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Using a parental checklist to identify diagnostic groups in children with communication impairment: a validation of the Children's Communication Checklist--2.

BACKGROUND: The Children's Communication Checklist (CCC 1998) was revised in 2003 (CCC-2) to provide a general screen for communication disorder and to identify pragmatic/social interaction deficits. Two validation studies were conducted with different populations of children with language and communication impairments. METHODS & PROCEDURES: In Study 1, the questionnaire was given to families of 87 children attending full-time special education for specific language impairment, pragmatic language impairments or autistic spectrum disorders. In addition, the teachers of half the sample completed CCC-2 forms for the same children, providing evidence for interrater agreement. In Study 2, the sample was increased to include 24 children with similar diagnoses in educational contexts in Scotland and 27 children referred for clinical evaluation at a neurodevelopment centre. OUTCOMES & RESULTS: The CCC-2 distinguished children with communication impairments from non-impaired peers. Furthermore, the social-interaction deviance composite (SIDC) of the CCC-2 identified children with disproportionate pragmatic and social difficulties in relation to their structural language impairments. This measure also had good interrater agreement (r=0.79). CONCLUSIONS: CCC-2 provides a useful screening measure for communication impairment and can be helpful in identifying children who should be referred for more detailed assessment of possible autistic spectrum disorder. However, the present data highlight substantial overlap amongst groups with 'distinct' diagnoses. It is suggested that it is unrealistic to use the CCC-2 to make categorical distinctions on this continuum of disorder.

Child↗

Olfactory dysfunction for pyridine and dementia progression in Alzheimer disease.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether odor detection sensitivity for pyridine, suggested by previous research not to be affected, is impaired in Alzheimer disease (AD) and whether an association exists between odor threshold and both degree of dementia and rate of dementia progression in AD. METHOD: The method of constant stimuli was used to determine odor thresholds for pyridine in 18 patients with AD (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Third Edition, Revised and National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke-Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association criteria) and 16 healthy elderly control subjects. All participants were carefully examined with medical and neuropsychological tests. RESULTS: Six patients with AD but none of the controls were anosmic (total olfactory loss) to pyridine, and the 12 nonanosmic patients had significantly higher detection thresholds (50% probability for detection, 323 parts per billion [ppb]) than did the controls (50% probability for detection, 105 ppb). In addition, an association was found between odor threshold and both degree of dementia and rate of dementia progression in AD. CONCLUSIONS: In contrast to previous findings, our results provide evidence that odor sensitivity in AD is impaired for pyridine. Odor sensitivity, in addition to other suggested predictors of progression rate, may be of interest for defining subgroups of AD or for clinical prognostic judgments of single patients.

Aged↗

The consistency of thought disorder in mania and schizophrenia. II. An assessment at consecutive admissions.

Manic (N = 8) and schizophrenic (N = 14) acute admissions were assessed 10 days after they arrived at the hospital. These assessments were conducted on two consecutive acute admissions for each patient. Interview-based clinical ratings were collected and examined for the stability of both positive and negative thought disorders. For schizophrenics, negative thought disorder, particularly poverty of speech, was relatively consistent across admissions. In the manic sample, much less consistency was observed. The results are evaluated in terms of the statements that they make regarding the validity of the thought disorder construct and for their implications regarding causal factors in communication disorders.

