Background: Hypertension is an established risk factor for dementia, and the prevalence of hypertension and dementia is rising. Current tests to diagnose cognitive dysfunction at an early stage lack sensitivity and specificity. Recently event-related potentials (ERPs) have gained much attention in diagnosing cognitive dysfunction and are independent of the education status of the subject. This study was done to find any cognitive deficits in the hypertensive population with electrophysiological evidence, which might open the doors for the need to screen the population at an earlier stage so that the population can be prevented from dementia. Methods: Some 31 middle-aged (18-65 years) hypertensives were compared with 31 age, sex, education, and handedness matched normotensives about cognition by neuropsychometric test battery including Hindi Mini-mental Status Examination (HMSE), Hindi Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), choice reaction time (CRT), and auditory event-related potentials. Results: Hypertensives and normotensives differed significantly concerning P300 potentials’ latency (Fz and Cz P300 latencies: p-value: 0.001), and this change was correlated well with the duration of diastolic blood pressure (BP) (r-value: 0.670). The remaining tests, HMSE, Hindi MoCA, and CRT, were dependent on the education status of the patient. Conclusions: The effect of hypertension on cognitive impairment is evident and can be proved early in its pre-clinical stage using ERPs. Early identification can help in specifying high-risk individuals. ERPs have great potential in screening and diagnosing and can also help in assessing cognition as a reliable tool to show the effect of treatments/interventions on cognitive defects.
Introduction Small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) is an aggressive and chemo-sensitive disease. Many patients present in an advanced stage and with a poor performance status (PS). In such a condition, the treatment dilemma due to poor condition advocates alternative treatment approach rather than standard chemotherapy. One way of usual practice is to split the chemotherapy into a weekly schedule. However, there is limited data regarding the actual benefit of weekly chemotherapy. We hypothesize that a weekly chemotherapy with etoposide/platinum combination will be feasible and safe in patients of advanced-stage SCLC with poor PS. Objectives This study was aimed to determine whether weekly etoposide/platinum chemotherapy is a safe option for patients with advanced stage, poor PS, and SCLC who are otherwise unfit for systemic anticancer therapy. Materials and Methods We retrospectively analyzed the data of SCLC patients presented to our center from July 2018 to September 2020. We analyzed that treatment, survival, and clinical benefit data. We also analyzed the benefit of weekly etoposide/platinum in otherwise unfit for chemotherapy. Results One hundred and fifty patients of lung cancer presente to our department between July 2018 and September 2020; SCLC constituted 34% (53 cases). In SCLC patients, the median overall survival was 2.5 months. Fourteen (26%) patients with SCLC were unable to start any oncological intervention. Ten (19%) patients could receive only one cycle of standard 3 weekly chemotherapy. Five patients with an advanced-stage SCLC and an ECOG-PS of 4, otherwise unfit for any systemic anticancer therapy, were started on weekly chemotherapy with etoposide (60–80 mg/m2) and carboplatin (AUC 2). Four patients demonstrated a partial response (PR) while one demonstrated stable disease (SD) after 9 weeks of therapy. Improvement in PS was noted in all patients. Median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 137 and 164 days, respectively. Two patients died of disease progression, one died of massive pulmonary embolism, while two were alive and continuing on the same protocol. Conclusion The weekly etoposide and platinum chemotherapy is a practical and feasible treatment option in patients who are otherwise fragile and unfit for standard-dose chemotherapy.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.