Promoting a compassionate motivation in detained youth: A secondary analysis of a controlled trial with the PSYCHOPATHY.COMP program.

This study aims to assess the efficacy of the PSYCHOPATHY.COMP in promoting a compassionate motivation among male detained youth, also testing its role as a potential mechanism of change on the reduction of psychopathic traits. A treatment group (n = 58) and a control group (n = 61) answered a set of self-report measures on psychopathic traits, shame, fears of compassion, social safeness, self-compassion, and compassion for others at three timepoints: baseline, posttreatment, and 6 months' follow-up. Treatment participants attended the PSYCHOPATHY.COMP. Controls received the treatment as usual delivered at juvenile detention facilities. The treatment effects were tested with latent growth curve models. At baseline, no significant differences between groups were found. Results from latent growth curve models showed that condition was a significant predictor of change over time observed in all outcome measures, even after controlling for psychopathic traits scores. When compared with the control group, the treatment group showed a significant decrease on shame and fears of compassion and a significant increase on social safeness, self-compassion, and compassion for others over time (medium-to-large effect sizes; growth modeling analysis d ranging from .57 to .96). It was also observed that increases in self-compassion and, in some cases, decreases in fears of receiving compassion, were crucial to the decrease of psychopathic traits. These findings suggest that the PSYCHOPATHY.COMP is a promising approach to promote a compassionate motivation in these youth, strengthening their rehabilitation odds. Increasing self-compassion and decreasing fears of receiving compassion should be considered when designing intervention programs for detained youth. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Dimensionality and measurement invariance of the Social Safeness and Pleasure Scale in adolescents from community and residential youth care.

BACKGROUND: Social safeness has been proposed as the individual's perception of the social world as being warmth and soothing. The lack of social safeness has been suggested as a transdiagnostic socio-emotional vulnerability for several mental health difficulties. To date there was no study addressing experiences of social safeness in adolescents. OBJECTIVE: To validate and study the psychometric properties of the Social Safeness and Pleasure Scale to Portuguese adolescents from community and residential care homes. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: A total of 731 Portuguese adolescents from community and residential youth care homes participated on this study. The community sample was composed of adolescents recruited from regular schools (208 boys; 224 girls). The residential youth care sample was composed of adolescents placed in residential care homes (145 boys; 154 girls). METHODS: A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted, and measurement invariance investigated. RESULTS: A one-factor solution presented a good fit across all samples and proved to be invariant (configural, metric, scalar and strict measurement invariance). Moreover, internal consistency values were excellent for all samples (α > 0.93) and evidence for construct validity in relation to external variables was found. Means comparisons revealed significant differences between all tested groups. Community adolescents reported higher social safeness in comparison to the adolescents placed in residential care. Within both samples, boys scored higher in the SSPS-A when compared to girls. CONCLUSIONS: These findings provide evidence on the SSPS-A validity and its use across diverse adolescent samples.

The efficacy of the PSYCHOPATHY.COMP program in reducing psychopathic traits: A controlled trial with male detained youth.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy of the PSYCHOPATHY.COMP program in reducing psychopathic traits among male detained youth. METHOD: In this controlled trial, a treatment group (n = 58) and a control group (n = 61) answered the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory-Short (YPIS) and the Proposed Specifiers for Conduct Disorder (PSCD) at baseline, posttreatment, and 6-month follow-up. Treatment participants attended the PSYCHOPATHY.COMP; controls only received Treatment As Usual (TAU). Treatment effects were tested with latent growth curve models (LGCM). RESULTS: At baseline, no significant differences between groups were found. Results from LGCM showed that condition was a significant predictor of change over time observed in almost all outcome measures. Concerning the YPIS, treatment participants presented a significant decrease both in the total score and in the YPIS factors scores when compared with the controls (medium/large effect sizes; growth modeling analysis-GMA d ranging from .58 to 1.12). Considering the PSCD, treatment participants also showed a significant decrease both in the total score and in the PSCD factors scores (except for the grandiose-manipulative factor) when compared with controls (medium effect sizes; GMA d ranging from .53 to .72). Results also showed that treatment effects were maintained 6 months after the PSYCHOPATHY.COMP completion. CONCLUSIONS: Findings indicate that the PSYCHOPATHY.COMP is a promising treatment approach to reduce psychopathic traits among male detained youth, suggesting that interventions targeting these traits should be considered in their rehabilitation, as the absence of tailored interventions may increase the levels of psychopathic traits and their associated risks. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

The Effects of the Growing Pro-Social Program on Early Maladaptive Schemas and Schema-Related Emotions in Male Young Offenders: A Nonrandomized Trial.

