of independent mobility, and 88.6% of the respondents reported no need for any kind of assistance in daily life functioning. However, significant long-term issues were seen for social and occupational functioning. Fifty-four percent said that they did not socialize as much as before their injury, and half of the participants reported not being involved in a romantic relationship in spite of an average age of 32 years. In terms of occupational status, 40.9% reported not working at all at any kind of job. Compared to before their injury, 47.7% said this was less time, 40.9% said that it was for a lower salary, and 54.5% said that their responsibilities were less. The stability of these social and occupational changes was indicated by high test-test reliabilities for the overall BOI score and the three subscale scores (r's ranged from.97 to 1.0). These stable long-term changes are consistent with some other studies and suggest that the social and occupational needs of this population warrant more attention.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Movement smoothness changes during stroke recovery.

Smoothness is characteristic of coordinated human movements, and stroke patients' movements seem to grow more smooth with recovery. We used a robotic therapy device to analyze five different measures of movement smoothness in the hemiparetic arm of 31 patients recovering from stroke. Four of the five metrics showed general increases in smoothness for the entire patient population. However, according to the fifth metric, the movements of patients with recent stroke grew less smooth over the course of therapy. This pattern was reproduced in a computer simulation of recovery based on submovement blending, suggesting that progressive blending of submovements underlies stroke recovery.

Acceleration↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Robotic upper-limb neurorehabilitation in chronic stroke patients.

This pilot study tested the effectiveness of an intense, short-term upper-limb robotic therapy for improvement in motor outcomes among chronic stroke patients. We enrolled 30 subjects with upper-limb deficits due to stroke of at least 6 mo duration and with a Motor Power Assessment grade of 3 or less. Over 3 wk, 18 sessions of robot-assisted task-specific therapy were delivered with the use of a robotic exercise device that simulates a conventional therapy known as skateboard therapy. Primary outcome measures included reliable, validated impairment and disability measures of upper-limb motor function. Statistically significant improvements were observed for severely impaired participants when we compared baseline and posttreatment outcomes (p < 0.05). These results are important because they indicate that improvement is not limited to those with moderate impairments but is possible among severely impaired chronic stroke patients as well. Moderately and severely impaired patients in our study were able to tolerate a massed-practice therapy paradigm with intensive, frequent, and repetitive treatment. This information is useful in determining the optimal target population, intensity, and duration of robotic therapy and sample size for a planned larger trial.

Adult↗