Dementia e Neuropsychologia最新文献

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a psychiatric disorder associated with functioning and cognitive impairments, as well as a higher prevalence of physical disease comorbidities.

Objective: To determine the main predictors of functioning in patients with BD.

Methods: Thirty-five patients with BD type I in remission participated in this study. To better characterize the degree of impairment, 20 matched controls were also studied. Functioning was assessed through the Functioning Assessment Short Test (FAST) and the UCSD Performance-based Skills Assessment (UPSA), while cognition was assessed through the BAC-A. Current physical conditions were assessed and categorized according to the Cumulative Illness Rating Scale (CIRS). Regression analyses were performed to examine the relationship between functioning and clinical variables, global cognitive performance, and physical comorbidities in BD.

Results: UPSA correlated positively with the BAC-A total score (r=0.488; p=0.025), years of education (rho=0.41; p<0.01), and CIRS total score (rho=0.394; p<0.001). CIRS was the only predictor that remained negatively and significantly correlated with the UPSA total score (R²=0.446, F (1, 33)=8.198, p=0.007).

Conclusion: Patients with BD had poor functioning, with the primary determinant of poor functioning being the burden of physical illnesses. In addition, the low agreement between the FAST and UPSA scales suggests these tolls assess distinct constructs.

Like a coin, the impacts of screens on children's development have two sides, as reflected in current scientific knowledge. This narrative review aimed to explore the dual-faceted state of the art regarding screen use, highlighting both positive and negative aspects on neurodevelopment, intervention proposals, and future perspectives for appropriate screen use. Recent scientific findings emphasize two central points: on the one hand, the benefits of appropriate use, such as co-viewing and the use of educational content; on the other hand, the negative impacts of excessive screen use, passive, and non-educational use on the development of neural networks. In this sense, with the advent of the digital age and in light of current scientific results, it is clear that eliminating screens from daily life is unrealistic. Therefore, implementing strategies to ensure a healthy balance between screen time and other activities important for child development is essential.

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may experience impairments across all domains of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health. However, there is a scarcity of programs that integrate interventions encompassing all these domains.

Objective: To investigate parents' perception of performance and satisfaction with functional goals for children with ASD after intervention with the Global Integration.

Methods: This single-group quasi-experimental study involved a total of 98 participants aged 1.8 to 18.2 years who underwent a 3-month intervention, five times a week, for 3-4 h per day. The intervention involved functional task training in an environment inspired by the natural environment associated with the use of a flexible therapeutic suit. The primary outcome measure was the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure, administered before and after the intervention.

Results: Ninety-five participants completed the study. Approximately 60% of participants showed improvements in performance and satisfaction that ranged from 1 to 9 points on the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure. The Global Integration Method program resulted in significant improvements in goal performance (p<0.001, d=0.80) and satisfaction (p<0.001, d=0.67). Most parents (81%) believed that the Global Integration Method incorporated aspects of family-professional collaboration and were satisfied (93%) with the intervention.

Conclusion: In the perception of parents, the Global Integration Method demonstrated effectiveness in achieving functional goals for children with ASD and their families. Parents expressed satisfaction with the intervention and indicated that it incorporated elements of family-professional collaboration.

Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration (FTLD) encompasses progressive neurodegeneration primarily affecting the frontal and/or temporal lobes, presenting in varied pathological entities. These pathologies lead to diverse clinical syndromes collectively known as Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD), which includes a behavioral variant, and primary progressive aphasia, with its non-fluent and semantic variants, and related conditions with parkinsonism or motoneuron disease features. The historical development of FTD concept is rooted in the pioneering work of Arnold Pick, who first described clinical cases of focal brain atrophy. Oskar Fischer significantly advanced this field by detailing the histopathological features of these conditions, such as the 'spongiform cortical wasting', and identifying characteristic neuronal changes such as the 'ballooned cells'. Fischer's contributions, alongside those of contemporaries like Alois Alzheimer, laid the foundation for understanding FTLD histopathology. Here, Fischer's overlooked work is spotlighted, advocating for a greater recognition, which he rightfully deserves for his contributions to the field of neurodegenerative diseases.

