Teresa JoAnn Buracchio

• Medical Officer at U.S. Food and Drug Administration

Well-defined and reliable clinical outcome assessments are essential for determining whether a drug provides clinically meaningful treatment benefit for patients. In 2015, FDA convened a workshop, "Assessing Neurocognitive Outcomes in Inborn Errors of Metabolism." Topics covered included special challenges of clinical studies of inborn errors of me...

Objectives: To elucidate the mechanism through which vitamin D is associated with decreased falls. Design: This was a convenience sample from a larger observational study examining correlations between vitamin D and 1) falls, 2) motor function, and 3) cognition (n=159). Setting: Falls data were collected via weekly on-line surveys completed in...

There is a paucity of data regarding trends in dementia and its subtype prevalence in Japan. Our aims in the current paper are to: (1) summarize epidemiological studies of dementia in Japan including relevant details of study protocol and diagnostic criteria, (2) compare the age-specific prevalence of all-cause dementia among studies, and (3) asses...

Executive dysfunction has previously been found to be a risk factor for falls. The aim of this study is to investigate the association between executive dysfunction and risk of falling and to determine if this association is independent of balance. Participants were 188 community-dwelling individuals aged 65 and older. All participants underwent ba...

Physical performance measures predict health and function in older populations. Walking speed in particular has consistently predicted morbidity and mortality. However, single brief walking measures may not reflect a person's typical ability. Using a system that unobtrusively and continuously measures walking activity in a person's home we examined...

To compare the trajectory of motor decline, as measured by gait speed and finger-tapping speed, between elderly people who developed mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and those who remained cognitively intact. We also sought to determine the approximate time at which the decline in motor function accelerated in persons who developed MCI. Longitudinal...

In 113 non-demented ISAAC (Intelligent Systems for Assessing Aging Change) cohort (Kaye, 2008) seniors living independently (mean age 84; CDR ≤ 0.5) multiple daily walking episodes were unobtrusively recorded as subjects traversed a line of passive infra-red motion sensors placed strategically in their home (figure 1) for a mean of 319 ±127 days. D...

An 82-year-old woman with hypertension and bipolar disorder was admitted with new-onset generalized tonic-clonic seizures. On admission, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) results were normal and electroencephalography showed right posterior quadrant slowing. She was started on valproic acid. One week later, she was found to have a left hemiparesis a...

Ocular misalignment and ophthalmoparesis result in the symptom of binocular diplopia. In the evaluation of diplopia, localization of the ocular motility disorder is the main objective. This requires a systematic approach and knowledge of the ocular motor pathways and actions of the extraocular muscles. This article reviews the components of the ocu...

As life expectancy continues to increase over time, dementia is becoming an increasingly more common problem and a major cause of disability in older persons. It is now more important than ever to identify and manage common causes of dementia given variations in disease course, treatments and the possibility for modification of risk factors. Dement...