Burden of Parkinsonism and Parkinson's Disease on Health Service Use and Outcomes in Latin America.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the burden of parkinsonism and Parkinson's disease (PD) in Latin America. Better understanding of health service use and clinical outcomes in PD is needed to improve its prognosis. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to estimate the burden of parkinsonism and PD in six Latin American countries. METHODS: 12,865 participants aged 65 years and older from the 10/66 population-based cohort study were analysed. Baseline assessments were conducted in 2003-2007 and followed-up 4 years later. Parkinsonism and PD were defined using current clinical criteria or self-reported diagnosis. Logistic regression models assessed the association between parkinsonism/PD with baseline health service use (community-based care or hospitalisation in the last 3 months) and Cox proportional hazards regression models with incident dependency (subjective assessment by interviewer based on informant interview) and mortality. Separate analyses for each country were combined via fixed effect meta-analysis. RESULTS: At baseline, the prevalence of parkinsonism and PD was 7.9% (n = 934) and 2.6% (n = 317), respectively. Only parkinsonism was associated with hospital admission at baseline (OR 1.89, 95% CI 1.30-2.74). Among 7,296 participants without dependency at baseline, parkinsonism (HR 2.34, 95% CI 1.81-3.03) and PD (2.10, 1.37-3.24) were associated with incident dependency. Among 10,315 participants with vital status, parkinsonism (1.73, 1.50-1.99) and PD (1.38, 1.07-1.78) were associated with mortality. The Higgins I2 tests showed low to moderate levels of heterogeneity across countries. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings show that older people with parkinsonism or PD living in Latin America have higher risks of developing dependency and mortality but may have limited access to health services.

Prevalence and impact of neuropsychiatric symptoms in normal aging and neurodegenerative syndromes: A population-based study from Latin America.

BACKGROUND: Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPSs) are common in neurodegenerative diseases; however, little is known about the prevalence of NPSs in Hispanic populations. METHODS: Using data from community-dwelling participants age 65 years and older enrolled in the 10/66 study (N = 11,768), we aimed to estimate the prevalence of NPSs in Hispanic populations with dementia, parkinsonism, and parkinsonism-dementia (PDD) relative to healthy aging. The Neuropsychiatric Inventory Questionnaire (NPI-Q) was used to assess NPSs. RESULTS: NPSs were highly prevalent in Hispanic populations with neurodegenerative disease; approximately 34.3%, 56.1%, and 61.2% of the participants with parkinsonism, dementia, and PDD exhibited three or more NPSs, respectively. NPSs were the major contributor to caregiver burden. DISCUSSION: Clinicians involved in the care of elderly populations should proactively screen for NPSs, especially in patients with parkinsonism, dementia, and PPD, and develop intervention plans to support families and caregivers. Highlights Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPSs) are highly prevalent in Hispanic populations with neurodegenerative diseases. In healthy Hispanic populations, NPSs are predominantly mild and not clinically significant. The most common NPSs include depression, sleep disorders, irritability, and agitation. NPSs explain a substantial proportion of the variance in global caregiver burden.

Factors associated with cognitive impairment in Latin American older adults: A cross-sectional observational study of COVID-19 confinement.

INTRODUCTION: The effects of COVID-19 confinement have been severe, especially in older adults. Therefore, we analyzed the factors associated with cognitive impairment (CI) in Latin America (LA). METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional observational study with a total of 5245 older adults from 10 countries in LA. Measurement: We used the Telephone Montreal Cognitive Assessment (T-MoCA) and the Eight-item Informant Interview to Differentiate Aging and Dementia (AD8) scale. RESULTS: We found that age, depressive symptomatology, bone fractures, being widowed, having a family member with dementia, and unemployment were associated with an increased risk of CI. In contrast, higher education, hypertension with continuous treatment, quarantine, and keeping stimulating cognitive and physical activities were associated with a lower probability of CI. No significant association was found between suffering from diabetes or being retired and CI. DISCUSSION: It is essential to conduct follow-up studies on these factors, considering their relationship with CI and the duration of confinement.

