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Background Galantamine has been approved for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, there are few studies which have reported the association between cognitive responses and galantamine plasma concentration. The aim of this study was to determine the correlation between galantamine plasma concentration and the subsequent cognitive response following treatment in AD patients. Methods ADsufferers who continuously took 8 mg/d galantamine for at least 6 months without previous exposure to other kinds of AChEI such as donepezil, rivastigmine, or memantine were included in this cohort study. The assessments included the Mini Mental Status Examination (MMSE), Clinical Dementia Rating Scale (CDR) and the Cognitive Assessment Screening Instrument (CASI). Each subdomain of the CASI assessment was conducted at baseline and after 6 months of galantamine. The plasma concentrations of galantamine were measured by capillary electrophoresis after 6 months of the treatment. Logistic regression was performed to adjust for age, gender, apolipoprotein E epsilon 4 genotype status, and baseline score to investigate the association between galantamine plasma concentrations and the cognitive response. Results The total sample consisted of 33 clinically diagnosed AD patients taking galantamine 8 mg/d for 6 months. There was no linear correlation between galantamine concentration and cognitive response in patients. However, 22 patients were responsive to the treatment in the long-term memory domain. In CASI subset domain, concentration improved during the 6 months follow up. Conclusions In the limited samples study, galantamine mostly benefitted the cognitive domain of long-term memory. The benefits were not related to the galantamine plasma concentration. Objective intra-individual evaluation of therapeutic response should be encouraged.

Chien-Hsun Li,1–3 Ching-Kuan Liu,2,3 Yuan-Han Yang,2–4 Mei-Chuan Chou,2,4 Chun-Hung Chen,2 Chiou-Lian Lai2,3 1Department of Neurology, Kaohsiung Municipal Hsiao-Kang Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan; 2Department of Neurology, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan; 3Department of and Master’s Program in Neurology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan; 4Department of Neurology, Kaohsiung Municipal Ta-Tung Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan Purpose: Music therapy (MT) reviews have found beneficial effects on behaviors and social interaction in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) but inconsistent effects on cognition. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the adjunct effect of long-term and home-based MT in AD patients under pharmacological treatment. Patients and methods: Mild AD cases (clinical dementia rating =0.5~1) were consecutively recruited and voluntarily separated into an MT group or control group (CG) for 6 months. Outcome assessments included Cognitive Abilities Screening Instrument (CASI), CASI-estimated mini-mental state examination, clinical dementia rating with sum of box scores, and neuropsychiatric inventory. The MT interventions were Mozart’s Sonata (KV 448) and Pachelbel’s Canon, listening with headphones for 30 minutes daily in the morning and before sleep, respectively. Results: Forty-one cases (MT versus CG number =20 versus 21) were analyzed. Adjusted differences of CASI-estimated mini-mental state examination and CASI after 6 months in the MT group were slightly less decreased than the CG without statistical significance. In further analysis of cognitive domains of CASI, the adjusted difference of abstraction domain in the MT group was significantly better than the CG. Conclusion: Although there were no apparent additional benefits of this MT on the global cognition and daily functioning in mild AD patients

Chien-Hsun Li,1–3 Mei-Chuan Chou,2,4 Ching-Kuan Liu,2,3 Chiou-Lian Lai2,31Department of Neurology, Fooyin University Hospital, Pingtung, Taiwan; 2Department of Neurology, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan; 3Department of and Master’s Program in Neurology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan; 4Department of Neurology, Kaohsiung Municipal Ta-Tung Hospital, Kaohsiung, TaiwanAbstract: The antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is a rare form of autoimmune coagulopathy. In this syndrome, the most common neurologic abnormality is transient ischemic attack. This can be easily overlooked if a patient presents with progressive neuropsychiatric disorders, such as depression or dementia. We report two cases of young women, aged 35 and 22 years, presenting with progressive depression and mental decline over a certain period. The neuropsychological diagnoses of the two patients were, respectively, dementia with disinhibition and borderline dementia with depression. Brain magnetic resonance imaging showed multiple old infarcts with encephalomalacia in the former case, and only one cortical hemorrhagic infarction, over the right temporoparietal lobe, observed in the latter case. The outcomes of the two cases were also very different. Progressive neuropsychiatric disorders are increasingly observed in the young; therefore, APS and other autoimmune diseases should be considered during the differential diagnosis. Brain imaging examinations may prevent a delay in the detection of a structural lesion and facilitate the early intervention with good prognosis. Careful investigations by experts from different disciplines are always encouraged in complicated cases.Keywords: autoimmune disease, brain imaging, dementia, depression, cerebrovascular disease