Acute Disease↗

Apolipoprotein E genotype and mortality: findings from the Cache County Study.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the association between apolipoprotein E (apo E) epsilon4 and mortality, the population attributable risk for mortality with epsilon4, and relative contributions of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). DESIGN: Population-based cohort study. SETTING: Community-based. PARTICIPANTS: Permanent residents of Cache County, Utah, aged 65 and older as of January 1, 1995. MEASUREMENTS: Participants were genotyped at the apo E locus using buccal-swab deoxyribonucleic acid. Cardiovascular health was ascertained using self- or proxy-report interviews at participants' residences. AD was diagnosed according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Third Edition, Revised, and National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke-Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders criteria. Utah Department of Vital Statistics quarterly reports were reviewed to identify participants who died. RESULTS: Crude evaluations showed nonsignificantly greater risk of death for epsilon2/2 (hazard ratio (HR)=1.66, 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.92-2.76) and epsilon3/4 (HR=1.11, 95% CI=0.97-1.26) genotypes and significantly greater risk for epsilon4/4 (HR=1.48, 95% CI=1.09-1.96). After adjustment for age, age(2), sex, and education, risks increased to 1.98 (95% CI=1.08-3.35), 1.28 (95% CI=1.12-1.46), and 2.02 (95% CI=1.47-2.71), respectively, compared with epsilon3/3 genotypes. Adjustment for presence of any CVD did not change the risk of death for epsilon3/4 and epsilon4/4. Adjustment for AD reduced the risk of death for epsilon3/4 (HR=1.13, 95% CI=0.99-1.30) and epsilon4/4 (HR=1.59, 95% CI=1.15-2.14). The population attributable risk of death for epsilon3/4 and epsilon4/4 genotypes combined is estimated at 9.6%. CONCLUSION: These findings suggested that the epsilon2/2, epsilon3/4, and epsilon4/4 genotypes have greater early mortality risks. Further analyses showed that AD partially mediates the association between epsilon3/4, epsilon4/4, and death.

Age Distribution↗

Age-specific incidence rates of Alzheimer's disease: the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate age-specific incidence rates of AD in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA). BACKGROUND: The BLSA is a volunteer cohort of normal subjects followed longitudinally with biennial evaluations at the Gerontology Research Center of the National Institute on Aging. METHODS: Subjects are 1236 participants (802 men, 434 women) in the BLSA with longitudinal follow-up between January 1985 and May 1998. The average length of follow-up was 7.5 years, with participants evaluated every 2 years by physical, neurologic, and neuropsychological examinations. Using Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 3rd ed., revised and National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke-Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association criteria, the authors diagnosed dementia and AD. RESULTS: The authors diagnosed 155 cases of dementia, of which 114 (74%) were AD. Incidence rates of AD increased with age from an estimated 0.08% per year (95% CI 0.00 to 0.43) in the 60 to 65 age group to an estimated 6.48% per year (95% CI 5.01 to 8.38) in the 85+ age group for men and women combined. The doubling time of incidence rates was estimated to be approximately 4.4 years and the median time of conversion from mild cognitive impairment to diagnosis of AD was estimated to be 4.4 years. There was a trend for women to have higher incidence rates than men and for fewer years of education to be associated with higher incidence rates; however, these effects were not significant. CONCLUSION: Incidence rates for AD in the BLSA are consistent with published rates in other studies. The longitudinally followed subjects of the BLSA offer a unique opportunity to prospectively investigate the antecedents of AD.

Age Factors↗

Incidence of Alzheimer's disease in a rural community in India: the Indo-US study.

OBJECTIVE: To determine overall and age-specific incidence rates of AD in a rural, population-based cohort in Ballabgarh, India, and to compare them with those of a reference US population in the Monongahela Valley of Pennsylvania. METHODS: A 2-year, prospective, epidemiologic study of subjects aged > or =55 years utilizing repeated cognitive and functional ability screening, followed by standardized clinical evaluation using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition, and the National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke-Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association criteria for the diagnosis, and the Clinical Dementia Rating scale for the staging, of dementia and AD. RESULTS: Incidence rates per 1000 person-years for AD with CDR > or =0.5 were 3.24 (95% CI: 1.48-6.14) for those aged > or =65 years and 1.74 (95% CI: 0.84-3.20) for those aged > or =55 years. Standardized against the age distribution of the 1990 US Census, the overall incidence rate in those aged > or =65 years was 4.7 per 1000 person-years, substantially lower than the corresponding rate of 17.5 per 1000 person-years in the Monongahela Valley. CONCLUSION: These are the first AD incidence rates to be reported from the Indian subcontinent, and they appear to be among the lowest ever reported. However, the relatively short duration of follow-up, cultural factors, and other potential confounders suggest caution in interpreting this finding.