This study aimed to test the effects of a 25-session version of the Growing Pro-Social (GPS-25) program over schemas and schema-related emotions in male young offenders. Participants included 123 youth aged between 14 and 19 years, placed in eight Portuguese detention facilities. Youth were allocated to receive GPS (n = 63) or treatment as usual (n = 60), and answered a self-report measure assessing schemas and schema-related emotions at baseline and posttreatment. Two-factor mixed multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA; group change) and the Reliable Change Index (individual change) revealed nonsignificant differences between groups for the schema's endorsement. Significant differences between groups were found for the schema-related emotions: Treatment participants presented lower scores and/or higher clinical improvements after GPS, when compared with controls. GPS-25 produced change at an emotional level but not in schema's endorsement, suggesting that longer interventions should be tested in their capability to promote cognitive and emotional change in young offenders.

Cognitive complaints in Parkinson's disease patients: from subjective cognitive complaints to dementia and affective disorders.

Subjective cognitive complaints (SCC) are frequent in elderly populations. PD patients report SCC more often than healthy controls. The association between SCC, objective cognitive impairment and affective symptoms remains controversial. We assessed consecutive PD patients between March 2014 and March 2015. Presence of SCC was defined as a score ≥ 1 in the Non-Motor Symptom Assessment Scale for Parkinson's Disease (NMSS) Domain 5. MoCA was used for cognitive impairment assessment. Pill Questionnaire measured the impact in daily activities. PD with Dementia (PDD) and PD with Mild Cognitive Impairment (PDMCI) were defined as the presence of cognitive impairment with or without impact on daily activities. Anxiety and depression were assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scales. Significance was set at p < 0.05. From 134 patients, 128 were included. PDD was diagnosed in 21 (16.4%), PDMCI in 31 (24.2%), and 76 (59.4%) had normal cognition (PDCN). SCC were present in 85% of whole cohort and evenly distributed (p = 0.361), PDD (95.2%), PDMCI (83.9%) and PDCN (82.9%). Severity was significantly different between PDD (20.00 ± 10.81), PDMCI (6.54 ± 5.5) and PDCN (6.97 ± 6.98), p < 0.001. A score ≥ 19 had a specificity of 77.3% and a sensitivity of 78.8% for identifying PDD. In PDCN, SCC severity was found to be related to depression (OR 1.23, CI 95% 1.02-1.47, p = 0.026) more than with MoCA scores (OR: 0.86, CI 95% 0.69-1.05, p = 0.141). SCC are common in PD. Their severity can help distinguish PDD from non-demented PD patients. In PDCN, SCC should alert the clinician for an affective disorder.

Performance of distinct knee osteoarthritis classification criteria in the ELSA-Brasil musculoskeletal study.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the performance of different knee osteoarthritis (OA) classification criteria in a subsample of subjects of ELSA-Brasil Musculoskeletal cohort (ELSA-Brasil MSK) in comparison with the clinical-radiographic evaluation of an experienced rheumatologist. METHOD: A cross-sectional study of the diagnostic accuracy of different knee OA classification criteria: radiographic OA, symptomatic OA, clinical and clinical-radiographic criteria of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), and the definition proposed by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), UK. The study also evaluated some alternative definitions of OA including a combination of criteria. In total, 250 subjects participated. Only one knee per subject was included. When both or none of the knees were affected, one knee was randomly selected for analysis. OA prevalence, sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and accuracy were presented (CI 95%; α = 5%). RESULTS: The mean age was 56.1 years (SD = 8.7), 48.8% female, and 39.2% presented knee OA according to the rheumatologist. The sensitivity and the specificity of radiographic OA were 51% and 96.7%, respectively, while the NICE definition showed 57.0% and 76.3%, respectively. The other OA criteria showed good levels of specificity, but the levels of sensitivity were below 30%. Considering NICE and/or X-ray result in combination, the sensitivity increased (73.4%), while the specificity reduced slightly (73.0%) in relation to the original NICE definition. CONCLUSIONS: Radiographic OA showed the best performance, followed by NICE definition, especially in combination with X-ray results.

