Utility of the Neuropsychiatric Inventory Questionnaire (NPI-Q) in the assessment of a sample of patients with Alzheimer’s disease in Chile

ABSTRACT The Neuropsychiatric Inventory Questionnaire (NPI-Q) is an informant-based instrument that measures the presence and severity of 12 Neuropsychiatric Symptoms (NPS) in patients with dementia, as well as informant distress. Objective: To measure the psychometric properties of the NPI-Q and the prevalence of NPS in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) in Chile. Methods: 53 patients with AD were assessed. Subjects were divided into two different groups: mild AD (n=26) and moderate AD (n=27). Convergent validity was estimated by correlating the outcomes of the NPI-Q with Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) scores and with a global cognitive efficiency test (Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination - Revised - ACE-R). Reliability of the NPI-Q was analysed by calculating its internal consistency. Prevalence of NPS was estimated with both the NPI and NPI-Q. Results: Positive and significant correlations were observed between the NPI-Q, the NPI, and the ACE-R (r=0.730; p<0.01 and 0.315; p<0.05 respectively). The instrument displayed an adequate level of reliability (Cronbach's alpha=0.783). The most prevalent NPS were apathy/indifference (62.3%) and dysphoria/depression (58.5%). Conclusion: The NPI-Q exhibited acceptable validity and reliability indicators for patients with AD in Chile, indicating that it is a suitable instrument for the routine assessment of NPS in clinical practice

Usefulness of a brief informant interview to detect dementia, translated into Spanish (AD8-Ch)

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Utility of the Neuropsychiatric Inventory Questionnaire (NPI-Q) in the assessment of a sample of patients with Alzheimer’s disease in Chile

The Neuropsychiatric Inventory Questionnaire (NPI-Q) is an informant-based instrument that measures the presence and severity of 12 Neuropsychiatric Symptoms (NPS) in patients with dementia, as well as informant distress.Objective: To measure the psychometric properties of the NPI-Q and the prevalence of NPS in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) in Chile.Methods: 53 patients with AD were assessed. Subjects were divided into two different groups: mild AD (n=26) and moderate AD (n=27). Convergent validity was estimated by correlating the outcomes of the NPI-Q with Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) scores and with a global cognitive efficiency test (Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination - Revised - ACE-R). Reliability of the NPI-Q was analysed by calculating its internal consistency. Prevalence of NPS was estimated with both the NPI and NPI-Q.Results: Positive and significant correlations were observed between the NPI-Q, the NPI, and the ACE-R (r=0.730; p&lt;0.01 and 0.315; p&lt;0.05 respectively). The instrument displayed an adequate level of reliability (Cronbach's alpha=0.783). The most prevalent NPS were apathy/indifference (62.3%) and dysphoria/depression (58.5%).Conclusion: The NPI-Q exhibited acceptable validity and reliability indicators for patients with AD in Chile, indicating that it is a suitable instrument for the routine assessment of NPS in clinical practice.</p

Genetic risk factors of Alzheimer’s Disease disrupt resting-state functional connectivity in cognitively intact young individuals

Background Past evidence shows that changes in functional brain connectivity in multiple resting-state networks occur in cognitively healthy individuals who have non-modifiable risk factors for Alzheimer’s Disease. Here, we aimed to investigate how those changes differ in early adulthood and how they might relate to cognition. Methods We investigated the effects of genetic risk factors of AD, namely APOEe4 and MAPTA alleles, on resting-state functional connectivity in a cohort of 129 cognitively intact young adults (aged 17–22 years). We used Independent Component Analysis to identify networks of interest, and Gaussian Random Field Theory to compare connectivity between groups. Seed-based analysis was used to quantify inter-regional connectivity strength from the clusters that exhibited significant between-group differences. To investigate the relationship with cognition, we correlated the connectivity and the performance on the Stroop task. Results The analysis revealed a decrease in functional connectivity in the Default Mode Network (DMN) in both APOEe4 carriers and MAPTA carriers in comparison with non-carriers. APOEe4 carriers showed decreased connectivity in the right angular gyrus (size = 246, p-FDR = 0.0079), which was correlated with poorer performance on the Stroop task. MAPTA carriers showed decreased connectivity in the left middle temporal gyrus (size = 546, p-FDR = 0.0001). In addition, we found that only MAPTA carriers had a decreased connectivity between the DMN and multiple other brain regions. Conclusions Our findings indicate that APOEe4 and MAPTA alleles modulate brain functional connectivity in the brain regions within the DMN in cognitively intact young adults. APOEe4 carriers also showed a link between connectivity and cognition

