Declive cognitivo en la enfermedad de Alzheimer. Seguimiento de más de 3 años de una muestra de pacientes

Introducción. Las tasas de declive cognitivo en los pacientes con enfermedad de Alzheimer (EA) presentan variaciones debido a diversos factores. El objetivo del estudio fue determinar la influencia de la edad, escolaridad, género, actividades de la vida diaria (AVD) e inhibidores de la acetilcolinesterasa (IAChE) y memantina en el ritmo y tasas de declive cognitivo. Pacientes y métodos. Estudio retrospectivo de una muestra de 383 pacientes con EA, con evaluaciones neuropsicológicas durante un período superior a 3 años. Se utilizó como medida cognitiva el Cambridge Cognitive Examination (CAMCOG). Se agruparon los pacientes según su tasa de declive anual (TDA) y se realizaron análisis bivariante y de regresión lineal multivariante utilizando como variable dependiente la diferencia de puntuaciones en el CAMCOG (basal-final). Resultados. La menor edad (β = -0,23; p < 0,001), la mayor escolaridad (β = 0,26; p < 0,001) y el mayor deterioro de las AVD (β = 0,24; p < 0,001) estuvieron asociados a un mayor declive en todos los pacientes. Los fármacos tuvieron un efecto benéfico (β = -0,18; p = 0,011) en el grupo con menor y más lento declive (TDA < 5%). Conclusiones. La menor edad, la mayor escolaridad y el deterioro de las AVD se relacionan con un mayor declive cognitivo. Los IAChE y memantina tuvieron un efecto benéfico, enlenteciendo el declive en el grupo de pacientes con menor TD

Predictors of cognitive decline in Alzheimer"s disease and mild cognitive impairment using the CAMCOG: a five-year follow-up

Background: There are discrepant findings regarding which subscales of the Cambridge Cognitive Examination(CAMCOG) are able to predict cognitive decline. The study aimed to identify the baseline CAMCOG subscales that can discriminate between patients and predict cognitive decline in Alzheimer"s disease (AD)and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Methods: This was a five-year case-control study of patients with cognitive impairment and a control group.Participants were grouped into AD (n = 121), MCI converted to dementia (MCI-Ad, n = 43), MCI-stable(MCI-St, n = 66), and controls (CTR, n = 112). Differences in the mean scores obtained by the four groupswere examined. Receiver operating characteristic curves were used to compare subscale scores in the AD and MCI-Ad groups with those of controls. The influence of age, gender, schooling, and depression on baseline subscale scores was assessed. Results: Of the CAMCOG subscales, Orientation and Memory (learning and recent) (OR + MEM) showed the highest discriminant capacity in the baseline analysis of the four groups. This baseline analysis indicated that OR + MEM was the best predictor of conversion to AD in the MCI-Ad group (area under the curve, AUC = 0.81), whereas the predictive capacity of the global MMSE and CAMCOG scores was poor (AUC = 0.59 and 0.53, respectively). Conclusions: In the baseline analysis, the Orientation and Memory (learning and recent) subscales showed the highest discriminant and predictive capacity as regards both cognitive decline in the AD group and conversion to AD among MCI-Ad patients. This was not affected by age, gender, schooling, or depression

Prevalence of dementia and major dementia subtypes in Spanish populations: A reanalysis of dementia prevalence surveys, 1990-2008

Background This study describes the prevalence of dementia and major dementia subtypes in Spanish elderly. Methods We identified screening surveys, both published and unpublished, in Spanish populations, which fulfilled specific quality criteria and targeted prevalence of dementia in populations aged 70 years and above. Surveys covering 13 geographically different populations were selected (prevalence period: 1990-2008). Authors of original surveys provided methodological details of their studies through a systematic questionnaire and also raw age-specific data. Prevalence data were compared using direct adjustment and logistic regression. Results The reanalyzed study population (aged 70 year and above) was composed of Central and North-Eastern Spanish sub-populations obtained from 9 surveys and totaled 12,232 persons and 1,194 cases of dementia (707 of Alzheimer's disease, 238 of vascular dementia). Results showed high variation in age- and sex-specific prevalence across studies. The reanalyzed prevalence of dementia was significantly higher in women; increased with age, particularly for Alzheimer's disease; and displayed a significant geographical variation among men. Prevalence was lowest in surveys reporting participation below 85%, studies referred to urban-mixed populations and populations diagnosed by psychiatrists. Conclusion Prevalence of dementia and Alzheimer's disease in Central and North-Eastern Spain is higher in females, increases with age, and displays considerable geographic variation that may be method-related. People suffering from dementia and Alzheimer's disease in Spain may approach 600,000 and 400,000 respectively. However, existing studies may not be completely appropriate to infer prevalence of dementia and its subtypes in Spain until surveys in Southern Spain are conductedFinancial aid was obtained from the Spanish RECSP C03-09, CIEN C03-06 and CIBERNED networks, and from the Pfizer Foundation in particularS

Selectively Enhanced Development of Working Memory in Musically Trained Children and Adolescents

In the current longitudinal study, we investigated the development of working memory in musically trained and nontrained children and adolescents, aged 9–20. We measured working memory with the Digit Span (DS) forwards and backwards tests (N = 106) and the Trail-Making A and B (TMT-A and B; N = 104) tests three times, in 2011, 2013, and 2016. We expected that musically trained participants would outperform peers with no musical training. Indeed, we found that the younger musically trained participants, in particular, outperformed their nontrained peers in the TMT-A, TMT-B and DS forwards tests. These tests all primarily require active maintenance of a rule in memory or immediate recall. In contrast, we found no group differences in the backwards test that requires manipulation and updating of information in working memory. These results suggest that musical training is more strongly associated with heightened working memory capacity and maintenance than enhanced working memory updating, especially in late childhood and early adolescence.Peer reviewe

Presentació del Diccionari manual grec clàssic-català de l'editorial Vox

La llengua catalana ha patit des de sempre la manca d'un bon diccionari grec clàssic-català que pugui satisfer les necessitats de l'alumnat de l'educació secundària i la universitària. La tasca de traducció que s'ha dut a terme del Diccionario griego clásico-español de l'editorial Vox busca omplir aquesta absència tan important. Els traductors, però, no s'han limitat a una mera versió irreflexiva; han dut a terme una revisió profunda de cada entrada, enriquint-la, si es creia convenient, amb noves accepcions i matisos i, al mateix temps, han esmenat aspectes tipogràfics de l'edició castellana. El producte final gaudeix de molta claredat tipogràfica, sobretot pel que fa als signes diacrítics, la qual cosa pot facilitar un millor acostament a la llengua de l'antiga Hèl·lada