Overview on cognitive impairment in psychotic disorders: From impaired microcircuits to dysconnectivity.

Schizophrenia's cognitive deficits, often overshadowed by positive symptoms, significantly contribute to the disorder's morbidity. Increasing attention highlights these deficits as reflections of neural circuit dysfunction across various cortical regions. Numerous connectivity alterations linked to cognitive symptoms in psychotic disorders have been reported, both at the macroscopic and microscopic level, emphasizing the potential role of plasticity and microcircuits impairment during development and later stages. However, the heterogeneous clinical presentation of cognitive impairment and diverse connectivity findings pose challenges in summarizing them into a cohesive picture. This review aims to synthesize major cognitive alterations, recent insights into network structural and functional connectivity changes and proposed mechanisms and microcircuit alterations underpinning these symptoms, particularly focusing on neurodevelopmental impairment, E/I balance, and sleep disturbances. Finally, we will also comment on some of the most recent and promising therapeutic approaches that aim to target these mechanisms to address cognitive symptoms. Through this comprehensive exploration, we strive to provide an updated and nuanced overview of the multiscale connectivity impairment underlying cognitive impairment in psychotic disorders.

Human papillomavirus prevalence and risk factors among HIV-negative and HIV-positive women residing in rural Eastern Cape, South Africa.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the prevalence of high-risk (HR) human papillomavirus (HPV) and factors associated with HR-HPV infection among women from rural Eastern Cape, South Africa. METHODS: HPV prevalence was determined by Hybrid Capture 2 assay in cervical specimens from 417 women aged ≥30 years (median 46 years) recruited from the community health clinic in the Eastern Cape. RESULTS: HR-HPV prevalence was 28.5% (119/417), and HIV-positive women had significantly higher HR-HPV prevalence than HIV-negative women (40.6%, 63/155 vs 21.4%, 56/262, respectively; p = 0.001). HIV-positive status (odds ratio (OR) 2.52, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.63-3.90), having ≥3 lifetime sexual partners (OR 2.12, 95% CI 1.16-3.89), having ≥1 sexual partner in the last month (OR 1.89, 95% CI 1.21-2.92), ≥4 times frequency of vaginal sex in the past 1 month (OR 2.40, 95% CI 1.32-4.35), and having a vaginal discharge currently/in the previous week (OR 2.13, 95% CI 1.18-3.85) increased the risk of HR-HPV infection. In the multivariate analysis, HIV positivity remained strongly associated with HR-HPV infection (OR 1.94, 95% CI 1.17-3.22). CONCLUSIONS: Risk factors related to sexual behaviors play a significant role in HR-HPV infection in this population. This report will inform health policymakers on HPV prevalence and contribute to discussions on the use of HPV testing as the primary cervical cancer screening test in South Africa.

Traducción y adaptación cultural al español del cuestionario Low Vision Quality of Life (LVQOL) / Translation and cultural adaptation into Spanish of the Low Vision Quality of Life Questionnaire

Objetivo: El objetivo del presente trabajo consistió en la traducción al español y adaptación cultural de la versión inglesa del Low Vision Quality of Life Questionnaire (LVQOL). Actualmente existen algunos cuestionarios diseñados para evaluar la calidad de vida relacionada con la visión en español, pero ninguno de ellos investiga específicamente la calidad de vida relacionada con la discapacidad visual. Método: El LVQOL consta de 25 ítems y explora 4 dimensiones distintas: visión de lejos; movilidad e iluminación; adaptación, lectura y trabajo de precisión, y actividades de la vida diaria. Para la traducción y adaptación cultural se siguieron las normas de la International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes, incluyendo, entre otras fases, una traducción, una retro-traducción y un interrogatorio cognitivo con un grupo reducido de pacientes con discapacidad visual. Se contó con un comité de expertos formado por un oftalmólogo, una psicóloga especializada en Patient Reported Outcomes y un óptico-optometrista con experiencia en baja visión. Resultados: Se consideraron un total de 46 frases para traducir, de las cuales 41 (89,1%) presentaron equivalencia excelente, 3 (6,5%) equivalencia moderada y 2 equivalencia pobre. La fase del interrogatorio cognitivo evidenció un alto grado de aceptación del cuestionario por parte de la muestra de participantes con discapacidad visual. Conclusiones: Los resultados obtenidos sugieren que la versión española de este instrumento es comprensible para pacientes con discapacidad visual. Sus propiedades como instrumento de medida serán evaluadas en un posterior estudio para determinar su validez, su fiabilidad y su sensibilidad a los cambios

