Is the remote assessment of speech reliable?5 answersRemote assessment of speech has shown promising reliability in various studies. Research has demonstrated that paralinguistic features extracted from speech can provide valuable information about an individual's health status, although factors like reverberation levels can impact the reliability of certain features. Additionally, studies focusing on orofacial kinematics have highlighted the high internal consistency and reliability of remotely gathered data, suggesting their potential as digital biomarkers for disease progression. Furthermore, investigations into the teleassessment of motor speech disorders have shown that while in-person recordings with high-quality equipment are considered the gold standard, online recordings via videoconferencing can still provide reliable data, especially for specific speech parameters. Overall, these findings support the reliability of remote speech assessments, emphasizing their potential for use in telehealth applications.
What diagnostic protocols are being used for auditory processing disorder?5 answersVarious diagnostic protocols are utilized for auditory processing disorder (APD). These protocols include a combination of speech and non-speech tests with pass-fail cut-off criteria consistent with diagnosing co-morbidities. Clinical measures such as the duration pattern test (DPT), frequency pattern test (FPT), and gaps-in-noise (GIN) test have shown effectiveness in diagnosing APD in adults with neurological disorders. A multi-disciplinary assessment protocol in French language involves speech tests, psychometric assessments, ENT examinations, and auditory attention tests to diagnose APD in children suspected of the disorder. Neuroimaging techniques like MRI, MEG, and PET are recommended for diagnosing APD by identifying abnormal brain activity in children with CAPD, although behavioral tests remain the primary diagnostic method. Current test batteries in audiology combine clinical observation, behavioral assessments, electrophysiological assessments, and speech-language assessments to diagnose APD, but there is a need for improved techniques to differentiate APD from other developmental delays.
How to do biological validation of neurocognitive biomarkers identified through mass spec analysis?4 answersBiological validation of neurocognitive biomarkers identified through mass spectrometry analysis involves confirming their relevance in disease diagnosis and progression. This validation can be achieved by analyzing specific metabolic patterns in exhaled breath to screen for conditions like obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Additionally, utilizing deep learning-based methodologies like biologically informed neural networks (BINNs) can help in identifying crucial proteins and pathways associated with complex diseases, enhancing biomarker identification and pathway analysis. Furthermore, targeted proteomics assays in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) can quantify peptide biomarkers related to neuronal, glial, vasculature, and metabolic pathways, aiding in monitoring disease progression in Alzheimer's disease (AD). By integrating these approaches, researchers can validate and understand the significance of neurocognitive biomarkers identified through mass spectrometry analysis for accurate diagnosis and treatment monitoring.
What biomarkers correlate with cognitive impairment?5 answersElevated levels of systemic inflammatory biomarkers, including TCC, IL-6, and MIP-1α, are associated with cognitive impairment after ischemic stroke. Homocysteine is a significant independent predictor of cognitive impairment, and levels above 13.5 μmol/L predict low MoCA scores with high sensitivity and specificity. In survivors of testicular germ cell tumors, higher levels of sCD14, a marker of monocytic activation, are associated with worse cognitive function. Plasma β2-microglobulin (B2M) levels are increased in preclinical Alzheimer's disease (AD) stages and are associated with worse cognitive performance and alterations in CSF AD biomarkers, particularly Aβ pathology.Sandvig, H., Aam, S., Alme, K. N., Askim, T., Beyer, M. K., Ellekjær, H., ... & Knapskog, A. B. (2020). Systemic inflammatory biomarkers and cognitive impairment 3 months after ischemic stroke: the Norwegian Cognitive Impairment After Stroke study. Stroke, 51(1), 107-114.Bhargava, S., Prahlad, K. S., Batra, A., Choudhury, S., Takkar, P., Manocha, A., ... & Singla, P. (2020). Homocysteine as a predictor of cognitive impairment in elderly: A cross-sectional study. Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care, 9(1), 201.Sandvig, H., Aam, S., Alme, K. N., Askim, T., Beyer, M. K., Ellekjær, H., ... & Knapskog, A. B. (2020). Systemic inflammatory biomarkers and cognitive impairment 3 months after ischemic stroke: the Norwegian Cognitive Impairment After Stroke study. Stroke, 51(1), 107-114.Chovanec, M., Kalavska, K., Obertova, J., Palacka, P., Rejlekova, K., Sycova-Mila, Z., ... & Mego, M. (2020). sCD14 as a marker of cognitive impairment in long-term testicular germ cell tumor survivors. Journal of Cancer Survivorship, 14(1), 1-8.Ma, Y., Gao, P. Y., Wang, Z. B., Huang, L. Y., Hou, J. H., Tan, L., & Yu, J. (2020). Plasma β2-microglobulin is associated with cerebrospinal fluid Alzheimer's disease biomarkers and cognitive function in cognitively healthy individuals. Alzheimer's Research & Therapy, 12(1), 1-10.
Are tests used to diagnose Developmental Language Disorder reliable?4 answersTests used to diagnose Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) may not always be reliable. A study found that less than half of the research articles in the field of DLD utilized validated diagnostic methods. This suggests that even experts in the field are not consistently using reliable tests for diagnosis. Another study compared the CELF 4 and CELF 5 tests and found significant differences in scores, indicating that the updated test may yield lower scores. This highlights the need for complementary evaluations to obtain a complete linguistic profile for intervention. Additionally, a study on narrative discourse in preschoolers with DLD found that traditional standardized tests may fail to capture communicative deficits, and instead, subtle language production difficulties were observed. Overall, while some tests may show promise in online measures of learning, metacognitive offline measures may be more challenging for individuals with DLD.
How accurate are RNA test?10 answers