ABSTRACT
Korsakoff's syndrome (KS) is an insidious and progressive neuropsychiatric disorder that affects specific neurocognitive functioning, especially in tasks that require sustained attention, memory, executive functions, and visuospatial functioning. Usually, this disease generates neuropsychiatric complications that worsen the quality of life (QOL) of patients in the medium term. We present a case of a 63-year-old male who presented with a diagnosis of advanced Korsakoff's syndrome and has a clinical history of recurrent memory loss and a history of alcohol abuse. The patient showed difficulty manipulating immediate information, associated with a possible frontal lobe dysfunction, and inability to remember material given through the auditory pathway. The patient showed a psychiatric clinical picture which is constantly worsening his and his immediate caregiver's QOL. The data obtained demonstrate that the patient presents a progressive cognitive impairment, which in the short term is correlated with Korsakoff-type dementia. It is suggested to carry out functional neurorehabilitation plans aimed at improving the QOL of the patient, his immediate caregiver, and future people with this type of diagnosis.
ABSTRACT
Rapidly progressive dementia (RPD) is a heterogeneous group of diseases characterized by cognitive impairment and other neurological disorders developed in a short span of fewer than 2 years. Currently viewed as new and infrequent entities, most medical personnel have little understanding of it. Nevertheless, they significantly compromise many patients' quality of life. Here, we drive 3 clinical cases that evolve as RPD with different etiologies. Case 1: 70-year-old woman presented to the emergency with neuropsychiatric syndrome for 18 days. The researchers identified inflammatory cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), protein 14-3-3-positive T-tau protein, MRI: T2 and FLAIR hyperintensities in bilateral caudate nuclei with diffusion restriction, EEG shows a generalized periodic pattern with triphasic wave morphology. Case 2: 29-year-old man with cognitive impairment and faciobrachial dystonia seizure. The diagnosis was confirmed by achieving elevated antibodies against voltage-gated potassium channels. Case 3: A 49-year-old woman with encephalopathy and myoclonic seizures; EEG and MRI showed subtle changes. The patient also had a normal CSF but a positive CBA serologic NMDA-R antibody test. We described fundamental aspects of RPD to allow made differential diagnoses in patients with cognitive impairment and encephalopathy. Establishing an early and accurate diagnosis can benefit patients with RPD etiologies that are treatable and even reversible, decreasing in morbidity and mortality.
ABSTRACT
Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is a neuropsychiatric pathology characterized by dysfunctions in the frontal lobe of the brain, especially in planning, execution, and inhibition tasks, with an inability to make decisions and handle different sequences, also affecting the temporal lobe. The patient presents alterations to store, consolidate, and recall information. These neurocognitive deficits are accompanied by neurobehavioral disorders such as depression, anxiety, and apathy that contribute to the worsening of the quality of life, with a high impact on the individual, social, and family level. To identify the neurobehavioral disorders and neurocognitive deterioration that present a patient diagnosed with FTD: clinical case of low incidence and prevalence disease in Colombia. A 40-year-old man, with progressive deterioration of his immediate verbal memory, low verbal fluency, aberrant motor behavior, sexual impulsivity, alterations in his executive functions, especially in planning tasks, decision-making, and inhibition was found to have a lesser degree of affectation in his visuospatial functioning and visuoconstructive abilities. It was found that the patient presents a severe dysexecutive syndrome associated with a clinical picture of FTD, correlated with an inability to process and recall information, accompanied by disorders such as depression, anxiety, and apathy. It is necessary to generate a functional neurorehabilitation plan that aims to improve the quality of life in these patients. In the same way, it is necessary to create new lines of research and intervention that have the purpose to create a greater field of heuristics or new questions in this type of neurodegenerative pathologies.
