The errata correct errors that appeared in Table 2 of the published article.

Abnormal excitability of the central nervous system, both spinal and supraspinal, has previously been described as a pathophysiological plastic mechanism for chronic pain syndromes. check details Primary fibromyalgia (FM) as one extreme of this spectrum of diseases. This case-control study aimed to determine the changes in the spinal excitability by investigating the Hoffman reflex (H-reflex) in patients with FM.

Thirty-eight patients with FM and 30 healthy controls participated in this case-control study. We measured the H-reflex bilaterally in the upper limbs (flexor carpi radialis) and the lower limbs (gastrocnemius and soleus). Moreover, pain-related variables were measured, including pain severity (using a visual analogue scale), pain duration, Widespread Pain Index, and the score on the Symptom Severity Scale. Various psychiatric comorbidities and quality-of-life parameters were measured for each patient, including scores on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, Taylor’s Manifest Anxiety Scale, and the Revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire.

A significant increase in the ratio of the maximum baseline-to-peak amplitudes of H and M waves (H

/M

) but not in the H-wave minimum latency was found in patients with FM compared with healthy controls. There were no significant correlations between this ratio in both muscles and the various pain-related measures, psychiatric comorbidity, and quality of life in patients with FM. Patients with FM suffered more depression and anxiety than did the controls.

We found increased spinal excitability in patients with FM, which was not confined to the site of maximum pain. This information may help in the diagnosis of FM and supports the hypothesis of central sensitization.

We found increased spinal excitability in patients with FM, which was not confined to the site of maximum pain. This information may help in the diagnosis of FM and supports the hypothesis of central sensitization.

Cognitive impairment (CI) is a common symptom of multiple sclerosis (MS). Although demographic and clinical factors contribute to MS-dependent CI, previous findings have been inconsistent. This study aimed to identify the cognitive domains that are impaired in MS patients, and to determine the impacts of the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score and other clinical and demographic factors on them domains.

This study enrolled 115 MS patients. Cognitive performance was assessed using the Minimal Assessment of Cognitive Function in Multiple Sclerosis (MACFIMS) battery. CI severity was assessed based on the number of impaired tasks in the MACFIMS battery, with impairment in two or more tasks defined as CI cases. Correlation analysis was used to determine whether factors including current age, age at disease onset, EDSS score, disease duration, relapse rate, and education level affect the severity of CI.

The scores on the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test and Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System wive domains in the present MS patients. CI severity had strong positive correlations with current age, EDSS score, and disease duration, and a negative correlation with education level. The relapse rate and age at disease onset were not correlated with CI severity.

Screening tests for dementia such as the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment are widely used, but there are drawbacks to their efficient use. There remains a need for a brief and easy method of assessing the activities of daily living (ADL) that can be administered to elderly individuals by healthcare workers. We have therefore developed a new scale named the Simple Observation Checklist for Activities of Daily Living (SOC-ADL).

We developed the SOC-ADL scale as a team of experts engaged in caring for individuals with dementia. This scale comprises eight items and was designed based on the Korean instrumental activities of daily living (K-IADL) scale and the Barthel activities of daily living scale (Barthel Index). The new scale was validated by enrolling 176 patients with cognitive dysfunction across 6 centers. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) were performed. We assessed its concurrent validity by performing comparisons with td on an assessment of ADL. This new tool can be used for screening ADL in elderly subjects who have difficulty communicating, and to increase the efficiency of dementia screening at the population level.

Our results demonstrate that the SOC-ADL is a valid and reliable tool for differentiating dementia from MCI based on an assessment of ADL. This new tool can be used for screening ADL in elderly subjects who have difficulty communicating, and to increase the efficiency of dementia screening at the population level.

The study aimed to obtain optometric findings of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients in different stages of the disease, and to determine the relation between ocular data and ALS-related features; that is, functional and cognitive impairment and staging.

The optometric protocol included tests of the ocular motility [broad-H test and Northeastern State University College of Optometry (NSUCO) test], near point of convergence (NPC), error refraction, best-corrected visual acuity, and binocular visual alignment, and an ocular symptoms questionnaire. The functional measures included the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Functional Rating Scale-revised (ALSFRS-r) and Milano-Torino staging (MiToS), and cognitive impairment was assessed using the Edinburgh Cognitive and Behavioural ALS Screen (ECAS). Demographic and clinical features were also collected, including whether the patients used an eye-tracking communication device (ETCD).

Two-hundred consecutive ALS patients (median age of 64 years, 118 males aessments to address ocular impairment early in the disease process.

The American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association (ACC-AHA) have released new guidelines and expanded indications for statin treatment. We aimed to reveal the clinical efficacy of each indication in the guidelines using a large-scale national cohort.

We used National Health Screening Cohort data to determine the proportions of participants for whom statin therapy would be recommended using the different guidelines. We assessed the cumulative incidence rates of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) using the Cox proportional-hazards model.

Under the 2013 ACC-AHA guidelines, 111,600 participants were additionally eligible to receive statins, compared with 50,023 participants according to the Third Adult Treatment Panel (ATP-III). Most of the additional statin-eligible participants in the ACC-AHA guidelines were indicated by their 10-year cardiovascular disease risk. The increase in statineligible participants in the ACC-AHA guidelines mainly involved elderly patients aged 60-75 years.