Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) as a screening tool for cognitive impairment in early stages of psychosis.

Background: Cognitive alterations have been reported in early stages of psychosis including people with First Episode Psychosis (FEP), Clinical High-Risk Mental State (CHR), and Psychotic-Like Experience (PLE). This study aimed to compare the cognitive function in early stages of psychosis using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), a low-cost and brief assessment tool of cognitive functions. Methods: A total of 154 individuals, including 35 with FEP, 38 CHR, 44 PLE, and 37 healthy controls (HC), were evaluated with the MoCA in Santiago, Chile. We calculated the mean total score of the MoCA and the standard deviation of the mean. Groups were assessed for a trend to lower scores in a pre-determined sequence (HC > PLE > CHR > FEP) using the Jonckheere-Terpstra test (TJT). Results: The mean total MoCA scores were 24.8 ± 3.3 in FEP, 26.4 ± 2.4 in CHR, 26.4 ± 2.3 in PLE, and 27.2 ± 1.8 in HC. The analyses revealed a significant trend (p < 0.05) toward lower MoCA individual domain scores and MoCA total scores in the following order: HC > PLE > CHR > FEP. The mean total scores of all groups were above the cut-off for cognitive impairment (22 points). Conclusions: The MoCA describes lower scores in cognition across early stages of psychosis and may be a useful low-cost assessment instrument in early intervention centers of poorly resourced settings.

Experiencia académica sobre la presentación de trabajos científicos en la IV Conferencia Internacional: Desafíos clínicos y terapéuticos en psicosis / Academic experience on the presentation of scientific papers at the IV International Conference: Clinical and therapeutic challenges in psychosis

Dentro de los desafíos de la investigación en psicosis en Chile y el mundo se encuentra el desarrollo de polos académicos de investigación en estados mentales de riesgo (EMARS). En este artículo se realiza un análisis descriptivo de los trabajos científicos presentados en la IV conferencia internacional: Desafíos Clínicos y terapéuticos en Psicosis realizada en octubre del 2022. Métodos: Se realizó una selección y premiación del mejor trabajo de acuerdo a un sistema de puntuación realizado por un comité científico ad-hoc. Luego se sistematizó la información en una tabla resumen para su posterior análisis descriptivo cualitativo. Resultados: Se seleccionaron 5 trabajos. El 100% de los trabajos seleccionados abordan el tema de la detección precoz e intervención temprana en psicosis, en particular en la temática EMARS. Asimismo, la mayoría de los trabajos presentados provienen de la región metropolitana. El 80% de los trabajos realizan un diseño experimental con reclutamiento de pacientes y el 20% usaron una metodología cualitativa. Conclusión: Así como años anteriores, los trabajos seleccionados dan cuenta de la importancia por el mejoramiento en la prevención, diagnóstico e intervención temprana en Psicosis. Se debe potenciar en Chile y latinoamerica el desarrollo académico y clínico en el campo de los EMARS.

Among the challenges of research in psychosis in Chile and the world, is the development of academic hubs for research in at-risk mental states (ARMS). This article presents a descriptive analysis of the summaries of the scientific works presented at the IV international conference: Clinical and Therapeutic Challenges in Psychosis held in October 2022. Methods: A selection and award were made for the best work according to a scoring system developed by an ad-hoc scientific committee. Then the information was systematized in a summary table for its subsequent qualitative descriptive analysis. Results: 5 works were selected. 100% of the selected works address the issue of early detection and early intervention in psychosis, particularly in the ARMS. Most of the papers presented come from the metropolitan region. 80% of the works carried out an experimental design with patient recruitment and 20% used a qualitative methodology. Conclusion: As in previous years, the selected works show the importance of improving prevention, diagnosis, and early intervention in psychosis. Research and clinical work in Chile and Latinoamerica should be strengthened in the field of ARMS.

Effect of Low-Dose Statins in Addition to Standard Therapy on Brain Perfusion and Neurocognitive Performance in Patients with Major Depressive Disorder.