Validade dos critérios de classificação da osteoartrite de joelho: ELSA-Brasil Musculoesquelético (ELSA-Brasil ME) / Validity of the knee osteoarthritis classification criteria: ELSA-Brasil Musculoskeletal (ELSA-Brasil ME)

Introdução: Vários critérios de classificação de osteoartrite (OA) de joelhos estão disponíveis na literatura, geralmente divididos em clínicos, clínico-radiográficos e radiográficos. A existência de diferentes critérios de classificação de OA de joelhos dificulta uniformizar e comparar resultados em estudos epidemiológicos, assim como a investigação de fatores de risco e manifestações clínicas associados à OA de joelhos. O conhecimento sobre a capacidade desses diferentes critérios em discriminar indivíduos com e sem OA, assim como conhecer a força de associação de fatores de risco, da presença de dor e de limitação funcional com os diferentes critérios, é essencial para se compreender as vantagens e limitações do uso de cada um deles. Objetivo: avaliar a validade de diferentes critérios de classificação de OA de joelhos em uma amostra de servidores públicos acompanhados pelo Estudo Longitudinal de Saúde do Adulto, ELSA-Brasil Musculoesquelético (ELSA-Brasil ME). Método: trata-se de um estudo transversal de validação de diferentes critérios de classificação de OA de joelho, a saber: OA sintomática, OA radiográfica, OA pelo American College of Rheumatology (ACR clínico e clínico-radiográfico) e OA pela definição do National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). Os participantes do estudo foram provenientes da coorte ELSA-Brasil ME, um estudo ancilar ao Estudo Longitudinal de Saúde do Adulto (ELSA-Brasil). O ELSA-Brasil ME acompanha 2901 servidores públicos, ativos e aposentados, em um dos seis centros de investigação do ELSA-Brasil, localizado no estado de Minas Gerais, Brasil. O presente estudo foi realizado em uma subamostra de conveniência com 250 participantes do ELSA-Brasil ME, de ambos os sexos, com idade entre 39 e 78 anos. A avaliação foi feita por uma reumatologista (RCCM) no período de fevereiro de 2014 a junho de 2015. Apenas um joelho por indivíduo foi incluído, aquele com OA pela reumatologista. Quando ambos ou nenhum dos joelhos apresentava OA, foi feita a seleção por sorteio aleatório simples. Avaliou-se o desempenho dos critérios de classificação de OA descritos anteriormente, tendo como padrão-referência a avaliação clínico-radiográfica da reumatologista. Foram apresentados dados de prevalência, sensibilidade, especificidade, valores preditivos positivo e negativo e acurácia (IC 95%;α=5%). Posteriormente, a validade de construto convergente desses critérios foi avaliada a partir da associação entre a presença de OA de joelho identificada pelos critérios e as seguintes variáveis explicativas: índice de massa corporal (IMC), dor atual e limitação funcional (subjetiva e objetiva). A presença da dor atual em joelhos e a limitação funcional subjetiva foram avaliadas pelo Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) e a limitação funcional objetiva pelo teste sentar e levantar repetido. Associações foram testadas por modelos de regressão logística binária e multinomial (IC 95%;α=5%). Resultados: a idade média foi de 56,1 anos (DP=8,7), 51,2% eram homens. A maior prevalência de OA ocorreu na avaliação da reumatologista (39,2%), seguido de OA pelo NICE (36,8%) e pelo critério OA radiográfica (22,0%). OA radiográfica demonstrou sensibilidade e especificidade de 51,0% e 96,7%, respectivamente. A definição pelo NICE apresentou sensibilidade de 57,0% e especificidade de 76,3%. Os demais critérios mostraram boa especificidade, mas sensibilidade menor que 30,0%. Na avaliação de validade de construto convergente, IMC, dor atual e limitação funcional subjetiva se associaram à OA de joelho identificada por todos os critérios, sendo a magnitude da associação particularmente forte entre dor atual e OA segundo o critério ACR clínico (OR 21,7; IC95% 7,12-66,12) e entre limitação funcional subjetiva e OA segundo o NICE (OR 32,5; IC95% 13,4-79,0). Limitação funcional objetiva apresentou associação com os critérios OA sintomática e ACR clínico e clínico-radiográfico. Conclusões: o presente estudo demonstrou que dentre os critérios avaliados a OA radiográfica demonstrou melhor desempenho quanto à sensibilidade e especificidade, seguido pela definição de OA pelo NICE. Os critérios OA sintomática e OA pelo ACR clínico e clínico-radiográfico não se mostraram adequados para estudos que objetivam avaliar prevalência, devido à baixa sensibilidade dos mesmos. Entretanto, podem ser uma alternativa em estudos longitudinais nos quais é favorável o uso de critérios com boa especificidade. Quanto à validade de construto convergente, de forma geral, os resultados encontrados oferecem suporte para todos os critérios investigados, já que houve associação de IMC, dor atual e limitação funcional subjetiva com todos os critérios e a limitação funcional objetiva apenas não se associou à OA radiográfica e ao NICE. É importante ressaltar que a escolha de qual critério utilizar em um estudo requer levar em conta qual combinação melhor atende aos objetivos preconizados pelo estudo.