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to provide a translation into Spanish, as well as a cross-cultural adaptation, of the English version of the Low Vision Quality of Life Questionnaire (LVQOL). There are currently some questionnaires designed to assess vision related quality of life in Spanish, although none of them specifically examines the quality of life of patients with visual disability. Method: The LVQOL consists of 25 items and examines 4 different dimensions: distance vision; mobility and ilumination; adaptation, reading and precision work, and daily life activities. The process of translation and cross-cultural adaptation was conducted following the recommendations of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes. This included, amongst other variables, a direct translation, a back-translation, and a cognitive debriefing with a small sample of patients with visual impairment. Work was supervised by an expert committee consisting of an ophthalmologist, a psychologist with expertise in Patient Reported Outcomes, and an optician-optometrist with experience in the field of low vision. Results: A total of 46 phrases were considered for translation of which, 41 (89.1%) had excellent equivalence, 3 (6.5%) moderate equivalence, and 2 poor equivalence. The cognitive debriefing phase showed a high degree of acceptance of the questionnaire by the sample of participants with visual impairment. Conclusions: The results obtained suggest that the Spanish version of this tool is understandable for patients with visual impairment. Its properties as a measuring tool will be evaluated in a later study to determine its validity, reliability, and sensitivity to changes

Translation and cultural adaptation into Spanish of the Low Vision Quality of Life Questionnaire. / Traducción y adaptación cultural al español del cuestionario Low Vision Quality of Life (LVQOL).

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the present study was to provide a translation into Spanish, as well as a cross-cultural adaptation, of the English version of the Low Vision Quality of Life Questionnaire (LVQOL). There are currently some questionnaires designed to assess vision related quality of life in Spanish, although none of them specifically examines the quality of life of patients with visual disability. METHOD: The LVQOL consists of 25 items and examines 4 different dimensions: distance vision; mobility and ilumination; adaptation, reading and precision work, and daily life activities. The process of translation and cross-cultural adaptation was conducted following the recommendations of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes. This included, amongst other variables, a direct translation, a back-translation, and a cognitive debriefing with a small sample of patients with visual impairment. Work was supervised by an expert committee consisting of an ophthalmologist, a psychologist with expertise in Patient Reported Outcomes, and an optician-optometrist with experience in the field of low vision. RESULTS: A total of 46 phrases were considered for translation of which, 41 (89.1%) had excellent equivalence, 3 (6.5%) moderate equivalence, and 2 poor equivalence. The cognitive debriefing phase showed a high degree of acceptance of the questionnaire by the sample of participants with visual impairment. CONCLUSIONS: The results obtained suggest that the Spanish version of this tool is understandable for patients with visual impairment. Its properties as a measuring tool will be evaluated in a later study to determine its validity, reliability, and sensitivity to changes.

Integrated Care Program for Older Adults: Analysis and Improvement.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to in-depth analyse the Integrated Care Programme for older in- and out-patients implemented for more than 25 years at the Hospital Universitario de Getafe, in Madrid, Spain. We identify the strengths and barriers hindering the full operation, and we proposed a technological solution that overcame these constraints and facilitated integration. DESIGN: First, we carried out a comprehensive analysis of the integrated care program at the HUG following Case Study Research; the primary unit of analysis was the Geriatrics service and its clinical units. Secondary sources of analyses were professionals' insights (obtained thought direct observation and interviews) and statistics on the service. After the identification of the barriers preventing complete success; we designed a Health Information System and developed a mock-up that was validated with the professionals. Finally, we passed the specifications to the Information System Unit at the Hospital to develop and integrate the system into the hospital one. SETTING: The Geriatrics Service of the University Hospital of Getafe, pertaining to the public Healthcare System of the Region of Madrid (Spain). PARTICIPANTS: No patient participated in the study. All staff from the Geriatrics Service and the ICT manager of the hospital contributed to the design of the Health Information System; and 3 geriatricians from the Service and 1 primary care physician validated it. MEASUREMENTS: First, we qualitative analysed the Integrated Care Program taking as dimensions eight facilitators towards integrated care. In response, we proposed an integrated information system solution. Later, we interviewed the staff geriatricians to analyse the Integrated Care Programme. Finally, we validated our proposed system in terms of usability and user experience using the System Usability Score-SUS and the User Experience Questionnaire-UEQ, respectively. RESULTS: The Integrated Care Program has demonstrated a high impact since its launch; however, the lack of integration in terms of information system was hindering the full deployment. We have designed an integrated information system which has been validated by physicians and nurses from the Geriatrics Service in terms of usability. We obtained a SUS score of 81 (68 is considered to be the cut-off point for usable systems). Besides, the perception of these professionals on our system was 'Excellent' in 5 out of the 6 items covered by UEQ (Attractiveness, Perspicuity, Dependability, Stimulation and Novelty) and 'Good' in terms of the 1 remaining (Efficiency), where there is still room for improvement. CONCLUSIONS: Our dedicated Health Information System is a robust solution to bridge information gaps and facilitate the complete integration of our Integrated Care Programme for older in- and outpatients.