News by Subject Social & Behavior

"Our results indicate that language ability and domain-general factors were predictive of verbal fluency in individuals with MS," summarized Dr. Chiaravalloti. "Specifically, language ability played a significant role. This could indicate that verbal fluency deficits in MS reflect underlying language impairment," she added, "Our findings further demonstrate the need for more comprehensive examination of language in people with MS."

A new Portland State study challenges the idea that youth with cognitive disabilities are unable or lack potential to pursue a career in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Invasive Group B Streptococcus (GBS) disease, notably meningitis, during the first days and months of a baby's life can have persistent effects for children and hence their families, according to new research. Published in the Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, the study is the first evidence of long-term effects including after GBS sepsis (infection in the bloodstream).

An analysis of published studies indicates that pharmacist-led efforts can reduce medication-related harms -- such as cognitive impairment, falls, drug-drug interactions, and bacterial infections -- in older adults in residential aged care facilities. The findings are published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology.

A survey of U.S. multiple sclerosis, or MS, specialist clinicians reveals the COVID-19 pandemic has created major changes in how they deliver care. More than 95% of survey respondents reported using telehealth platforms to provide care for their patients. Approximately one half of the respondents were MS specialist neurologists, four out of five of whom indicated that COVID-19 had changed how they were recommending and prescribing MS disease-modifying therapies.

The new cutoff values for a metric widely used by geriatricians, physical therapists and nutritionists are more accurate, facilitate early diagnosis and contribute to preventive treatment.

What The Study Did: The association between severity of eczema among children and risk of being diagnosed with a learning disability was investigated in this study.

Researchers developed an experimentally validated advanced computer model that reproduces the shapes and positions of millions of nerve cells in the eye, as well as the physical and networking properties associated with them. Focusing on models of nerve cells that transmit visual information from the eye to the brain, the researchers identified ways to potentially increase clarity and grant color vision to future retinal prosthetic devices.

A team led by UC Davis Health researchers tested and validated elaborated language sampling (ELS) as a reliable set of procedures for collecting, measuring and analyzing the spoken language of youth with Down syndrome in a naturalistic setting. They found that ELS can be used to detect meaningful changes in communication skills of individuals with Down syndrome.