Impact of quarantine due to COVID-19 pandemic on health and lifestyle conditions in older adults from Centro American countries.

BACKGROUND: The impact of quarantine in older adults have been reported in several studies with contradictory results, reporting from negative effects to no significant outcomes or even beneficial consequences. Heterogeneity in aging plays a role in each region, the aim of this study is to analyze the impact of quarantine on health conditions (physical and mental) and lifestyle in older adults in five Centro American countries during COVID-19 pandemic. METHOD: In this cross-sectional study, n = 712 older adults 60 years and older from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Costa Rica were assessed by telephone. Sociodemographic data, physical and mental health, lifestyle and quarantine conditions were asked previous informed consent. RESULTS: In general, mean of days in quarantine at the moment of the study was 142 days (approximately four months and three weeks). In the analysis of the impact of the days in quarantine effects were found on the frequency of falls, functional ability in Activities of Daily Living (ADL), general cognitive function, memory, orientation, language, frequency of drinking alcohol, having a balanced diet, and being active cognitively. Some differences were found between countries. CONCLUSIONS: Effects of quarantine on older adults in Centro America, requires attention of governments and healthcare to prevent long term morbidity and disability, and to promote healthy aging.

Frontotemporal Dementias in Latin America: History, Epidemiology, Genetics, and Clinical Research.

Introduction: The historical development, frequency, and impact of frontotemporal dementia (FTD) are less clear in Latin America than in high-income countries. Although there is a growing number of dementia studies in Latin America, little is known collectively about FTD prevalence studies by country, clinical heterogeneity, risk factors, and genetics in Latin American countries. Methods: A systematic review was completed, aimed at identifying the frequency, clinical heterogeneity, and genetics studies of FTD in Latin American populations. The search strategies used a combination of standardized terms for FTD and related disorders. In addition, at least one author per Latin American country summarized the available literature. Collaborative or regional studies were reviewed during consensus meetings. Results: The first FTD reports published in Latin America were mostly case reports. The last two decades marked a substantial increase in the number of FTD research in Latin American countries. Brazil (165), Argentina (84), Colombia (26), and Chile (23) are the countries with the larger numbers of FTD published studies. Most of the research has focused on clinical and neuropsychological features (n = 247), including the local adaptation of neuropsychological and behavioral assessment batteries. However, there are little to no large studies on prevalence (n = 4), biomarkers (n = 9), or neuropathology (n = 3) of FTD. Conclusions: Future FTD studies will be required in Latin America, albeit with a greater emphasis on clinical diagnosis, genetics, biomarkers, and neuropathological studies. Regional and country-level efforts should seek better estimations of the prevalence, incidence, and economic impact of FTD syndromes.

A multi-mechanism approach reduces length of stay in the ICU for severe COVID-19 patients.

PURPOSE: COVID-19 pandemic has multifaceted presentations with rising evidence of immune-mediated mechanisms underplay. We sought to explore the outcomes of severe COVID-19 patients treated with a multi-mechanism approach (MMA) in addition to standard-of-care (SC) versus patients who only received SC treatment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data were collected retrospectively for patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). This observational cohort study was performed at five institutions, 3 in the United States and 2 in Honduras. Patients were stratified for MMA vs. SC treatment during ICU stay. MMA treatment consists of widely available medications started immediately upon hospitalization. These interventions target immunomodulation, anticoagulation, viral suppression, and oxygenation. Primary outcomes included in-hospital mortality and length of stay (LOS) for the index hospitalization and were measured using logistic regression. RESULTS: Of 86 patients admitted, 65 (76%) who had severe COVID-19 were included in the study; 30 (46%) patients were in SC group, compared with 35 (54%) patients treated with MMA group. Twelve (40%) patients in the SC group died, compared with 5 (14%) in the MMA group (p-value = 0.01, Chi squared test). After adjustment for gender, age, treatment group, Q-SOFA score, the MMA group had a mean length of stay 8.15 days, when compared with SC group with 13.55 days. ICU length of stay was reduced by a mean of 5.4 days (adjusted for a mean age of 54 years, p-value 0.03) and up to 9 days (unadjusted for mean age), with no significant reduction in overall adjusted mortality rate, where the strongest predictor of mortality was the use of mechanical ventilation. CONCLUSION: The finding that MMA decreases the average ICU length of stay by 5.4 days and up to 9 days in older patients suggests that implementation of this treatment protocol could allow a healthcare system to manage 60% more COVID-19 patients with the same number of ICU beds.

