Macrolides are inappropriate as first-choice agents against MRMP in terms of shortening the clinical course and decreasing M. pneumoniae. Control and prevention of MRMP outbreaks in children require early decreases in M. pneumoniae as well as improvement of clinical findings.

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Non-pharmacological treatment (NPT) improves cognitive functions and behavioural disturbances in patients with dementia, but the underlying neural mechanisms are unclear. In this observational study, 21 patients with dementia received NPTs for several months. Patients were scanned using magnetoencephalography twice during the NPT period to evaluate NPT effects on resting-state brain activity. Additionally, cognitive functions and behavioural disturbances were measured using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE-J) and a short version of the Dementia Behaviour Disturbance Scale (DBD-13) at the beginning and the end of the NPT period. In contrast to the average DBD-13 score, the average MMSE-J score improved after the NPT period. Magnetoencephalography data revealed a reduced alpha activity in the right temporal lobe and fusiform gyrus, as well as an increased lowgamma activity in the right angular gyrus. DBD-13 score changes were correlated with beta activity in the sensorimotor area. These findings corroborate previous studies confirming NPT effects on brain activity in healthy participants and people at risk of dementia. Our results provide additional evidence that brains of patients with dementia have the capacity for plasticity, which may be responsible for the observed NPT effects. In dementia, NPT might lead to improvements in the quality of life.Dementia is a chronic and progressive syndrome caused by brain diseases 1 . It is characterised by deterioration in cognitive functions, behaviour, and psychological symptoms. To date, there are only a few pharmacological treatment options available to influence the course of dementia 2-4 . At the time a patient is diagnosed with dementia, the brain damage is considered too severe to be reversible to a healthy state 5 . Thus, early diagnosis and interventions are essential to treat people at risk of dementia, such as those with "cognitive impairment, no dementia" (CIND) or "mild cognitive impairment" (MCI) [6][7][8][9] . Recent studies showed that MCI can be reversed to normal cognitive functions by non-pharmacological treatments (NPTs) [10][11][12][13][14][15] . Neuroimaging studies revealed that NPTs enhance brain plasticity even in older adults 16,17 supporting the importance of early diagnosis and interventions in dementia.The positive effects of NPTs are not limited to people at risk such as those with CIND or MCI. Clinicians and therapists frequently observe that NPTs improve cognitive functions and/or behaviours in patients with dementia 18-23 . However, the neural mechanisms underlying the positive influences of NPTs remain unclear.Geriatric health service facilities are transitional facilities between hospital and home or nursing home where registered physical, occupational, and speech therapists provide NPT and nursing care to reduce the patients' hospital stay. Patients with dementia are often transferred there when their physical conditions are usually not too severe to be treated in hospitals but their cognitive symptoms prevent them from staying at t...

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Our results suggest that MDCT can reveal appendiceal diverticula and has potential in the preoperative diagnosis of appendiceal diverticulitis.

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