Introduction: the classification criteria for knee osteoarthritis (OA) available in the literature are usually divided into three main groups; clinical, clinical-radiographic and radiographic. The existence of different knee OA classification criteria makes it difficult to standardize and compare results in epidemiological studies, and also to investigate risk factors and clinical manifestations associated with knee OA. It is essential to understand the extent to which these different criteria are able to discriminate between subjects with and without OA. It is also important to know the strength of association of the following items with the different criteria: risk factors, the presence of pain and the functionality Objective: To evaluate the validity of different knee osteoarthritis (OA) classification criteria: radiographic OA, symptomatic OA, clinical and clinical-radiographic criteria of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) and the OA definition proposed by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). Method: A cross-sectional study of the validity of different knee OA classification criteria, radiographic OA, symptomatic OA, clinical and clinical-radiographic criteria of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) and the OA definition proposed by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). The subjects were from the ELSA-Brasil Musculoskeletal cohort (ELSA-Brasil MSK), an ancillary investigation on musculoskeletal disorders of the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil). The ELSA- Brasil MSK follows 2901 active and retired civil servants at one of the six ELSA-Brasil investigations centers, located in the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The present study was carried out using a convenience subsample with 250 male and female subjects aged between 39 and 78 selected from ELSA-Brasil MSK. The assessment was made by a rheumatologist (RCCM) between February 2014 and June 2015. Only one knee per subject was included i.e., the one that had OA according to the rheumatologist and, when both or none of the knees were affected, one knee was randomly selected for analysis. The performance of the classification criteria of knee OA described before was evaluated, using as reference-standard the clinicalradiographic evaluation of the rheumatologist. OA prevalence, sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values and accuracy were presented (CI 95%; α = 5%). After that the construct validity of the criteria was evaluated by the relationship between the presence of knee OA identified by the criteria and the following explanatory variables: body mass index (BMI), pain and the functional limitation. The presence of current pain in knees and the subjective functional limitation were evaluated using Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) and the objective functional limitation was evaluated by the five-times sitto-stand test (FTSTS). Associations were tested by bivariate and multinomial logistic regression models (CI 95% ;α=5%). Mean age was 56.1 years (SD=8.7); 51.2% were male. The highest knee OA prevalence was observed in OA according to the rheumatologist, followed by the NICE definition (36,8%) and radiographic OA (22.0%).The sensitivity and the specificity of radiographic OA were 51% and 96.7%, respectively, while the NICE definition showed 57.0% and 76.3%, respectively. The other OA criteria showed good levels of specificity, but the levels of sensitivity were below 30%. In the convergent construct validity evaluation, BMI, current pain and subjective functional limitation were associated with knee OA identified by all criteria. The magnitude of the estimates were particularly strong between current pain and OA according to the ACR clinical criteria (OR 21.7; 95%CI 7.12-66.12) and between subjective functional limitation and OA according to NICE (OR 32.5; 95%CI 13.4- 79.0). The objective functional limitation was associated with symptomatic OA and with clinical and clinical-radiographic ACR criteria. Conclusions: the present study demonstrated that among the evaluated criteria, radiographic OA showed the best performance, followed by the NICE OA definition. The other criteria, namely symptomatic OA, clinical ACR and clinical-radiographic ACR were not adequate for studies that aim to evaluate prevalence, due to the low sensitivity of these criteria. However, they may be an alternative in longitudinal studies in which it is appropriate to use criteria with good specificity. Regarding the convergent construct validity, overall, our results offer support for all of the investigated criteria, since there was an association of BMI, pain and subjective functional limitation with all the criteria and the objective functional limitation was not radiographic OA and NICE. It is important to emphasize that the choice of criteria for a study requires deciding which the combination best meets the study objectives.