Age Factors↗

The occurrence of developmental apraxia of speech in a mild articulation disorder: a case study.

Although Developmental Apraxia of Speech (DAS) often is considered a severe communication disorder, speech-language pathology literature supports the idea that DAS also can be exhibited in children with mildly disordered articulation. The case study is that of an elementary age client with a seemingly mild "r" articulation problem but who also presented characteristics consistent with DAS. Awareness of the possible presence of DAS when assessing and planning remediation for clients exhibiting mild articulation problems could increase the effectiveness of our professional services to these children.

Apraxias↗

Apolipoprotein E in cerebrospinal fluid in 85-year-old subjects. Relation to dementia, apolipoprotein E polymorphism, cerebral atrophy, and white matter lesions.

OBJECTIVE: To further elucidate the pathogenetic role of apolipoprotein E (Apo E) in degenerative brain disorders, we analyzed cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of Apo E in 85-year-old subjects with dementia disorders. DESIGN: Survey. SETTING: Community. PARTICIPANTS: Population-based sample of 27 demented (12 with Alzheimer disease [AD]; 13, vascular dementia [VAD]; and 2, other types of dementia) and 35 nondemented individuals. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Cerebrospinal fluid levels of Apo E, Apo E polymorphism, and brain atrophy and white matter lesions (WMLs) measured by computed tomography (CT) of the brain. Dementia was defined according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Third Edition, Revised criteria; AD, National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke and the Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association criteria; and VAD, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and the Association Internationale pour la Recherche et l'Enseignement en Neuroscience criteria. RESULTS: The mean (+/- SD) CSF levels of Apo E were lower in the AD (2.6 +/- 1.5 mg/L; P < .02) and VAD groups (2.5 +/- 0.9 mg/L; P < .002) than in the nondemented group (3.8 +/- 1.7 mg/L). Cerebrospinal fluid levels of Apo E decreased with increasing severity of dementia and with increasing temporal cortical and central frontal atrophy. In nondemented individuals, CSF levels of Apo E decreased with increasing degree of WMLs. Cerebrospinal fluid levels of Apo E were not influenced by the Apo E4 isoform. CONCLUSIONS: Whether our finding of an association between low CSF levels of Apo E and dementia disorders (both degenerative, such as AD, and vascular, such as VAD) is related to the pathogenesis of these disorders or is a secondary consequence of the disease process remains to be established. Although statistical correlations do not give direct evidence of causal relations, the correlations between CSF level of Apo E and severity of dementia and cortical atrophy suggest that CSF level of Apo E follows the disease process.

Aged↗

Mild cognitive impairment: clinical characterization and outcome.

BACKGROUND: Subjects with a mild cognitive impairment (MCI) have a memory impairment beyond that expected for age and education yet are not demented. These subjects are becoming the focus of many prediction studies and early intervention trials. OBJECTIVE: To characterize clinically subjects with MCI cross-sectionally and longitudinally. DESIGN: A prospective, longitudinal inception cohort. SETTING: General community clinic. PARTICIPANTS: A sample of 76 consecutively evaluated subjects with MCI were compared with 234 healthy control subjects and 106 patients with mild Alzheimer disease (AD), all from a community setting as part of the Mayo Clinic Alzheimer's Disease Center/Alzheimer's Disease Patient Registry, Rochester, Minn. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The 3 groups of individuals were compared on demographic factors and measures of cognitive function including the Mini-Mental State Examination, Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised, Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised, Dementia Rating Scale, Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test, and Auditory Verbal Learning Test. Clinical classifications of dementia and AD were determined according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Revised Third Edition and the National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke-Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association criteria, respectively. RESULTS: The primary distinction between control subjects and subjects with MCI was in the area of memory, while other cognitive functions were comparable. However, when the subjects with MCI were compared with the patients with very mild AD, memory performance was similar, but patients with AD were more impaired in other cognitive domains as well. Longitudinal performance demonstrated that the subjects with MCI declined at a rate greater than that of the controls but less rapidly than the patients with mild AD. CONCLUSIONS: Patients who meet the criteria for MCI can be differentiated from healthy control subjects and those with very mild AD. They appear to constitute a clinical entity that can be characterized for treatment interventions.