ABSTRACT
Corticobasal degeneration (CBD) is a pathology of low incidence and prevalence worldwide; it is accompanied by symptoms such as dystonia, rigid akinetic syndrome (bradykinesia), gait disturbances, neurological deterioration associated with severe cortical subcortical atrophy, and progressive to moderate to severe neurocognitive deficits, especially in immediate verbal memory and dorsolateral or dysexecutive syndrome. We identified neurocognitive impairment and neuropsychiatric symptoms in a patient diagnosed with CBD. Participant was a 70-year-old female patient, single; she presented progressive memory loss of an immediate verbal nature. Initially, she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and Lewy body dementia, finding that she had no characteristic signs and symptoms of these pathologies. The patient presented conciliation insomnia, gait disturbances, and severe neurocognitive deficit, especially in executive functions, immediate verbal memory, and visuospatial functioning. It was found that the patient presented neurocognitive alterations of the executive type (frontal lobe) such as decision making, planning, inhibition and operative memory, correlated with a severe alteration in her basic, instrumental and advanced activities of daily life, with a high risk factor for developing dementia. It is necessary to diagnose in an assertive and timely manner in order to generate functional neurorehabilitation plans in people diagnosed with CBD, with the main objective of positively impacting quality of life, at the individual, family, and social level.
ABSTRACT
Resumen Introducción: La depresión en adolescentes es un problema silente de salud mundial, la cual, en ausencia de tratamiento, tiene efectos deletéreos en la salud física, bienestar psicosocial y rendimiento académico. Se requiere la validación de un instrumento que pueda emplearse como tamizaje en población adolescente, que permita conocer la prevalencia síntomas depresivos en una población universitaria. Objetivo: Calcular la prevalencia, de síntomas depresivos, factores asociados y validar dos instrumentos que puedan emplearse como método de tamizaje en poblaciones universitarias. Método: Estudio de corte transversal en adolescentes mayores de 18 años matriculados durante el primer semestre de 2016 en la Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira. La información recopilada incluye variables sociodemográficas y los resultados de la escala del Centro de Estudios Epidemiológicos para Depresión (CES-D) y el test de depresión de ZUNG. Resultados: Se obtuvo una muestra de 350 adolescentes, de los cuales se identificaron síntomas depresivos en la última semana de 8,85% y 36,28% para la escala de ZUNG y el CES-D respectivamente. La presencia de sintomatología depresiva se vio asociada con inactividad física (odds ratio [OR] = 2,1; intervalo de confianza de 95% [IC 95%], 1,1-5,8), consumo de alcohol (OR = 3,1; IC 95%, 1,8-5,3) y de sustancias psicoactivas (OR = 3,6; IC 95%, 1,9-6,6). Conclusiones: Se realiza por primera vez en el Eje Cafetero Colombiano una validación de la escala de ZUNG y CES-D, las cuales pueden ser utilizadas en población universitaria para tamizaje de sintomatología depresiva, siendo ambas equiefectivas con alpha de Cronbach de 0,84 y 0,87 respectivamente.
Background: Adolescent depression is a silent global health problem, untreated depression has detrimental effects on physical health, psychosocial well-being, and academicproductivity. Validation of an instrument that can be used as screening in adolescents and which would allow determination of its prevalence is required. Objectives: Estimate the prevalence of depressive symptoms, associated factors and validate two instruments that can be used as a screening tool in university students. Methodology: Cross-sectional study in adolescents 18 years and older enrolled in first half of 2016 at the Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira. Information collected included sociodemographic variables and the results of scale epidemiological studies center for depression (CES-D) and the Zung depression test. Results: A sample of350 adolescents, of whom depressive symptoms were identified in the last week of 8.85% and 36.28% for the Zung scale and CES-D was obtained respectively. The presence of depressive symptoms was associated with physical inactivity (odds ratio [OR] = 2.1; confidence interval 95% [95% CI], 1.1 to 5.8), alcohol consumption (OR = 3,1; 95% CI, 1.8 to 5.3) andpsychoactivesubstances (OR = 3.6,95% CI 1.9 to 6.6). Conclusions: For the first time in Coffe region area is realized the validation of the Zung and CES-D depression test, which can be used in university population screening for depressive symptoms, both of them are equieffective with Cronbach's alpha of 0.84 and 0.87 respectively.