INTRODUCTION: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a prevalent condition which has a well-known association with ischemic cardiomyopathy, probably explained by an inflammatory mediator mechanism. Statins, besides reducing cholesterol production, have pleiotropic effects including anti-inflammatory activity. The goal was to evaluate the effect of statins as an addition to standard therapy on mood status, brain perfusion, and neurocognitive performance in MDD. METHODS: We studied 20 MDD patients with brain single-photon emission tomography and Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB), half randomized to 10 mg of Rosuvastatin or placebo, in addition to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) therapy and being reevaluated 3 months later. The images were compared using Statistical Parametric Mapping; clinical scores (Hamilton Depression Score with 17 items and Beck's Depression Inventory) as well as neurocognitive parameters were applied as covariances (CoV) to estimate regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) changes with both therapies. RESULTS: Clinical scores decreased in both groups (p = 0.0001); Beck's presented a larger decrease with statins. We observed significantly rCBF changes expressed as significant larger clusters of voxels (p < 0.05) in the pre/subgenual anterior cingulate plus orbitofrontal cortex and a small area in the posterior cingulate gyrus in the statins group, whereas it was not observed with placebo, when using clinical scores as CoV. A similar pattern of rCBF changes was present with emotions recognition, attentional, paired associates learning, spatial planning, and working memory tasks. CONCLUSION: Short-term use of low-dose statins in MDD patients under SSRIs results in important rCBF changes in key mood associated areas to improvement in neurocognitive performance. These findings, even though demonstrated in a small sample, could open a new therapeutic tool in the comprehensive management of this disorder.

BDNF as a Biomarker of Cognition in Schizophrenia/Psychosis: An Updated Review.

Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) has been linked to cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia, which has been documented in previous reviews by several authors. However, a trend has recently emerged in this field moving from studying schizophrenia as a disease to studying psychosis as a group. This review article focuses on recent BDNF studies in relation to cognition in human subjects during different stages of the psychotic process, including subjects at high risk of developing psychosis, patients at their first episode of psychosis, and patients with chronic schizophrenia. We aim to provide an update of BDNF as a biomarker of cognitive function on human subjects with schizophrenia or earlier stages of psychosis, covering new trends, controversies, current research gaps, and suggest potential future developments in the field. We found that most of current research regarding BDNF and cognitive symptoms in psychosis is done around schizophrenia as a disease. Therefore, it is necessary to expand the study of the relationship between BDNF and cognitive symptoms to psychotic illnesses of different stages and origins.

Análisis descriptivo de los trabajos científicos presentados en la Segunda Conferencia Internacional Chilena de Psicosis 2020 / Descriptive analysis of the posters abstracts submitted to the Chilean International Conference in Psychosis 2020

INTRODUCCIÓN: Dentro de los desafíos de la investigación en Psicosis en Chile y el mundo se encuentra el desarrollo de polos académicos de investigación en estados mentales de riesgo (EMARS). En este artículo se realiza un análisis descriptivo de los resúmenes de los trabajos científicos presentados en la II conferencia internacional: Desafíos Clínicos y terapéuticos en Psicosis realizada en Octubre del 2020. MÉTODOS: Se realizó una selección y premiación del mejor trabajo de acuerdo a un sistema de puntuación realizado por un comité científico ad-hoc. Luego se sistematizó la información en una tabla resumen para su posterior análisis descriptivo cualitativo. RESULTADOS: Se seleccionaron 12 trabajos. El 75% de los trabajos seleccionados abordan el tema de la detección precoz e intervención temprana en psicosis, en particular en la temática EMARS. Asimismo, el 40% de los trabajos presentados provienen de regiones de la zona centro-sur de nuestro país. El 83% de los trabajos realizan un diseño experimental con reclutamiento de pacientes o discusión de casos clínicos complejos. CONCLUSIÓN: Los trabajos seleccionados dan cuenta del interés por el mejoramiento en el diagnóstico y terapéutica en este ámbito. Se debe potenciar el trabajo de investigación y asistencial en Chile en el ámbito de los EMARS.

INTRODUCTION: Within the challenges of research in Psychosis in Chile and the world is the development of academic research poles in mental states of risk (EMARS). This article makes a descriptive analysis of the summaries of the scientific papers presented at the II international conference: Clinical and therapeutic challenges in Psychosis held in October 2020. METHODS: The best work was selected and awarded according to a scoring system carried out by an ad-hoc scientific committee. The information was then systematized in a summary table for subsequent qualitative descriptive analysis. RESULTS: 12 papers were selected. 75% of the selected works address the issue of early detection and early intervention in psychosis, particularly the EMARS theme. Likewise, 40% of the papers presented come from regions of the south-central zone of our country. 83% of the works carry out an experimental design with recruitment of patients or discussion of complex clinical cases. CONCLUSION: The selected works show the interest in the improvement in diagnosis and therapy in this area. Research and assistance work in Chile should be promoted in the field of EMARS.