Heart rate variability in Parkinson disease and idiopathic REM sleep behavior disorder.

PURPOSE: Heart rate variability, a marker of autonomic function modulation, is known to be blunted in Parkinson disease, although data remains conflicting and a putative modifying role of REM sleep behavior disorder persists unclarified. METHODS: We assessed ten patients with idiopathic REM sleep behavior disorder patients, 18 patients with Parkinson disease and REM behavior disorder and eight patients with Parkinson disease without REM sleep behavior disorder. Heart rate variability analysis was performed in 5-min epochs selected from wake, Non-REM and REM polysomnography records. We compared heart rate variability measures by stage between two sets of groups: Parkinson disease vs. idiopathic RBD and patients with vs. without RBD, by using repeated measures ANOVA. RESULTS: There were no heart rate variability differences between Parkinson disease and idiopathic REM sleep behavior disorder groups. There were significant stage vs. group interactions (p = 0.045) regarding the high frequencies components when comparing patients with and without REM sleep behavior disorder, with the former presenting lower values and attenuation of sleep stage variations. CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that RBD is related with reduction in parasympathetic modulation of heart rate variability and blunting of sleep stage related variations.

Characterization of motor events in REM sleep behavior disorder.

We used video-polysomnography to characterize motor events (ME) in 14 Parkinson's disease (PD-RBD) and 18 idiopathic (iRBD) REM sleep behavior disorder cases. ME occurred predominantly in the upper limbs and were mostly simple, non-emotional, distal and focal. There were no significant differences in ME features between PD-RBD and iRBD groups. Our data suggests that RBD ME are mostly non violent. Similarity between PD-RBD and iRBD groups suggests that motor dysfunction does not affect ME features.

Tetrabenazine in treatment of hyperkinetic movement disorders: an observational study.

BACKGROUND: Tetrabenazine (TBZ) is commonly used in hyperkinetic movement disorders. In this retrospective study, we aimed to assess the TBZ effectiveness and adverse events (AEs) in Huntington disease (HD), vascular chorea, tics, dystonia, tardive oromandibular (OM) dyskinesia and other tardive syndromes (TS). METHODS: Qualitative analysis of clinical response was used to estimate TBZ effectiveness. TBZ-associated AE frequency and subsequent discontinuation rate were used to estimate tolerability; the tolerability profile was measured through the TBZ minimal dose and exposure time required to elicit AEs. RESULTS: Of 108 included patients, 87% had a clinically meaningful improvement sustained over a period of 40 months. TBZ-responder rate ranged from 100% in HD to 62.5% and 77.1% in tic disorders and OM dyskinesia, respectively (p < 0.001). TBZ-associated AE frequency ranged from 40.9% in other TS and 41.7% in vascular chorea and HD, to 60% in OM dyskinesia (p < 0.001). The most common AEs were Parkinsonism (51.8%) and psychiatric disorders (25%). The 'other AEs' category (mainly somnolence) presented the shortest minimal exposure time (3 months). AE-eliciting dose differed from 18.8 mg and 25 mg in tics and tardive disorders, to 75 mg in HD (p = 0.003). Patients with AEs were tendentiously older at TBZ initiation (p = 0.022). CONCLUSIONS: TBZ proved an effective and relatively well tolerated treatment in hyperkinetic disorders, with excellent results in HD. AEs were more common in OM dyskinesia, which may be related to higher age at TBZ initiation. TBZ-associated somnolence and Parkinsonism were more frequent during the titration and maintenance periods, respectively.