Chikungunya encephalitis, a case series from an endemic country.

BACKGROUND: The Chikungunya Virus (CHIKV) was introduced into Honduras in 2015. Since then the WHO has reported more than 14,000 suspected cases in the country. OBJECTIVE: To describe the clinical, laboratory, neuroimaging, and pathological features of CHIKV encephalitis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We evaluated all consecutive cases of CHIKV infection meeting encephalitis criteria at Hospital Escuela Universitario at Tegucigalpa, Honduras, during 2015. Who case definition was used: patient with neurological manifestations meeting clinical criteria (fever >38.5 °C, joint pain); resident/visitor in the last 15 days to an endemic area; laboratory confirmation with IgM/ELISA. Other etiologies were excluded by ancillary studies. RESULTS: Out of 95 cases with suspected CHIKV infection, 7 (7%) cases with CHIKV encephalitis were identified; mean age was 56 years and four were men. The mean latency from onset of symptoms to diagnosis was 5 five days. Clinical manifestations were: fever/arthralgia, headache/alteration of consciousness and status epilepticus. The EEG demonstrated slow background activity and generalized epileptiform discharges in three patients. Brain MRI showed bilateral white matter hyperintensities and one with focal encephalitis; CSF analysis demonstrated lymphocytic pleocytosis and hyperproteinorrachia. Two patients died. Postmortem brain examination of one patient revealed lymphocytic infiltrates with focal necrosis in hippocampus, frontal lobes and medulla oblongata. CONCLUSIONS: Neurological complications of CHIKV are infrequent, but may be severe. In this case series, the neurological manifestation was encephalitis. Predominant symptoms and signs were fever, behavioral abnormalities, headache and seizures. Because of the potential morbidity and mortality of CHIKV encephalitis, these patients should be admitted to hospital urgently.

Trombosis de un ictus isquemico en el Hospita Escuela Universitario, Tegucigalpa, Honduras / Ischemic stroke thrombolysis in the University School Hospital, Tegucigalpa, Honduras

Hipócrates padre de la medicina, reconoció la enfermedad cerebrovascular hace más de 2 400 años y utilizó el término apoplejía. En Estados Unidos esta enfermedad es la principal causa de discapacidad, así como la tercera causa de muerte. En Honduras se ha observado que en los últimos años la incidencia hospitalaria del evento cerebrovascular se ha elevado notablemente, lo que constituye la primera causa de morbilidad y mortalidad no traumática en la población adulta y refleja el impacto que la enfermedad tiene en la población. Objetivo: realizar un análisis del primer caso de trombólisis en enfermedad cerebrovascular isquémica en el Hospital Escuela Universitario, Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Caso clínico: paciente femenina de 79 años, quien 40 minutos previos a su ingreso a emergencia de Medicina Interna del Hospital Escuela Universitario, presentó abruptamente afasia neurológica se encontró afasia motora, hemiparesia faciobraquiocrural derecha, con afectación sensitiva superficial ipsilateral y Babinski derecho. La tomografía cerebral simple no fluente y disminución de la fuerza en hemicuerpo derecho. En la evaluación no demostró anormalidades, por lo que cumplió los criterios establecidos y se decide trombolizar. Se logró disminuir el puntaje en la Escala del Instituto Nacional de Salud de 18 a 7 puntos y en la Escala de Rankin Modificada de 4 a 1. Conclusión: la paciente ingresó con déficit motor hemicorporal con afectación del lenguaje; tras la intervención se rescató el área de penumbra y egresó con leve déficit secuelar del lenguaje en la comprensión, sin déficit motor, ni pérdida de la fluidez del lenguaje. El uso de activador recombinante tisular de plasminógeno para ictus isquémico, con tres horas o menos de evolución, aumenta los beneficios del paciente ya que disminuyen las secuelas y reduce los gastos del sistema de salud. Portal razón es catalogado como evidencia clase A...(AU)