Aged↗

Context-dependent information processing in patients with schizophrenia.

Thirty schizophrenic patients fulfilling the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV criteria for schizophrenia and 30 control participants were shown a set of incomplete sentences, and were asked to complete them with the first word(s) that came to mind. Target sentences included an ambiguous word, the ambiguity of which was not resolved within the clause. However, completion necessarily required participants to select one specific meaning. Each target sentence was preceded by another sentence playing the role of context, which was designed to prime the less frequent meaning of the ambiguous word. The results showed that schizophrenic patients, especially those with thought disorder [on the basis of their TLC scores (Thought, Language and Communication Scale; Andreasen, N.C., 1979. Thought, language and communication disorders. Clinical assessment, definition of terms and evaluation of their reliability. Diagnostic significance. Arch. Gen. Psychiatry 39, 778-782)], used the most common meaning of the ambiguous word more frequently than controls, thus revealing a specific deficit in context use. The deficit was observed whether or not the relation between context and target sentences was made explicit. These results are in line with the cognitive models of schizophrenia that postulate a decreased ability to use context information. However, when considered in the light of prior studies (e.g., Bazin, N., Perruchet, P., 1996. Implicit and explicit memory in patients with schizophrenia. Schizophr. Res. 22, 241-248), they suggest that the deficit in processing contextual information is limited to what Baddeley (Baddeley, A.D., 1982. Domains of recollection. Psychol. Rev. 98, 708-729) called the interactive context (which affects the meaning, or the interpretation, of the target event) in contrast to the independent context (which does not interfere with the meaning-based interpretation of the target event).

Adult↗

Importance of dose intensity in neuro-oncology clinical trials: summary report of the Sixth Annual Meeting of the Blood-Brain Barrier Disruption Consortium.

Therapeutic options for the treatment of malignant brain tumors have been limited, in part, because of the presence of the blood-brain barrier. For this reason, the Sixth Annual Meeting of the Blood-Brain Barrier Disruption Consortium, the focus of which was the "Importance of Dose Intensity in Neuro-Oncology Clinical Trials," was convened in April 2000, at Government Camp, Mount Hood, Oregon. This meeting, which was supported by the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, and the National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, brought together clinicians and basic scientists from across the U.S. to discuss the role of dose intensity and enhanced chemotherapy delivery in the treatment of malignant brain tumors and to design multicenter clinical trials. Optimizing chemotherapy delivery to the CNS is crucial, particularly in view of recent progress identifying certain brain tumors as chemosensitive. The discovery that specific constellations of genetic alterations can predict which tumors are chemoresponsive, and can therefore more accurately predict prognosis, has important implications for delivery of intensive, effective chemotherapy regimens with acceptable toxicities. This report summarizes the discussions, future directions, and key questions regarding dose-intensive treatment of primary CNS lymphoma, CNS relapse of systemic non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, anaplastic oligodendroglioma, high-grade glioma, and metastatic cancer of the brain. The promising role of cytoenhancers and chemoprotectants as part of dose-intensive regimens for chemosensitive brain tumors and development of improved gene therapies for malignant gliomas are discussed.

Adult↗

Apolipoprotein E status as a predictor of the development of Alzheimer's disease in memory-impaired individuals.