Psychosis-related matricide associated with a lesion of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex

Matricide, the killing of a mother by her biological child, is a rare event. We report a case of matricide associated with a woman who sustained a right ventromedial prefrontal lesion during surgery for nasal polyposis that was performed when she was 40 years old. After her surgery, she developed psychotic symptoms associated with the emergence of antisocial behavior. She committed matricide 22 years later. Neuropsychological evaluation showed decreased frontal-executive deficits, and magnetic resonance imaging revealed a lesion in the right gyrus rectus area of the ventromedial prefrontal region. This case suggests that a secondary psychotic syndrome associated with a lesion in the frontal neural network, which is disturbed in psychopathy, could facilitate homicidal behavior. Furthermore, this case has legal implications for the prosecution of murder associated with a brain lesion

Responsabilidad social empresarial en el transporte público urbano de la Ciudad de Machala - Ecuador

&nbsp; El presente trabajo de investigación tiene el fin de determinar el grado de cumplimiento de la responsabilidad social empresarial en las empresas de transporte público urbano de la ciudad de Machala, el cual está enfocado en tres aspectos primordiales: relación con trabajadores, el cuidado del medio ambiente, y servicio a usuarios. Se aplicó un tipo de investigación descriptivo seccional mediante aplicación de 102 encuestas aleatorias a los socios activos de las cooperativas existentes en la ciudad de Machala que brindan el servicio de movilidad dentro del cantón. Los resultados obtenidos indican que la aplicación de los principios de Responsabilidad Social en este importante sector económico aun es deficiente. &nbsp; Palabras clave: responsabilidad social empresarial – Cooperativismo – Grupos de interés, transporte público, transporte urbano &nbsp; ABSTRACT The present research work has the purpose of determining the degree of compliance of Corporate Social Responsibility in the urban public transport companies of the City of Machala, which is focused on three fundamental aspects: relationship with workers, care of the environment , and service to users. A type of descriptive sectional research was applied by applying 102 random surveys to the active members of the existing cooperatives in the city of Machala that provide the mobility service within the canton. The results obtained indicate that the application of the principles of Social Responsibility in this important economic sector is still deficient. &nbsp; Key words: corporate Social Responsibility - Cooperativism – Stakeholders, public transport, urban transpor

Diseño de un sistema de reconocimiento de patrones en imágenes termográficas y de huella plantar para la identificación de pie plano en niños con edades entre cinco y seis años

The following paper presents the main results of an exploratory research oriented to design and implementation of a pattern recognition system for flatfoot identification in children between 5 and 6 years. Patterns were determined from texture analysis of foot thermographic images, and from contour analysis of footprint images. For each case, an artificial neuronal network was trained, with base in a back propagation algorithm. In each trial, 70% of data were used for training, and 30% for validation.&nbsp; For experiments done, success rates greater than 80% were achieved. The best results was reached with contour patterns reduced by PCA, in a binary system, with a success rate of 90.84% in cross validation. Results are a contribution to study of diagnostic techniques for flatfoot treatment through use of technologic tools.El siguiente artículo presenta los principales resultados de una investigación exploratoria, orientada al diseño e implementación de un sistema de reconocimiento de patrones para la identificación de pie plano en niños entre los 5 y 6 años. Los patrones se determinaron a partir del análisis de textura en imágenes termográficas del pie y del contorno en imágenes de la huella plantar. Para cada caso, se entrenó una red neuronal artificial con un algoritmo de retro propagación. En cada ensayo, 70 % de los datos se utilizaron para entrenamiento y 30 % para la validación. Para los sistemas experimentados se encontraron tasas de acierto superiores al 80 %. Los mejores resultados de reconocimiento se lograron para un sistema binario (pie plano, pie sano), entrenado con patrones de contorno reducidos por análisis de componentes principales (ACP), con un porcentaje de acierto del 90,84 % en validación cruzada. Los resultados logrados son un aporte para el estudio de técnicas de diagnóstico y tratamiento del pie plano, con base en herramientas tecnológicas