Galeno Rojas

Clinical and economic characteristics associated with direct costs of Alzheimer's, frontotemporal and vascular dementia in Argentina.

BACKGROUND The economic cost of dementia is high and can be predicted by cognitive and neuropsychiatric profiles. The differential costs of the various subtypes of dementia are unknown in Argentina, and this study therefore aimed to compare these costs. METHODS Patients with a diagnosis of dementia of Alzheimer-type (DAT), frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and vascular dementia (VaD), and their primary caregivers, were evaluated between 2002 and 2008. RESULTS 104 patients with dementia (DAT = 44, FTD = 34, VaD = 26) were screened and matched by age and educational level with 29 healthy subjects. Demographic variables showed no significant differences among dementia patients. The annual direct costs were US

Analysis of C9orf72 in patients with frontotemporal dementia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis from Argentina

4625 for DAT, US

Características clínicas y económicas asociadas con los costes directos en demencia tipo Alzheimer, frontotemporal y vascular

4924 for FTD, and US

NORMATIVE DATA OF THE ARGENTINE VERSION OF THE SIGNORET BATTERY FOR MNESIC EFFICIENCY (BEM144) AND DISCRIMINATIVE VALIDITY FOR MILD COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT

5112 for VaD (p > 0.05 between groups). In the post hoc analysis VaD showed higher hospitalization costs than DAT (p < 0.001). VaD exhibited lower medication costs than FTD (p < 0.001). DAT exhibited higher anti-dementia drug costs; FTD had higher psychotropic costs. In the multivariate analysis, depression, activities of daily living, and caregiver burden were correlated with direct costs (r2 = 0.76). CONCLUSIONS The different dementia types have different costs. Overall, costs increased with the presence of behavioral symptoms, depression and functional impairment of activities of daily living.

BENEFITS OF A COGNITIVE TRAINING GROUP IN COGNITIVELY IMPAIRED PATIENTS

Pathologic expansion of the G4C2 repeat in C9orf72 is the main genetic cause of frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). To evaluate the frequency of the G4C2 expansion in a Latin American cohort of FTD and ALS patients, we used a 2-step genotyping strategy. For FTD, we observed an overall expansion frequency of 18.2% (6 of 33 unrelated cases). Moreover, the C9orf72 expansion accounted for 37.5% of all familial FTD cases (6 of 16 families). The expansion frequency in sporadic ALS cases was 2% (1 of 47 unrelated patients), whereas we observed the expansion in 1 of 3 families with a positive history for ALS. Overall, the expansion frequency in our FTD group was similar to that reported for patients in Europe and North America, whereas the frequency in our sporadic ALS group was significantly lower. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the frequency of the C9orf72 expansion in a Latin American population.

RAPIDLY PROGRESSIVE DEMENTIAS: ETIOLOGIES FOUND IN A HIGH COMPLEXITY REFERRAL CENTER IN BUENOS AIRES

Resumen Introduccion El coste economico de las demencias es elevado. El perfil de deterioro cognitivo y neuropsiquiatrico puede predecir el gasto por demencia. Se desconoce en nuestro medio la diferencia entre los distintos subtipos de demencia. Objetivo Comparar los costes directos de la enfermedad en los distintos subtipos de demencia. Materiales y metodos Fueron evaluados pacientes con diagnostico de demencia tipo Alzheimer probable (DTA), frontotemporal (DFT) y vascular (DVASC) de acuerdo con criterios publicados (periodo 2002 a 2008). Se elaboro una entrevista estructurada sobre los gastos directos. Resultados Se seleccionaron 104 pacientes con demencia (DTA = 44, DFT = 34 y DVASC = 26) y fueron apareados con 29 controles normales. En las variables demograficas no se presentaron diferencias significativas (Kruskall-Wallis). El coste directo anual fue de 4.625 dolares para DTA, 4.924 dolares para la DFT y para la DVASC 5.112 dolares (p > 0,05 entre los grupos). En el analisis post hoc la DVASC presento mayor coste por internaciones que la DTA (p Conclusiones El coste entre los distintos tipos de demencia ha sido diferente. El derivado de los pacientes se vio incrementado con la presencia de depresion, la institucionalizacion y con el numero de medicamentos suministrados.

Sertraline-induced Hemichorea

condition and AVLT-LTM (p1⁄40.02, r1⁄4-0.50). Combining two UEF parameters in regression models for predicting AVLT scores, we observed a significant association between UEF models with AVLT-STM and AVLT-LTM scores for both normal and rapid tasks (p<0.02, r1⁄40.53-0.71). Conclusions: In cognitively normal older adults, the UEF normal and rapid elbow flexion speed significantly correlated with the AVLT STM and AVLT LTM while UEF motion variability in the normal speed condition correlated with AVLT LTM, suggesting a potential role for UEF tasks in enhancing assessment of early cognitive decline. Further research on the role of UEF as a rapid screen for early cognitive impairment is recommended.

RAPIDLY PROGRESSIVE DEMENTIA SECONDARY TO AUTOIMMUNE ENCEPHALITIS: NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILES AND RESPONSE TO IMMUNOTHERAPY

P4-001 THE CITIMEM STUDY: CITICOLINE PLUS MEMANTINE IN AGED PATIENTS AFFECTEDWITH ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE AND MIXED DEMENTIA STUDY: PRELIMINARY DATA Pietro Gareri, Antonino Maria Cotroneo, Salvatore Putignano and The CitiMem Study Group, Ambulatory Center for Cognitive Disorders, Catanzaro Lido, Catanzaro, Italy; Department of Elderly Health Care–Birago di Vische Hospital and Botticelli Territorial Geriatrics, Azienda Sanitaria Locale Torino 2, Turin, Italy; Operative Unit Elderly Care, Azienda Sanitaria Locale Napoli Centro, Naples, Italy. Contact e-mail: pietro.gareri@alice.it

Influence of the affective valence of visual materials in recognition among healthy individuals and patients with Alzheimer's disease dementia

P2-312 RAPIDLY PROGRESSIVE DEMENTIAS: ETIOLOGIES FOUND IN A HIGH COMPLEXITY REFERRAL CENTER IN BUENOS AIRES Gustavo Andres Da Prat de Magalhaes, Galeno Rojas, Adriana Leis, Martin Cesarini, Jose Luis Etcheverry, Maria Pilar Sanchez, Maria Bres Bullrich, Natalia Gonzalez Rojas, Virginia Laura Parisi, Gabriel Gustavo Persi, Emilia Gatto, Sanatorio Trinidad Mitre, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Sanatorio de la Trinidad Mitre, Unidad de Neurociencias, Caba, Argentina; Sanatorio de la Trinidad Mitre, Buenos Aires, Argentina; INEBA, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Contact e-mail: gustavoda_prat@hotmail.com

Hippocampal mean diffusivity is a biomarker of neuronal injury in patients with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease dementia

Background Hemichorea–hemiballism is a syndrome secondary to different etiologies. Drug-induced hemichorea is a rare syndrome related to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. To the best of our knowledge, no previous cases of hemichorea associated with sertraline have been reported. Case Report A 65-year-old female noticed hemichorea 1 week after initiation of sertraline. After extensive investigations, other causes of hemichorea were excluded. Hemichorea remitted after sertraline withdrawal. Discussion In our patient, temporal association and the negative clinical assessment supported a diagnosis of likely drug-induced involuntary movement. We hypothesized that enhanced serotonergic transmission in the ventral tegmental area or nigrostriatum may be involved in sertraline-induced hemichorea.