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Raija Ylikoski

Publications and source records attributed to Raija Ylikoski.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Corpus callosum atrophy is associated with mental slowing and executive deficits in subjects with age-related white matter hyperintensities: the LADIS Study.

BACKGROUND: Previous research has indicated that corpus callosum atrophy is associated with global cognitive decline in neurodegenerative diseases, but few studies have investigated specific cognitive functions. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the role of regional corpus callosum atrophy in mental speed, attention and executive functions in subjects with age-related white matter hyperintensities (WMH). METHODS: In the Leukoaraiosis and Disability Study, 567 subjects with age-related WMH were examined with a detailed neuropsychological assessment and quantitative magnetic resonance imaging. The relationships of the total corpus callosum area and its subregions with cognitive performance were analysed using multiple linear regression, controlling for volume of WMH and other confounding factors. RESULTS: Atrophy of the total corpus callosum area was associated with poor performance in tests assessing speed of mental processing--namely, trail making A and Stroop test parts I and II. Anterior, but not posterior, corpus callosum atrophy was associated with deficits of attention and executive functions as reflected by the symbol digit modalities and digit cancellation tests, as well as by the subtraction scores in the trail making and Stroop tests. Furthermore, semantic verbal fluency was related to the total corpus callosum area and the isthmus subregion. CONCLUSIONS: Corpus callosum atrophy seems to contribute to cognitive decline independently of age, education, coexisting WMH and stroke. Anterior corpus callosum atrophy is related to the frontal-lobe-mediated executive functions and attention, whereas overall corpus callosum atrophy is associated with the slowing of processing speed.

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PubMed2006

Source estimation of spontaneous MEG oscillations in mild cognitive impairment.

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a memory disorder often preceding Alzheimer's disease (AD). AD has been shown to be associated with abnormal generation of spontaneous electromagnetic activity. We investigated whether the cortical generation of spontaneous brain oscillations in MCI shows changes resembling those observed in AD. A minimum current estimates algorithm was applied to identify cortical sources of magnetoencephalographic (MEG) spontaneous brain oscillations in male MCI patients with a clear memory disorder and in healthy elderly controls. This data was subsequently compared to a male subsample of AD patients from an earlier study. While there were clear oscillatory abnormalities in AD patients, there was no evidence of significant changes in the alpha source distribution in MCI patients as compared to healthy controls. Deficits in the distribution of oscillatory sources in the resting state are thus likely to occur at later stages of cognitive impairment than MCI.

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PubMed2005

Depression-executive dysfunction syndrome in stroke patients.

OBJECTIVE: It has been suggested that executive dysfunction could be the core defect in patients with geriatric or vascular depression, and that this depression-dysexecutive syndrome (DES) might be related to frontal-subcortical circuit dysfunction. The authors tested this hypothesis in 158 poststroke patients, of whom 21 had both depression and executive dysfunction. METHODS: In this cross-sectional cohort study, a neurological, psychiatric, and neuropsychological examination was carried out 3 months after ischemic stroke, and brain infarcts, white-matter changes, and brain atrophy were recorded by MRI. RESULTS: The 21 patients with DES had significantly more brain infarcts affecting their frontal-subcortical circuit structures than the 137 patients without DES, or the 41 patients with depression but without executive dysfunction. Patients with DES also had more severe depressive symptoms and worse psychosocial functioning, and they coped less well in complex activities of daily living. CONCLUSIONS: DES is a valid concept and may define a subgroup of poststroke patients with frontal-subcortical pathology and with distinct prognosis and treatment options.

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PubMed2004

Neuropsychological functions in variant Alzheimer's disease with spastic paraparesis.

Few data exist on the effects of specific Alzheimer's disease (AD)-related mutations on cognitive function. We present neuropsychological test results in eight members of a large kindred with variant Alzheimer's disease (VarAD) due to a deletion of the presenilin 1 (PS-1) gene, encompassing exon 9. The disease was neuropathologically characterized by the presence of large, unusual, "cotton wool" plaques (CWP). Four surviving patients were prospectively tested, and retrospective neuropsychological data were collected from additional four deceased patients. The neuropsychological evaluation was based on tests of verbal and visual memory, abstract thinking, and visuoconstructive and spatial functions. In addition, psychiatric symptoms were evaluated. In four patients, brain glucose metabolism was examined by positron emission tomography (PET). PET showed temporoparietal hypometabolism typical of AD. In addition, variable patterns of hypometabolism (hemispherical asymmetry and occipital accentuation) were related to individual deficits of cognitive performance. However, all these early-onset patients (age range 43-63 years) with a deletion mutation of PS-1 gene showed prominent memory impairment and deficits in visuoconstructive and intellectual functions.

Alzheimer Disease↗
PubMed2003

Assessment of executive function in clinical trials.

Cerebrovascular disease and stroke are related to high risk of cognitive impairment. One of the main neuropsychological features in vascular cognitive impairment and vascular dementia is executive dysfunction. Definition of the essential subcomponents and concepts of executive function is important before determining the methodology in clinical trials. The scientific research and new methods on this topic are rapidly growing. We present some most commonly used neuropsychological tests and discuss the methodological aspects in light of clinical trials.

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PubMedDate not supplied

Clinical features of MRI-defined subcortical vascular disease.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Vascular cognitive impairment and vascular dementia are now seen to extend much beyond the traditional multi-infarct dementia.A more homogeneous subtype is the subcortical ischemic vascular disease (SIVD). We applied magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) criteria based on research criteria for SIVD in a large cohort of patients with ischemic stroke. We compared clinical features of patients with SIVD and patients with other stroke type. SUBJECT AND METHODS: The study group comprised 337 of 486 consecutive patients aged 55 to 85 years who 3 months after ischemic stroke completed a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery and MRI, including structured medical, neurologic, and laboratory evaluations; clinical mental status examination; interview of a knowledgeable informant; detailed history of risk factors; and evaluation of stroke type, localization, and syndrome. RESULTS: Patients with SIVD (n = 86) more often had a history of progressive cognitive decline (22.8% vs. 6.9%, P = 0.0002), walking disorder before stroke (27.9% vs. 2.0%, P = 0.02), and urinary difficulties (12.8% vs. 5.6%, P = 0.028) in comparison with patients with other stroke type (n = 251). Of the study population, 107 (31.8%) had DSM-III dementia. The patients with SIVD more often had DSM-III dementia (40.7% vs. 28.7%, P = 0.04), had less severe stroke as measured by Scandinavian Stroke Scale (56.6 vs. 55.1, P = 0.03), were more dependent in activities of daily living (ADL) functions as measured by FAQ scale (8.9 vs. 5.4, P = 0.001), were more dependent in instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) functions as measured by the Lawton scale (5.5 vs. 6.3, P = 0.01), and were more depressed as measured by the Beck Depression Inventory (11.8 vs. 8.4, P = 0.0003) poststroke than the patients without SIVD. The main cognitive domain that differentiated the patients with SIVD from those without was executive dysfunction (51.2% vs. 38.7%, P = 0.04). According to multiple regression model, apractic-atactic gait disorder (odds ratio 2.82, 95% confidence interval 1.21-6.53), ADL functions (odds ratio 1.04, 95% confidence interval 1.01-1.08), and the Beck Depression Inventory (odds ratio 1.05, 95% confidence interval 1.02-1.09) related to SIVD. CONCLUSIONS: The most significant clinical features of MRI-defined SIVD were found to be apractic-atactic gait, impaired ADL functions, and depression.

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