La función ejecutiva en los adolescentes con síndrome de Down / No disponible

La función ejecutiva en las personas con síndrome de Down se había evaluado hasta ahora sólo en los adultos, encontrándose deteriorada; pero no se había analizado en edades anteriores, por lo que el deterioro podría deberse al envejecimiento precoz propio de este síndrome. En el este estudio se analiza en 15 adolescentes la función ejecutiva mediante el pase de una batería de pruebas que evalúan el cambio de contexto, la capacidad de planificación y resolver problemas, la memoria operacional, la capacidad para inhibirse y para mantener la atención. Los resultados muestran un deterioro generalizado, según se desprende de las pruebas que analizan el cambio de contexto, la planificación y resolución de problemas, la memoria operacional y la constancia en la atención. Se trata, pues, de una alteración propia del síndrome en sí, no del envejecimiento (AU)

No disponible

Executive function in adolescents with Down Syndrome.

BACKGROUND: The present work is aimed at analysing executive function (EF) in adolescents with Down Syndrome (DS). So far, EF has been analysed mainly in adults with DS, showing a pattern of impairment. However, less is known about children and adolescents with this syndrome. Studying adolescents with DS might help us better understand whether performances on EF tasks of individuals with DS are determined by age or by Alzheimer disease, as some studies suggest, or whether their performances are directly related to DS cognitive profile. METHOD: A battery of EF tasks assessing set shifting, planning/problem-solving, working memory, inhibition/perseveration and fluency, as well as a tasks assessing sustained attention has been administered to a group of 15 adolescents with DS and 15 typically developing children matched for mental age. All EF tasks were selected from previous studies with individuals with intellectual disabilities or from developmental literature and are thought to be useful for the samples considered. RESULTS: The present results revealed that the group of individuals with DS performed at a significantly lower level on tasks assessing set shifting, planning/problem-solving, working memory and inhibition/perseveration, but not on the tasks assessing fluency. In addition, individuals with DS demonstrated a greater number of errors and less strategy use for the sustained attention task. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest a broad impairment in EF in adolescents with DS, and are consistent with several similar studies conducted with adults with DS. We assume that EF deficit is a characteristic of DS.

Interaction between rifaximin and dietary fibre in patients with diverticular disease.

BACKGROUND: Cyclic administration of rifaximin in association with dietary fibre achieves symptomatic relief in uncomplicated diverticular disease (DD) by means of a still undefined mechanism. AIM: To investigate the effects of a combination of rifaximin and fibre on both hydrogen production by intestinal microflora and oro-anal transit time. METHODS: In a controlled, double-blind crossover trial, 64 patients with uncomplicated DD were given bran (20 g/day) and randomly treated with rifaximin (1200 mg/day) or a placebo for 14 days. Evaluation was based on clinical status, breath test, oro-anal transit time and faecal weight. RESULTS: The global symptomatic score was significantly reduced after rifaximin (7.1 +/- 4.1 to 4.1 +/- 3.3; P < 0.005) but not after placebo (6.8 +/- 3.8 to 6.1 +/- 3.5). Hydrogen production significantly increased after placebo from 198 +/- 134 to 267 +/- 161 ppm/min, while Rifaximin reduced it from 222 +/- 187 to 166 +/- 131 ppm/min (P = 0.05). The total oro-anal transit time decreased from 56.1 +/- 28.2 to 51.3 +/- 28.0 h in placebo and from 54.4 +/- 31.9 to 45.1 +/- 32.4 h (P < 0.05) in rifaximin-treated patients. CONCLUSIONS: The administration of rifamixin improves the benefits of dietary fibre in uncomplicated DD by preventing its bacterial degradation.