Reduced neurobehavioral functioning in agricultural workers and rural inhabitants exposed to pesticides in northern Chile and its association with blood biomarkers inhibition.

BACKGROUND: Previous biomonitoring studies have shown that people in the rural population of Coquimbo, the major agricultural area in northern Chile are being occupationally and environmentally exposed to organophosphate/carbamate (OP/CB) pesticides. Given their harmful effects, this study had two aims; first, to evaluate the effect of cumulative or chronic exposure to OP/CB pesticides on the neurobehavioral performance of agricultural workers and rural inhabitants; second, to determine if changes in the neurobehavioral performance are associated to changes in blood biomarkers of OP/CB pesticides during the spray season, when exposure is higher. METHODS: For the first aim, a cross sectional study of neurobehavioral performance in adult volunteers (men and women, 18-50 years-old, right-handed) was carried out in the pre-spray season. Sampling was done by convenience and a questionnaire was used to categorize participants depending on their level of chronic exposure, as either: occupationally exposed (OE, n = 87), environmentally exposed (EE, n = 81), or non-exposed controls or reference group (RG, n = 100). A neurobehavioral test battery consisting of 21 tests to measure cognitive, motor and emotional state was applied. For the second aim, neurobehavioral measures were taken a second time from EE and OE groups during the spray season, and their exposure corroborated by blood-based biomarker inhibition. RESULTS: Lower neurobehavioral performance was observed in the pre-spray evaluation of EE and OE groups compared to the non-exposed, OE being the worst performing group. Seasonal exposure impaired performance in both exposure groups on all tests except those on attention and mood. Data modeling of the basal (pre-spray) measurements showed that the level of exposure was the best predictor of performance. During spraying, inhibition of BChE activity in the EE group was the best predictor of low performance in tests measuring logical, auditory and visual memory, inhibitory control of cognitive interference, constructional and planning abilities, executive functions, and motor speed and coordination. CONCLUSION: Long-term occupational or environmental exposure to pesticides caused impairment in neurobehavioral functioning, which worsened during the spraying season, mainly in EE. BChE inhibition was the best predictor for seasonal neurobehavioral changes in EE.

Association between cholinesterase's inhibition and cognitive impairment: A basis for prevention policies of environmental pollution by organophosphate and carbamate pesticides in Chile.

BACKGROUND: In Chile organophosphate pesticides are widely used in the production of fruits. Pesticides use is regulated for professional practice but there is no regulation regarding exposure to the general population. OBJECTIVE: To relate exposure to cholinesterase's inhibitor pesticides during the spray season with neuropsychological impairment in occupationally exposed (OE) and environmentally exposed (EE) groups of people. METHODS: Exposure was assessed through inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) activity and neuropsychological outcomes were evaluated through a large battery of tests covering general mental status, language, memory, attention, executive function, praxis and psychomotricity. Evaluations were carried out firstly in a period of no/low organophosphate pesticide use and subsequently during the spray season. All parameters were calculated as the relative change from baseline to spray season. RESULTS: For this study in total 156 participants were recruited divided equally over participants with environmental exposures (EE) and participants with occupational exposure (OE). In the EE, BChE's enzyme activity inhibition ≥30% showed significant association with 10% or more decreased performance in several tests evaluating six of the eight cognitive areas (excepting psychomotricity and mood status); besides, for AChE inhibition in EE, the association was significant in three tests evaluating attention and one of executive function. Whereas, in OE, the inhibition of the BChE ≥30% was associated with a low performance of one attention test and for AChE the exceedance of the standard was associated with diminished performance in one test of memory and attention, respectively. The association between biomarkers of biological effect and cognitive impairment persisted among the EE group after removing confounders. No association was found between biomarkers of biological acute effect and decreased cognitive performance in the OE group. CONCLUSIONS: Increased exposure to pesticides was confirmed by increased inhibition of cholinesterase's in both exposure groups; which was associated with a diminished neuropsychological performance, mainly in the environmentally exposed study group. [310 words].

Early psychosis detection program in Chile: A first step for the South American challenge in psychosis research.

