La visión parkinsoniana de la figura compleja de Rey-Osterrieth

Visuospatial impairment has been frequently reported in Parkinson’s disease (PD). We present the progressive distorsioned performance of the Rey-Osterrieth complex figure in parkinsonian patients at different stages of the disease (PD de novo, PD on long-term treatment, PD with phychosis and PD with dementia

Inventariação e propagação de Thymus mastichina na Beira Interior

Integrado no Programa Agro, Medida 8.1, Projecto nº 800, foram elaborados estudos de distribuição e propagação da espécie Thymus mastichina L., existentes espontaneamente na Beira Interior. Foram avaliadas seis zonas ecológicas distintas denominadas Vale do Tejo, Beira Interior Sul, Cova da Beira, Beira Interior Norte, Serra da Estrela e Serra da Gardunha. Durante dois anos fez-se prospecção no campo em cada zona ecológica e recolheu-se material vegetal. Realizaram-se ensaios de germinação em laboratório em condições de temperatura alterna 10º/20ºC (dia) e temperatura constante 23ºC (dia), com fotoperíodo de 8 e 16 horas/dia, respectivamente. Testou-se ainda a capacidade germinativa em estufa, na Primavera e efectuaram-se ensaios de enraizamento, com estacas terminais, em condições de Outono/Inverno e Primavera/Verão. Na Beira Interior foram encontrados 36 locais onde se verificou a ocorrência de Thymus mastichina. Em cada zona ecológica onde foram encontrados indivíduos da espécie em estudo, foi seleccionado um local para recolha de 20 plantas-mãe, que foram posteriormente instaladas no campo de caracterização/demonstração da ESACB. Nos ensaios de germinação verificaram-se taxas entre os 80% e 94% em laboratório e entre os 76% e 84%, em viveiro. Nos ensaios de propagação vegetativa de estacas terminais obtiveram-se taxas de enraizamento entre os 20% e 100%

Trastornos neuropsiquiátricos en la enfermedad de Parkinson

This paper reviews the main neuropsychiatric disorders associated with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and describes the neuropathological hypothesis proposed to explain these symptoms. Development. This disease is usually associated with neuropsychiatric complications such as depression, anxiety and apathy. Besides, psychiatric symptoms are one of the most common side effects of antiparkinsonian drug-therapy. Conclusions. Depression is the most frequent emotional disorder reported in patients with PD. Up to 20% of parkinsonian patients meet DSM-IV criteria for major depressive episode and another 20% for dysthymia, while the prevalence of depression in normal aged population is about 2-8%. The relationship between PD and depression has not been fully established. Some investigators have suggested that depressive symptoms in PD are causally related to the underlying neuropathological process, affecting predominantly serotoninergic and dopaminergic pathways. Alternatively, depression in PD may represent a normal reaction to the progressive physical impairment induced by the disease. Otherwise, up to 20% of parkinsonian patients present levodopa-induced psychiatric complications. Visual hallucinations are the commonest, but delusions, confusional states, sexual disorders and sleep disorders have also been described. Serotonine and dopamine have been implicated in the neuropathological basis of these disorders

Excess abdominal fat is associated with cutaneous allodynia in individuals with migraine: a prospective cohort study

Objective: To investigate the specific relationship between cutaneous allodynia (CA) and the percentages of body fat (BF) and abdominal fat in migraineurs. Additionally, we compared serum levels of inflammatory biomarkers in patients with and without CA. Background: Excess abdominal fat might facilitate progressive changes in nociceptive thresholds causing central sensitization, clinically reflected as CA, which could drive migraine progression. Methods: This prospective cohort study included 80 patients with migraine (mean age 39 years, 81.2% female) and 39 non-migraine controls. We analysed each participant’s height, body weight, and body mass index (BMI). The amount and distribution of BF was also assessed by air displacement plethysmography (ADP) and ViScan, respectively. We analysed serum levels of markers of inflammation, during interictal periods. Results: We studied 52 patients with episodic migraine (EM) and 28 with chronic migraine (CM). Of the 80 patients, 53 (53.8%) had CA. Migraineurs with CA had a higher proportion of abdominal fat values than patients without CA (p = 0.04). The independent risk factors for CA were the use of migraine prophylaxis (OR 3.26, 95% CI [1.14 to 9.32]; p = 0.03), proportion of abdominal fat (OR 1.13, 95% CI [1.01 to 1.27]; p = 0.04), and presence of sleep disorders (OR 1.13, 95% CI [00.01 to 1.27]; p = 0.04). The concordance correlation coefficient between the ADP and BMI measurements was 0.51 (0.3681 to 0.6247). CA was not correlated with the mean plasma levels of inflammatory biomarkers. Conclusions: There is a relation between excess abdominal fat and CA. Abdominal obesity might contribute to the development of central sensitization in migraineurs, leading to migraine chronification