Motor and non-motor symptoms in old-age onset Parkinson's disease patients.

Advancing age is a well-known risk factor for Parkinson's disease (PD). With population ageing it is expected that the total number of patients with PD onset at oldage increases. Information on the motor but particularly on non-motor phenotype of this late-onset population is lacking. We recruited 24 patients with PD onset at or over 75 years. Each patient was matched with 1 control patient with PD onset between the ages of 40 and 65 and matched for disease duration. Both groups were assessed with the UPDRS, the Non-motor symptoms scale (NMSS) and other scales to assess non-motor symptoms. Groups were compared with conditional logistic regression analysis. Old-age onset PD was, on average, 80 years at the time of PD onset while middle-age onset were 59. Disease duration was approximately 5 years in both groups. While no difference was observed in the total UPDRS-III scores, old-age onset PD was associated with higher axial symptoms (7.42 vs. 4.63, p = 0.011) and a higher frequency of dementia (7/24 vs. 0/24, p = 0.009). While no difference in the total number of non-motor symptoms was observed (6.79 vs. 6.22, p = 0.310), old-age onset patients had a higher prevalence of gastrointestinal symptoms (20/24 vs. 12/24, p = 0.037). For the same disease duration, older age onset is associated with worse axial motor dysfunction and dementia in PD patients. Beside gastrointestinal symptoms, non-motor symptoms are not associated with age.

Probable REM-Sleep Behavior Disorder and Dysautonomic Symptoms in Essential Tremor.

Background: Non-motor symptoms can be present in essential tremor (ET). We intend to assess the frequency of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder (RBD) and dysautonomic symptoms in ET patients and evaluate the differences between patients with ET and RBD (ET-RBD and ET without RBD [ET-nonRBD]). Methods: All ET patients were contacted by telephone. Autonomic symptoms were assessed using the Scales for Outcomes in Parkinson's Disease-Autonomic (SCOPA-AUT) questionnaire, and RBD symptoms with the RBD screening questionnaire (RBDSQ) using ≥5 as a cut-off for probable RBD (pRBD). Results: From 92 ET patients contacted, 53 (55% female) were included. The mean age at assessment was 73.6±19 years, and the average disease duration was 19.9±17.3 years. Fourteen patients (26.4%) had pRBD and 52 (98.1%) reported at least one autonomic symptom, the most prevalent being urinary symptoms (96%). The ET-RBD group had higher SCOPA-total and thermoregulatory scores than ET-nonRBD patients (13.9±9.6 vs. 7.7±5.1, p=0.017 and 2.5±2.0 vs. 0.9±1.6, p=0.001). There were no other differences between groups. Discussion: Our results suggest that pRBD is common in ET, and its presence is associated with dysautonomic symptoms. As these symptoms are known to be prodromal symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD), we question if this patient subgroup has a higher risk of developing a synucleinopathy.

Non-Motor symptoms in Portuguese Parkinson's Disease patients: correlation and impact on Quality of Life and Activities of Daily Living.

The prevalence of non-motor symptoms (NMS) in Parkinson's Disease (PD) has varied between studies. Their interrelation isn't totally understood. Also, the relative importance of each symptom, regarding its impact on activities of daily living (ADL) and health related quality of life (HRQL), remains debatable. We assessed all PD patients attending a Portuguese tertiary movement disorders center during one year (n = 134), with ADL, HRQL and other clinical scales approved for identifying the most relevant NMS in PD. All patients had at least one NMS. Sleep/fatigue, affect/cognition, attention/memory were the most frequent complaints, and their prevalence, above 80%, was higher than in most studies. There were significantly correlations between: sleepiness, psychosis and cognition; gastrointestinal, cardiovascular symptoms and pain; depression and apathy; anxiety and insomnia; olfaction, weight and hyperhidrosis. Depression/apathy exerted the strongest influence on HRQL and non-tremor motor dysfunction on ADL. Compared to studies in other countries, we found a higher prevalence of NMS, which could be specific of this population. The interrelation between NMS could be related to degeneration of different brain structures. NMS exert a stronger influence than MS in HRQL, which should be taken in account regarding treatment options.

