Amer Cavalheiro Hamdan

O impacto da doença de Alzheimer no cuidador

Increase in the elderly population is a worldwide phenomenon. In 2025 Brazil will be the sixth country in the world in the number of elderly people. Consequently, there will also be an increase in chronic-degenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer Disease (AD.). AD is described as a progressive decline in cognition areas, function and behavior. During its progressive development, the AD person requires special care which is administered by health care nurses. Researches evidenced that the patient’s deterioration stage and his/her requirements are important stress factors to the care nurses. These manifest high indexes of psychiatric symptoms, mainly depression, damage at the immunological system and also high familiar disagreement indexes. Other studies suggest that these high indexes and burden on the care nurses are associated with the patient’s institutionalization. Current revision study shows the main determinant aspects on the impact on care nurses with AD patients.Increase in the elderly population is a worldwide phenomenon. In 2025 Brazil will be the sixth country in the world in the number of elderly people. Consequently, there will also be an increase in chronic-degenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer Disease (AD.). AD is described as a progressive decline in cognition areas, function and behavior. During its progressive development, the AD person requires special care which is administered by health care nurses. Researches evidenced that the patients deterioration stage and his/her requirements are important stress factors to the care nurses. These manifest high indexes of psychiatric symptoms, mainly depression, damage at the immunological system and also high familiar disagreement indexes. Other studies suggest that these high indexes and burden on the care nurses are associated with the patients institutionalization. Current revision study shows the main determinant aspects on the impact on care nurses with AD patients.

Avaliacao neuropsicologica das funcoes executivas: consideracoes metodologicas

The article aims to review methodological and conceptual issues related to neuropsychological assessment of executive functions. The main limitations and dichotomies of current studies related to executive functions are presented and the importance of theoretical support to validate the instruments and their clinical interpretation are discussed. There is still the need of additional evidences on executive functions that allow a complete understanding of all the processes involved. Finally, it is suggested the adoption of a specific model that may guide the study of the executive functions.

Relações entre controle executivo e memória episódica verbal no comprometimento cognitivo leve e na demência tipo Alzheimer

Este estudo comparou e relacionou o desempenho de idosos com Comprometimento Cognitivo Leve e Demencia Tipo Alzheimer em testes de controle executivo e de memoria episodica verbal. Para a avaliacao da memoria episodica verbal utilizamos a Tarefa de Recordacao de Palavras Imediata e a Tarefa de Recordacao de Palavras com Intervalo. Na avaliacao do controle executivo foram utilizados, os seguintes testes: Random Number Generation, Trail Making Test, Fluencia Verbal semântica e fonologica, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, Reading Span Test e Brow-Peterson Test. Treze idosos do grupo controle foram equiparados quanto a idade e escolaridade com nove idosos com Comprometimento Cognitivo Leve e oito idosos com Demencia Tipo Alzheimer. Foram encontradas diferencas e associacoes estatisticamente significantes em relacao aos testes de controle executivo entre os grupos investigados. Apesar da presenca de associacoes significativas entre a memoria episodica verbal e o controle executivo, nao foram evidenciados deficits do controle executivo nos idosos com Comprometimento Cognitivo Leve.

Fidedignidade e validade de construto do Teste de Aprendizagem Auditivo-Verbal de Rey em idosos brasileiros

Background: The Rey Auditory-Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT) is widely used for the assessment of episodic memory. However, there are few studies in Brazil assessing its psychometric properties. Objectives: To search for evidence of reliability and construct validity of the RAVLT, and to assess the influence of age, schooling, gender, and depressive symptoms on test performance. Methods: One hundred twenty-six healthy older adults (aged 60 and over) performed the RAVLT, Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE), Clock Drawing Test (CDT) and the Geriatric Depression Scale. Reliability was assessed by analysis of internal consistency, and construct validity by factor analysis and correlations with the MMSE and CDT. The influence of age, schooling and depressive symptoms was estimated by conducting linear regression analysis, and the role of gender by comparing the performance of males and females. Results: The RAVLT showed a high internal consistency, weak correlations with the MMSE and CDT, and a bifactorial structure, which is related to the processes of learning and episodic memory retrieval. Only age and gender affected test performance. Discussion: Our results provide evidence of reliability and construct validity in the tested RAVLT version, attesting its potential for clinical and research purposes for the Brazilian elderly population.

Adaptação transcultural da Dementia Management Strategies Scale ao português brasileiro

The aim of the present study is to present the transcultural adaptation of the Dementia Management Strategies Scale to the Brazilian Portuguese language. This scale was developed to verify the frequency of use of three types of management strategies in dementia, by family caregivers of elderly with this disorder. It is divided into three factors: critical, active management and encouragement. There were 3 translators, 100 non-specialist judges, 5 expert judges and 15 caregivers who participated in the pilot study. The procedures conducted were: two independent translations, elaboration of a synthetic version, evaluation of the instrument by 100 non-specialist judges and by 5 specialist judges and, finally, a pilot study conducted with 15 caregivers of elderly patients with Alzheimers Disease. After the adaptations were made in all stages of the process of the transcultural adaptation, the equivalence between the two versions was found to be satisfactory.

The Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) in Brazil: a systematic review

BACKGROUND Decision-making is a complex, multidimensional cognitive function that requires the choice between two or more options and also the predictive analysis of its consequences. One of the tools most widely used to assess decision-making in neuropsychological research is the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT). OBJECTIVE To conduct a systematic review of articles reporting empirical IGT studies based in Brazil. METHOD Articles were obtained from multiple journal databases including ISI Web of Knowledge, Scopus, SciELO, LILACS, and Scholar Google. RESULTS Thirty-six studies were included in this review and divided into four categories according to main subject matter (psychiatry & personality; demographic & cultural variables; medical/clinic; and psychometric properties & test administration standardization). In general, there was a significant growth in research employing IGT (Χ² = 17.6, df = 5, p = 0.0003), but this growth was restricted to a few geographic areas of Brazil. The psychiatry & personality subject matter was the most abundant, accounting for 14 publications (39% of the total sample). CONCLUSION Since its first adaptation to Brazilian Portuguese in 2006, a growing interest in decision-making as measured by the IGT can be observed, with psychiatry & personality topics representing a large portion of the scientific inquiry to date. Nevertheless, in order to extend the initial results of Brazilian IGT decision-making research, more studies are necessary - across a more diverse range of topics, including demographic & cultural variables, and psychometric properties & test administration standardization, the areas least studied -, as is the dissemination of the IGT to more regions of the country.

Neuroética: a institucionalização da ética na neurociência

Os recentes avancos na neurociencia suscitam inumeras questoes eticas. Neuroetica e o estudo dos avancos eticos, legais e sociais em neurociencia. Apesar de ser uma disciplina desenvolvida recentemente, a neuroetica tem uma longa tradicao historica. A preocupacao com questoes eticas na neurociencia e antiga e remonta as tradicoes filosoficas e cientificas que originalmente tinham procurado compreender a relacao entre cerebro e comportamento. Mais recentemente, o campo da neuroetica surgiu no contexto do debate publico e academico sobre os efeitos dos avancos decorrentes da neurociencia. No contexto atual, as inovacoes tecnologicas, que surgiram do crescimento da pesquisa em neurociencia, levantaram novos dilemas eticos. Este artigo tem como objetivo analisar o curso historico da etica no campo da neurociencia, especificamente a recente institucionalizacao da neuroetica.

Neuroética: la institucionalización de la ética en neurociencia

Os recentes avancos na neurociencia suscitam inumeras questoes eticas. Neuroetica e o estudo dos avancos eticos, legais e sociais em neurociencia. Apesar de ser uma disciplina desenvolvida recentemente, a neuroetica tem uma longa tradicao historica. A preocupacao com questoes eticas na neurociencia e antiga e remonta as tradicoes filosoficas e cientificas que originalmente tinham procurado compreender a relacao entre cerebro e comportamento. Mais recentemente, o campo da neuroetica surgiu no contexto do debate publico e academico sobre os efeitos dos avancos decorrentes da neurociencia. No contexto atual, as inovacoes tecnologicas, que surgiram do crescimento da pesquisa em neurociencia, levantaram novos dilemas eticos. Este artigo tem como objetivo analisar o curso historico da etica no campo da neurociencia, especificamente a recente institucionalizacao da neuroetica.

Neuroethics: the institutionalization of ethics in neuroscience

Os recentes avancos na neurociencia suscitam inumeras questoes eticas. Neuroetica e o estudo dos avancos eticos, legais e sociais em neurociencia. Apesar de ser uma disciplina desenvolvida recentemente, a neuroetica tem uma longa tradicao historica. A preocupacao com questoes eticas na neurociencia e antiga e remonta as tradicoes filosoficas e cientificas que originalmente tinham procurado compreender a relacao entre cerebro e comportamento. Mais recentemente, o campo da neuroetica surgiu no contexto do debate publico e academico sobre os efeitos dos avancos decorrentes da neurociencia. No contexto atual, as inovacoes tecnologicas, que surgiram do crescimento da pesquisa em neurociencia, levantaram novos dilemas eticos. Este artigo tem como objetivo analisar o curso historico da etica no campo da neurociencia, especificamente a recente institucionalizacao da neuroetica.

El impacto de la enfermedad de Alzheimer en el cuidador

Increase in the elderly population is a worldwide phenomenon. In 2025 Brazil will be the sixth country in the world in the number of elderly people. Consequently, there will also be an increase in chronic-degenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer Disease (AD.). AD is described as a progressive decline in cognition areas, function and behavior. During its progressive development, the AD person requires special care which is administered by health care nurses. Researches evidenced that the patient’s deterioration stage and his/her requirements are important stress factors to the care nurses. These manifest high indexes of psychiatric symptoms, mainly depression, damage at the immunological system and also high familiar disagreement indexes. Other studies suggest that these high indexes and burden on the care nurses are associated with the patient’s institutionalization. Current revision study shows the main determinant aspects on the impact on care nurses with AD patients.Increase in the elderly population is a worldwide phenomenon. In 2025 Brazil will be the sixth country in the world in the number of elderly people. Consequently, there will also be an increase in chronic-degenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer Disease (AD.). AD is described as a progressive decline in cognition areas, function and behavior. During its progressive development, the AD person requires special care which is administered by health care nurses. Researches evidenced that the patients deterioration stage and his/her requirements are important stress factors to the care nurses. These manifest high indexes of psychiatric symptoms, mainly depression, damage at the immunological system and also high familiar disagreement indexes. Other studies suggest that these high indexes and burden on the care nurses are associated with the patients institutionalization. Current revision study shows the main determinant aspects on the impact on care nurses with AD patients.