Experiencia clínica del tratamiento con onabotulinumtoxin A en pacientes con migraña refractaria

To analyse our experience in the treatment of refractory chronic migraine, episodic frequent refractory migraine (>= 10 days/month), with onabotulinumtoxin A (OnabotA). PATIENTS AND METHODS. Retrospective analysis of patients with refractory migraine who underwent, at least two sessions of OnabotA pericranial injections following the PREEMPT protocol between 2008 and 2012. The efficacy of OnabotA was evaluated comparing the basal situation with 12-16 weeks after the second session. We analysed the subjective improvement of the patients, number of days with headache, preventive and abortive drugs consumption, and adverse effects. RESULTS. Forty-one patients (37 women, 4 male) were identified. 65.8% patients experienced subjective improvement after OnabotA treatment. 36.58% responded (reduction of > 50% in headache days). Differences between days with headache before the first session (24.5 +/- 7.3), and 12-16 weeks after the second session (17.4 +/- 11.6), as well as the differences between the number of abortive drugs taken before the first session (26.8 +/- 23.1) and 12-16 weeks after the second session (16.7 +/- 19.3), were statistically significant (p < 0.001). Subgroups analysis showed that all differences were significant, except for the reduction of the number of days with headache in patients with episodic frequent refractory migraine. CONCLUSION. Our work shows that treatment with OnabotA is safe and useful in patients with episodic and chronic refractory migraine, including those patients with medication overuse headache

Search for a W' boson decaying to a bottom quark and a top quark in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

Results are presented from a search for a W' boson using a dataset corresponding to 5.0 inverse femtobarns of integrated luminosity collected during 2011 by the CMS experiment at the LHC in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV. The W' boson is modeled as a heavy W boson, but different scenarios for the couplings to fermions are considered, involving both left-handed and right-handed chiral projections of the fermions, as well as an arbitrary mixture of the two. The search is performed in the decay channel W' to t b, leading to a final state signature with a single lepton (e, mu), missing transverse energy, and jets, at least one of which is tagged as a b-jet. A W' boson that couples to fermions with the same coupling constant as the W, but to the right-handed rather than left-handed chiral projections, is excluded for masses below 1.85 TeV at the 95% confidence level. For the first time using LHC data, constraints on the W' gauge coupling for a set of left- and right-handed coupling combinations have been placed. These results represent a significant improvement over previously published limits.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters B. Replaced with version publishe

Search for the standard model Higgs boson decaying into two photons in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV

A search for a Higgs boson decaying into two photons is described. The analysis is performed using a dataset recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC from pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV, which corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 4.8 inverse femtobarns. Limits are set on the cross section of the standard model Higgs boson decaying to two photons. The expected exclusion limit at 95% confidence level is between 1.4 and 2.4 times the standard model cross section in the mass range between 110 and 150 GeV. The analysis of the data excludes, at 95% confidence level, the standard model Higgs boson decaying into two photons in the mass range 128 to 132 GeV. The largest excess of events above the expected standard model background is observed for a Higgs boson mass hypothesis of 124 GeV with a local significance of 3.1 sigma. The global significance of observing an excess with a local significance greater than 3.1 sigma anywhere in the search range 110-150 GeV is estimated to be 1.8 sigma. More data are required to ascertain the origin of this excess.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters

Measurement of the Lambda(b) cross section and the anti-Lambda(b) to Lambda(b) ratio with Lambda(b) to J/Psi Lambda decays in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

The Lambda(b) differential production cross section and the cross section ratio anti-Lambda(b)/Lambda(b) are measured as functions of transverse momentum pt(Lambda(b)) and rapidity abs(y(Lambda(b))) in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV using data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC. The measurements are based on Lambda(b) decays reconstructed in the exclusive final state J/Psi Lambda, with the subsequent decays J/Psi to an opposite-sign muon pair and Lambda to proton pion, using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.9 inverse femtobarns. The product of the cross section times the branching ratio for Lambda(b) to J/Psi Lambda versus pt(Lambda(b)) falls faster than that of b mesons. The measured value of the cross section times the branching ratio for pt(Lambda(b)) > 10 GeV and abs(y(Lambda(b))) < 2.0 is 1.06 +/- 0.06 +/- 0.12 nb, and the integrated cross section ratio for anti-Lambda(b)/Lambda(b) is 1.02 +/- 0.07 +/- 0.09, where the uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters