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Verbal memory capacity after treatment for ruptured intracranial aneurysm—the outcomes of three psychological tests: within a month, 1 year after and 5-7 years after treatment

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Abstract

Background

Verbal memory is an essential cognitive ability with scope for adequate treatment of information and for orientation in everyday life. Our study is centered on memory performance in the wake of treatment for ruptured intracranial aneurysm.

Methods

Three psychological tests were performed: (1) within a month of the neurosurgical intervention, (2) 1 year and (3) 5-7 years after the ruptured aneurysm treatment. Under comparison are the overall results of tests for verbal memory capacity in a cohort of patients (N = 59) and in the control group.

Results

Three post-treatment measurements revealed a persistent deficit of verbal memory. The cohort’s average performance improved from -1.3 SD (standard deviation) below the average of the norm to -0.5 SD below the norm at the second test 1 year after treatment, while at the third test the deficit had worsened to -0.68 SD. Similarly, testing for long-term recovery at 5-7 years postoperatively showed the patients’ performances to be 2/3 SD below the average of the general population.

Conclusions

The results of the study imply the need for long-term rehabilitation of memory in this particular group of patients.

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Acknowledgements

We greatly appreciate the support by grants IGA 9640-4 and MZCR MZ0PCP2005

Conflicts of interest

None.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Prague Psychiatric Center, University of New York in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic

    Marek Preiss

  2. Central Medical-Psychological Division, Central Military Hospital, Prague, Czech Republic

    Jana Koblihová

  3. Department of Neurosurgery, Charles University, 1st Medical Faculty, Central Military Hospital, U Vojenske nemocnice 1200, Prague 6, Czech Republic

    David Netuka, Lenka Bernardová & Vladimír Beneš

  4. Radiological Division, Central Military Hospital, Prague, Czech Republic

    František Charvát

Authors
  1. Marek Preiss
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  2. Jana Koblihová
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  3. David Netuka
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  4. Lenka Bernardová
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  5. František Charvát
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  6. Vladimír Beneš
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to David Netuka.

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Preiss, M., Koblihová, J., Netuka, D. et al. Verbal memory capacity after treatment for ruptured intracranial aneurysm—the outcomes of three psychological tests: within a month, 1 year after and 5-7 years after treatment. Acta Neurochir 154, 417–422 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00701-011-1256-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00701-011-1256-2

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