OBJECTIVE: The outcome of patients with mild cognitive impairment is not known, yet these patients present a difficult dilemma for the clinician. This study was designed to characterize the outcome of a group of patients with mild cognitive impairment and to determine whether the presence of the epsilon 4 allele on the apolipoprotein E gene (APOE) is a predictor of that outcome. DESIGN: A prospective, longitudinal inception cohort. SETTING: General community clinic. PARTICIPANTS: A consecutive sample of 66 patients who met criteria for a diagnosis of a mild cognitive impairment and who had at least one clinical reevaluation was identified from the Mayo Clinic Alzheimer's Disease Center/Alzheimer's Disease Patient Registry. INTERVENTIONS: We evaluated patients initially and at 12- to 18-month intervals up to 54 months using standard neurological and neuropsychological measures such as the Mini-Mental State Examination, the Dementia Rating Scale, the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale--Revised, the Wechsler Memory Scale--Revised, and the Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test. The APOE status of study patients was determined. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The development of dementia as determined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Revised Third Edition and the National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke/Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association criteria. RESULTS: Sixty-six individuals had been reevaluated once (mean of 18 months), 36 individuals twice (mean of 36 months), and 22 individuals on three occasions (mean of 54 months), with conversion rates to dementia at these intervals of 24%, 44%, and 55%, respectively. A multivariate Cox regression model demonstrated that possession of an APOE epsilon 4 allele was the strongest predictor of clinical outcome. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest the following: (1) patients with mild cognitive impairment can be clinically defined, (2) many members of this group progress to Alzheimer's disease, and (3) APOE epsilon 4 allele status appears to be a strong predictor of clinical progression.

Aged↗

A study of 250 patients referred to a department of psychiatry for the deaf.

250 patients referred to a department of psychiatry for the deaf were selected by random sampling and studied. The results underline the need for specialised services for deaf patients of all types, not only those who communicate solely by manual methods. Patients are referred to this department suffering from mental illness and communication disorders, as well as from problems related to their deafness. Some of the difficulties of managing a supra-regional service are discussed.

Adjustment Disorders↗

The Social Communication Assessment for Toddlers with Autism (SCATA): an instrument to measure the frequency, form and function of communication in toddlers with autism spectrum disorder.

The Social Communication Assessment for Toddlers with Autism (SCATA) was designed to measure non-verbal communication, including early and atypical communication, in young children with autism spectrum disorder. Each communicative act is scored according to its form, function, role and complexity. The SCATA was used to measure communicative ability longitudinally in two samples of toddlers with autism spectrum disorder. Overall frequency of non-verbal communicative acts did not change between the two assessments. However, the form and complexity, the function and the role the child took in the interaction did change with time. Both frequency and function of communicative acts in toddlerhood were positively associated with later language ability: social acts, comments and initiations showed greater predictive association than requests and responses.

Autistic Disorder↗

Research on speech motor control and its disorders: a review and prospective.

This paper reviews issues in speech motor control and a class of communication disorders known as motor speech disorders. Speech motor control refers to the systems and strategies that regulate the production of speech, including the planning and preparation of movements (sometimes called motor programming) and the execution of movement plans to result in muscle contractions and structural displacements. Traditionally, speech motor control is distinguished from phonologic operations, but in some recent phonologic theories, there is a deliberate blurring of the boundaries between phonologic representation and motor functions. Moreover, there is continuing discussion in the literature as to whether a given motor speech disorder (especially apraxia of speech and stuttering) should be understood at the phonologic level, the motoric level, or both of these. The motor speech disorders considered here include: the dysarthrias, apraxia of speech, developmental apraxia of speech, developmental stuttering, acquired (neurogenic and psychogenic) stuttering, and cluttering.

Adolescent↗

Communication skills in blind children: a preliminary investigation.

BACKGROUND: There are anecdotal reports that blind children sometimes use language inappropriately, but there has been no recent systematic investigation of the communication skills of children with congenital blindness. The aim of the present study was to conduct a preliminary investigation of the communication skills of a group of children with congenital blindness. METHODS: The parents of eight congenitally blind children completed the Children's Communication Checklist-2. RESULTS: The checklist ratings showed that the communication profiles of a large proportion of the group warranted clinical investigation or were indicative of a communication disorder. CONCLUSIONS: The results from this preliminary investigation support the need for a larger study on the communication skills of children with congenital blindness.

Adolescent↗