Prevalencia de demencia y factores asociados en adultos mayores, Aldea Tablones Arriba, Municipio de Yusguare, Choluteca, mayo 2010 – 2011 / Prevalence of Dementia and Associated Factors in Older Adults, Village

Las demencias son un grupo de enfermedades neurológicas y psiquiátricas; que se presentan en adultos mayores sin respetar edad, sexo, y nivel socioeconómico. Según la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS), afectan a un billón de personas en el mundo. Presentan una prevalencia de 6.5 en el Continente Americano, y en América Latina hasta de 7.0. Objetivo: Determinar la prevalencia de demencia y la situación general de salud del adulto mayor en la Comunidad de Tablones Arriba, Municipio de Yusguare, Choluteca. Metodología; Diseño: descriptivo-transversal, Universo: 110 adultos mayores; Muestra: 50 adultos de 60 años, Muestreo: probabilístico al azar estratificado; para la recolección de la información se utilizó una encuesta que constó de 32 preguntas, de las cuales 13 eran preguntas cerradas y 19 preguntas abiertas; la encuesta dividida en las siguientes secciones: Datos generales y datos socio demográficos, antecedentes médicos que se enfocaron en condiciones médicas relevantes actuales y pasadas, una lista actual de medicamentos, historia familiar, examen físico dirigido (antropometría, presión arterial, agudeza visual, evaluación cardiovascular y neurológica) y resultados de laboratorio. La encuesta fue validada en una muestra de 6 adultos mayores de 60 años y previo consentimiento informado; aplicada por medio de una entrevista. Se les realizó un examen físico completo, una evaluación cognitiva funcional corta que incluyó instrumentos estandarizados: MMSE, Test de Folstein, Test del Quetzal (adaptación al Lempira), Escala de Depresión Geriátrica, test de Yesavage, y mini-escala de Estado Nutricional de la Organización Mundial de la Salud. Se utilizaron los criterios de Estratificación de Riesgo Cardiovascular Framingham. El procesamiento de datos se realizó con el programa Epi-info 3.3 (versión Windows) y SPSS 17.0; se utilizó un análisis univariado para la estimación de prevalencia...

Síndromes neurocutáneos en la consulta neurológica: serie de casos / Neurocutaneous syndromes in the neurological consultation: case series

Los síndromes neurocutáneos son trastornos genéticos que afectan simultáneamente a la piel, sus anexos y al sistema nervioso. Mediante un esfuerzo colaborativo, se incluyó a pacientes con síndrome neurocutáneo vistos consecutivamente en clínicas tanto del Hospital Escuela como en dos clínicas privadas de Tegucigalpa del 2000 al 2007. Se realizó examen clínico/neurológico/dermatológico, árbol genealógico, exámenes de gabinete y biopsia de lesiones no bien definidas clínicamente o sospechosas de malignidad. Se clasificaron los casos deacuerdo a los criterios de las sociedades internacionales de dermatología. Se identificaron 37 casos, 64% del sexo femenino, 65% menores de 30 años. El síndrome más frecuente en el grupo fue la neurofibromatosis tipo I (44%), la Esclerosis Tuberosa (17%) y el síndrome de Sturge Weber (14%). Las principales consecuencias neurológicas fueron cefalea (22%), epilepsia (22%), déficit motor (13%) y retraso psicomotor (19%). La frecuencia y perfil de los SN encontrados fue similar a lo reportado en la literatura...