POLG1-related levodopa-responsive parkinsonism.

Parkinsonian features have been described in patients with POLG1 mutations. Notwithstanding, the clinical expression has been revealed heterogeneous and the response to dopaminergic treatment has been document in few cases. We aim to describe the longitudinal clinical features and the treatment response of three unrelated patients with neurodegenerative parkinsonism, preceded by PEO and SANDO syndromes, who harbor POLG1 mutations, including two novel mutations. It was documented a sustained response to levodopa, at 3 and 8 years of follow-up of parkinsonian syndrome, and reduced striatal dopamine uptake. We review the genotypic and phenotypic spectrum of POLG1-related parkinsonism. Our observations stimulate the debate around the role of mitochondrial DNA defects in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative parkinsonism.

Iatrogenic parkinsonism: the role of flunarizine and cinnarizine.

We performed a clinical report based, descriptive and retrospective study, aimed at comparing Flunarizine/Cinnarizine-induced parkinsonism (FCIP) patients and Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. The FCIP group (n = 30) presented a lower frequency of rigidity and unilateral tremor than the PD group (n = 70). All FCIP patients improved, 13 after dopaminergic treatment. FCIP patients who improved spontaneously presented lower frequency of rigidity, compared with the other FCIP subgroup and PD group. FCIP patients who did not improve spontaneously showed a clinical pattern similar to PD patients.

Profile of cognitive dysfunction and relation with gait disturbance in Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus.

OBJECTIVES: Although dementia is one of the most relevant symptoms of the idiopathic Normal-Pressure Hydrocephalus (iNPH) syndrome, some doubts remain about the nature of cognitive deficits in this disease. We aimed to determine the neuropsychological profile in iNPH and its relation with ventricular size, white matter vascular lesions (WML) and gait dysfunction. METHODS: Seventeen iNPH patients and a control group (n=14) were assessed with a battery of neuropsychological tests and a timed walk test. We calculated measures of frontal horn, occipital horn and third ventricle sizes and assessed white matter lesion (WML) load with a validated visual scale. RESULTS: Patients differed significantly from controls in all cognitive tests, but did worse on the Rey Complex Figure test. We found no significant correlations between cognitive and imaging results in iNPH. Cognitive function was related to gait in controls, but not in iNPH patients. CONCLUSIONS: Patients presented widespread cognitive dysfunction with a predominance of visuo-spatial deficits. Dissociation between gait and cognitive dysfunction in iNPH patients suggests the existence of different pathophysiological mechanisms.

Gait dysfunction in Parkinson's disease and normal pressure hydrocephalus: a comparative study.

Our objectives were to characterize gait dysfunction in Parkinson's disease (PD) and normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) patients, in a comparative analysis. We used a walking test to determine gait velocity (GV), stride length (SL), stride cadence and the presence of frontal (FG) and sub-cortical hypokinetic gait (SHG) features. Equilibrium was tested with the shoulder tug test (STT). These variables were used in cluster analysis, to classify subjects according to gait dysfunction. PD patients were assessed with the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) and Hoehn and Yahr (HY) scale. NPH patients were reassessed after high volume lumbar puncture (LP). NPH (n = 35) and PD (n = 40) patients had lower SL, GV and STT scores than controls (n = 30). NPH patients had worse results in SL, GV and STT than PD and a higher frequency of both FG and SHG features, compared to PD and the control groups. We found a severe/moderate gait dysfunction cluster, formed by 33 NPH patients and 11 PD patients, and a normal/mild dysfunction cluster, comprising 2 NPH, 29 PD patients and all control subjects. PD patients in the first cluster had worse UPDRS (except for tremor) and HY scores. In NPH patients, all gait variables improved after LP, although not to the controls level. PD and NPH gait was similarly characterized by loss of balance, slowness and small steps, although NPH patients performed worse. In PD patients, gait dysfunction comparable to that of NPH patients was associated with worse motor stage and the akinetic-rigid variant.