AIM: Early detection and intervention (EDI) is a main challenge in psychosis research. The Chilean schizophrenia (SZ) national program has universal support and treatment by law for all SZ patients, but this does not yet extend to earlier stages of illness. Therefore, we have piloted an ultra-high risk (UHR) program to demonstrate the utility and feasibility of this public health approach in Chile. METHODS: We introduce "The University of Chile High-risk Intervention Program," which is the first national EDI program for UHR youths. Longitudinal follow-up included clinical and cognitive assessments, and monitoring of physiological sensory and cognitive indices, through electroencephalographic techniques. RESULTS: We recruited 27 UHR youths over 2 years. About 92.6% met criteria for attenuated psychosis syndrome (APS). Mean Scale of Psychosis-Risk Symptoms (SOPS) ratings in the cohort were 6.9 (SD 4.6) for positive, 9.1 (SD 8.3) for negative, 5.4 (SD 5.3) for disorganized and 6.3 (SD 4.1) for general symptoms. About 14.8% met criteria for comorbid anxiety disorders and 44.4% for mood disorders. Most participants received cognitive behavioural therapy (62.9%) and were prescribed low dose antipsychotics (85.2%). The transition rate to psychosis was 22% within 2 years. CONCLUSIONS: We describe our experience in establishing the first EDI program for UHR subjects in Chile. Our cohort is similar in profile and risk to those identified in higher-income countries. We will extend our work to further optimize psychosocial and preventive interventions, to promote its inclusion in the Chilean SZ national program and to establish a South American collaboration network for SZ research.

Cognitive impairment in agricultural workers and nearby residents exposed to pesticides in the Coquimbo Region of Chile.

Chronic exposure to organophosphate pesticides is a worldwide public health concern associated with several psychiatric disorders and dementia. Most existing studies on the effects of pesticides only evaluate agricultural workers. Therefore, this study sought to establish if individuals indirectly exposed to pesticides, such as residents in agricultural areas, also suffer cognitive impairments. Neuropsychological evaluations were carried out on three groups (n=102): agricultural workers directly exposed to pesticides (n=32), individuals living in agricultural areas indirectly (i.e. environmentally) exposed to pesticides (n=32), and an unexposed control group (n=38). The assessed cognitive processes included memory, executive functions, attention, language praxis, and visuoconstruction. The direct exposure group performed significantly lower in executive function, verbal fluency, and visual and auditory memory tests than the indirect exposure group, which, in turn, performed worse than the unexposed group. Even after adjusting for age, gender, and educational level, both exposure groups showed higher rates of cognitive deficit than control individuals. In conclusion, both direct and indirect chronic exposure to pesticides affects cognitive functioning in adults and, consequently, actions should be taken to protect the health of not only agricultural workers, but also of residents in agricultural areas.

Assessing biomarkers and neuropsychological outcomes in rural populations exposed to organophosphate pesticides in Chile--study design and protocol.

BACKGROUND: Health effects of pesticides are easily diagnosed when acute poisonings occurs, nevertheless, consequences from chronic exposure can only be observed when neuropsychiatric, neurodegenerative or oncologic pathologies appear. Therefore, early monitoring of this type of exposure is especially relevant to avoid the consequences of pathologies previously described; especially concerning workers exposed to pesticides on the job. For acute organophosphate pesticides (OPP) exposure, two biomarkers have been validated: plasma cholinesterase (ChE) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) from erythrocytes. These enzymes become inhibited when people are exposed to high doses of organophosphate pesticides, along with clear signs and symptoms of acute poisoning; therefore, they do not serve to identify risk from chronic exposure. This study aims to assess a novel biomarker that could reflect neuropsychological deterioration associated with long-term exposure to organophosphate pesticides via the enzyme acylpeptide-hydrolase (ACPH), which has been recently identified as a direct target of action for some organophosphate compounds. METHODS/DESIGN: Three population groups were recruited during three years (2011-2013): Group I having no exposure to pesticides, which included people living in Chilean coastal areas far from farms (external control); Group II included those individuals living within the rural and farming area (internal control) but not occupationally exposed to pesticides; and Group III living in rural areas, employed in agricultural labour and having had direct contact with pesticides for more than five years. Blood samples to assess biomarkers were taken and neuropsychological evaluations carried out seasonally; in three time frames for the occupationally exposed group (before, during and after fumigation period); in two time frames for internal control group (before and during fumigation), and only once for the external controls. Neuropsychological evaluations considered cognitive functions, affectivity and psychomotor activity. The biomarkers measured included ChE, AChE and ACPH. Statistical analysis and mathematical modelling used both laboratory results and neuropsychological testing outcomes in order to assess whether ACPH would be acceptable as biomarker for chronic exposure to OPP. DISCUSSION: This study protocol has been implemented successfully during the time frames mentioned above for seasons 2011, 2012 and 2013-2014.