Prevalencia de demencia en población general: una revisión / Prevalence of dementia in general population: a review

Según la OMS, aproximadamente 24 millones de personas sufren algún tipo de demencia. El aumento en el número de casos para el año 2010 se espera sea de 37%. Las demencias son un grupo de enfermedades neurológicas generalmente crónicas y progresivas, que cursan con deterioro adquirido en las funciones cognitivas superiores, sin alteración en el estado de alerta; alteraciones neuropsiquiátricas y dependencia en actividades rutinarias. Se cree que la causa más común es la Enfermedad de Alzheimer. Se estima una prevalencia mundial de demencia de 6.1% entre las personas mayores de 65 años. Un dato replicado muchas veces es que las prevalencias tienden a duplicarse cada cinco años de vida. Las prevalencias parecen ser iguales entre los sexos; ser menores en países en desarrollo y aumentar según el grado de analfabetismo. En América Latina un análisis comparativo de 8 estudios obtuvo una prevalencia de 7.1. En Honduras, no se han realizado estudios sobre la prevalencia de demencia, pero un estudio dirigido a varias enfermedades reveló una prevalencia de personas con quejas prominentes de memoria de 3.2 /1000. Es muy importante conocer la prevalencia de demencias en nuestro país para la adecuada asignación de recursos...

Enfermedad de Huntington: reporte de dos casos en una familia hondureña y revisión de la literatura / Huntingtons diseases: repot of two cases an honduran family review of the literature

La enfermedad de Huntington (EH) es un trastorno genético caracterizado por movimientos anormales, demencia y trastornos neuro-conductuales, con una herencia autosómica dominante. Su etiología es debida a una expansión de tripletes repetidos CAG en el gen HD localizado en el cromosoma 4p16.3, causando 36-121 repeticiones. Describimos a dos pacientes hondureños, miembros de una misma familia, con diagnóstico molecular de EH. El paciente índice se presentó con dificultad para de ambular, disartria, blefaroespasmo y movimientos involuntarios de manos, brazos y pies. Adicionalmente, pérdida de memoria,dificultad para la comprensión de tareas complejas, dificultad para realizar tareas de la vida diaria y pérdida de peso. Asimismo, se discuten las características neuropsiquiátricas de la enfermedad y asuntos éticos de importancia...

Muscular activation patterns of healthy persons and low back pain patients performing a functional capacity evaluation test.

The results of most reported studies show differences between the muscular activity of low back pain patients and healthy subjects, but the focus has usually been on trunk muscles only, and they have not involved work-related tests or exercises. The reintegration of chronic low back pain patients to job market is a common problem. Therefore assessment systems like the functional capacity evaluation (FCE) according to Isernhagen [S.J. Isernhagen, Work Injury: Management and Prevention, Aspen Publishers Inc., Gaithersburg, MD, 1988] are often used tools to determine the physical abilities and deficits of long-time incapacitated persons. The aim of the present study was to compare the healthy persons and chronic low back pain patients in performing a FCE-test and to analyse their muscular activation and motion patterns. The results indicate differences in the activation patterns of the groups in the test task "floor to waist lift" common in many occupations.

Efectos de la intoxicación por plomo en niños escolares / Effects of lead intoxication on school children

El objetivo de este estudio fue determinar las caracteristicas nutricionales, psicológicas y neurofisiológicas en escolares con niveles tóxicos de plomo en sangre para establecer la magnitud del problema. Los niños fueron seleccionados de estudios epidemiológicos de niveles de plomo séricos distribuyéndolos en dos grupos cuyas carácteristicas fueron: escolares de escuelas públicas de Tegucigalpa, de 6 a 8 años de edad, y nivel socioeconómico similar. Los grupos fueron conformados así: grupo 1) niños con niveles séricos de plomo mayores o iguales a 10 ug/dl (niños casos) y grupo 2) niños con niveles séricos de plomo menores o iguales a 2.9 ug/dl (niños controles). Se realizó examen clínico y físico, hematológico completo, test de inteligencia con la escala de Weschler y potenciales evocados somatosensoriales. La muestra fue de 22 niños: 11 niños casos y 11 niños controles. En los resultados, los niños con niveles tóxicos de plomo presentaban menor estatura, menor desempeño en la escala verbal de coeficiente intelectual y un mayor tiempo de conducción en la zona registrada por N20-P22, área asociativa cerebral (p=0.041). La hemoglobina, la velocidad de conducción periférica y el tiempo de conducción periférica y el tiempo de conducción del sistema nervioso central de N9 a N20, no fueron diferentes significativamente entre los dos grupos