Síndrome da fragilidade no idoso comunitário com osteoartrite / Frailty syndrome in the community-dwelling elderly with osteoarthritis

OBJETIVO: Caracterizar e comparar idosos comunitários com osteoartrite (OA) de joelhos e/ou quadris, com enfoque na síndrome da fragilidade. MéTODO: Estudo transversal com avaliação de características sociodemográficas, comorbidades, medicamentos, depressão, antropometria, quedas, dor, rigidez, função, fragilidade e avaliação subjetiva da saúde em idosos com OA de joelhos e/ou quadris a partir de subamostra do estudo sobre fragilidade em idosos brasileiros (FIBRA). RESULTADOS: A amostra final foi composta de 58 idosos (74 ± 5,50 anos), como segue: 17 (29,31%) não frágeis, 28 (48,28%) pré-frágeis e 13 (22,41%) frágeis. O número de medicamentos foi maior no grupo frágil em comparação ao não frágil (7,00 ± 2,00 e 4,00 ± 2,00, respectivamente; P = 0,001). O Índice de Massa Corporal foi menor nos idosos não frágeis em comparação aos pré-frágeis e frágeis (média de 27,00 ± 4,50 kg/m², 30,00 ± 4,00 kg/m² e 34,00 ± 8,00 kg/m², respectivamente; P = 0,018). Depressão foi mais prevalente no grupo frágil. Em relação à saúde comparada ao ano anterior, houve diferença: 64,3% dos pré-frágeis e 46,2% dos frágeis acreditavam que sua saúde piorou; entre os não frágeis, 52,9% consideraram que a saúde permaneceu igual (P = 0,016). Quanto ao nível de atividade em relação ao ano anterior, pré-frágeis e frágeis relataram que houve piora (P = 0,010). Quanto à função e à autoeficácia para quedas, os frágeis mostraram-se piores que os demais (P = 0,023 e 0,017, respectivamente). Os outros itens avaliados não apresentaram diferenças significativas entre os grupos. CONCLUSÃO: Idosos com OA e fragilidade usam maior número de medicamentos, são mais obesos e mais deprimidos, têm pior percepção da saúde e do nível de atividade em relação ao ano anterior e pior autoeficácia para quedas e para função física.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize and compare community-dwelling elderly with knee and/or hip osteoarthritis (OA), focusing on the frailty syndrome. METHOD: Cross-sectional study of the elderly with knee and/or hip OA, using a subsample from the study of frailty in the Brazilian elderly (FIBRA), assessing the following: sociodemographic characteristics, comorbidity, medications, depression, anthropomorphic data, falls, pain, stiffness, physical function, and frailty. The subjective assessment of health was also performed. RESULTS: The final sample comprised 58 elderly (mean age, 74 ± 5.5 years) as follows: 17 (29.31%) non-frail, 28 (48.28%) pre-frail, and 13 (22.41%) frail. The frail elderly received more medications than the non-frail ones (7.00 ± 2.00 and 4.00 ± 2.00, respectively; P = 0.001). The mean Body Mass Index was lower in the non-frail elderly as compared with those of the pre-frail and frail ones (27.00 ± 4.50 kg/m², 30.00 ± 4.00 kg/m², and 34.00 ± 8.00 kg/m², respectively; P = 0.018). Depression was more prevalent in the frail group. Compared to the previous year, there was a difference in the health status of the groups as follows: 64.3% of the pre-frail elderly and 46.2% of the frail ones believed their health deteriorated, and 52.9% of the non-frail elderly considered that their health status remained unchanged (P = 0.016). When comparing the current physical activity levels with those of the previous year, the pre-frail and frail elderly reported a worsening (P = 0.010). Regarding physical function and fall-related self-efficacy, the frail elderly were worse than the others (P = 0.023 and 0.017, respectively). There were no significant differences between the groups for the remaining items analyzed. CONCLUSION: The elderly with OA and frailty use more medications, are more obese and depressed, have a poorer perception of their own health and of their level of activity as compared with that of the previous year, have a worse fall-related self-efficacy, and worse physical function.