The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) is widely used to detect dementia, but the diagnosis of dementia also depends on a decline in the level of daily functioning. Little is known about the relationship between performance on the MMSE and daily living abilities. This relationship was investigated in this study of an elderly population by comparing scores on the MMSE with those on both a direct assessment of everyday tasks and an indirect questionnaire about activities of daily living and physical self-maintenance. Forty-five subjects with varying mental abilities participated in the study. A significant correlation was found between MMSE scores and the measures of functional abilities; but the specificity and sensitivity to the diagnosis of dementia would be increased by assessing functional status, even indirectly, as well as cognitive ability.

Background: Train-of-four stimulation pattern following the administration of non-depolarizing neuromuscular blocking drugs reveals fade on successive contractions. Fade is caused by the release of fewer acetylcholine molecules by the fourth (A 4 ) than by the first stimulus (A 1 ). The current study was conducted to define the relationship between the clinically observed fade and the simulated decline in acetylcholine release (A 4 /A 1 ) that would be necessary to produce it.

No abstract

No abstract