This study examined the nature of errors in prose recall made in normal aging from different cultural backgrounds: rural and urban areas.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the nature of errors in prose recall made in normal aging from different cultural backgrounds.

Methods: We evaluated neurologically normal elderly divided into two groups: 12 subjects resident in a rural area in Central Brazil (group 1, called "Interior") and 10 subjects from a metropolitan area in a big city in Central Brazil (group 2, called "Metropolis"). Responses by 22 nondemented older adults to the Logical Memory subtest of the Wechsler Memory Scale were examined in a propositional analysis.

Results: Healthy older adults from rural areas (interior group) showed good immediate recalls, but had deficits in retention over a delay. Subjects from urban areas made errors of omission, not commission, at immediate recall.

Conclusion: These errors probably reflect difficulty with attentional control rather than memory per se. There are differences in the performance of the elderly when considering different levels of education for neuropsychological tests associated with immediate recalls (but not with delayed recall), suggesting that working memory systems may be more impacted by years of schooling than the coding memory system.

Mind-body interventions have been explored to enhance the psychological well-being of dementia caregivers; however, the specific effects of yoga practice remain underexamined.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the benefits of yoga on quality of life (QoL), life satisfaction, psychological well-being, attention, self-compassion, perceived stress, anxiety, depression, and caregiver burden for dementia caregivers.

Methods: A comprehensive search was conducted on September 11, 2024, in databases including SciELO, PubMed, BVSalud, Web of Science, Embase, and PsycINFO, focusing on the effects of yoga for informal dementia caregivers compared to passive or active control groups through randomized and non-randomized trials. An initial review reduced 284 to 180 unique records; 172 studies were excluded, leaving 8 that met the inclusion criteria. Two authors independently selected and extracted data using a data extraction sheet based on the Cochrane Consumers and Communication Review Group. The Cochrane Risk of Bias tools (ROB2 and ROBINS-I) were employed to evaluate bias risk.

Results: The review included three randomized and five non-randomized studies with a total of 161 participants, predominantly female (wives and daughters), with ages ranging from 39 to 76 years. Four studies utilized hatha yoga, while four employed non-traditional yoga. Significant improvements were observed in QoL, depression, stress, anxiety, and self-compassion, but not in caregiver burden. Furthermore, positive effects were more pronounced in face-to-face or online interventions than in recorded videos. On average, studies exhibited a moderate risk of bias.

Conclusion: Yoga practice can serve as an effective intervention for enhancing the psychological aspects of dementia caregivers.

Information processing speed (IPS) evaluates the time at which a person reacts to a stimulus. The Wechsler for Adults-III (WAIS-III) includes this domain in the digit symbol test (DS-T).

Objective: The aim of this study was to validate a new screening test that could measure the IPS in association with the individual's age and scholarship.

Methods: A new instrument to measure the IPS was constructed, automatic cashier test (AC-T), and for its validation, the DS-T was also carried out.

Results: The media of time use in the ACT was 12.3 s; the media of hits in the DS-T was 38.8, with a p<0.0001 and R²: 0.40.

Conclusion: P-value showed a linear association between the two tests, but the R² results showed a low association between these. In the same way, the correlation between both tests is promising, since it shows that both are tests that measure the IPS in a different way with different constructs such as the verbal fluency test that is also used to evaluate IPS. On the other hand, both tests exposed that the scholarship positively influences the IPS.

Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) such as depression, anxiety, and apathy are present in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and are risk factors for cognitive decline. However, the relationship between NPS and specific cognitive domains is less clear.

Objective: This study aimed to assess whether there is a correlation between NPS and specific cognitive domains.

Methods: A cross-sectional study which included 174 participants with MCI, aged 55 years or older. Differences in sociodemographic profile, neuroimaging, and neuropsychological tests between MCI participants with and without NPS were measured.

Results: Participants with NPS had lower education and worse performance in attention tests and executive functions. Psychotic symptoms were correlated with deficits in visuospatial functions; irritability and agitation with inattention and deficit of inhibitory control; and depression with inattention.

Conclusion: Correlations were found between some NPS with specific cognitive domains, especially psychotic symptoms, but also agitation, irritability, apathy, and depression.