Miguel Ángel Barbancho

Memantine and constraint-induced aphasia therapy in chronic poststroke aphasia.

We conducted a randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled, parallel‐group study of both memantine and constraint‐induced aphasia therapy (CIAT) on chronic poststroke aphasia followed by an open‐label extension phase.

Chronic immobilization in the malpar1 knockout mice increases oxidative stress in the hippocampus.

ABSTRACT The lysophosphatidic acid LPA1 receptor has recently been involved in the adaptation of the hippocampus to chronic stress. The absence of LPA1 receptor aggravates the chronic stress-induced impairment of both hippocampal neurogenesis and apoptosis that were accompanied with hippocampus-dependent memory deficits. Apoptotic death and neurogenesis in the hippocampus are regulated by oxidative stress. In the present work, we studied the involvement of LPA1 receptor signaling pathway in the regulation of the hippocampal redox after chronic stress. To this end, we used malpar1 knockout (KO) and wild-type mice assigned to either chronic stress (21 days of restraint, 3 h/day) or control conditions. Lipid peroxidation, the activity of the antioxidant enzymes catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione peroxidase (GPX), as well as mitochondrial function stimulation, monitored through the activity of cytochrome c oxidase (COX), were studied in the hippocampus. Our results showed that chronic immobilization stress enhanced lipid peroxidation as well as the activity of the antioxidant enzymes studied (CAT, SOD, and GPX). This effect was only observed in absence of LPA1 receptor. Furthermore, only malpar1 KO mice submitted to chronic stress exhibited a severe downregulation of the COX activity, suggesting the presence of mitochondrial damage. Altogether, these results suggest that malpar1 KO mice display enhanced oxidative stress in the hippocampus after chronic stress. This may be involved in the hippocampal abnormalities observed in this genotype after chronic immobilization, including memory, neurogenesis, and apoptosis.

Bilateral brain reorganization with memantine and constraint-induced aphasia therapy in chronic post-stroke aphasia: An ERP study.

Changes in ERP (P100 and N400) and root mean square (RMS) were obtained during a silent reading task in 28 patients with chronic post-stroke aphasia in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of both memantine and constraint-induced aphasia therapy (CIAT). Participants received memantine/placebo alone (weeks 0-16), followed by drug treatment combined with CIAT (weeks 16-18), and then memantine/placebo alone (weeks 18-20). ERP/RMS values (week 16) decreased more in the memantine group than in the placebo group. During CIAT application (weeks 16-18), improvements in aphasia severity and ERP/RMS values were amplified by memantine and changes remained stable thereafter (weeks 18-20). Changes in ERP/RMS occurred in left and right hemispheres and correlated with gains in language performance. No changes in ERP/RMS were found in a healthy group in two separated evaluations. Our results show that aphasia recovery induced by both memantine alone and in combination with CIAT is indexed by bilateral cortical potentials.

Psychiatric comorbidities in autism spectrum disorder: A comparative study between DSM-IV-TR and DSM-5 diagnosis

Background/Objective: The heterogeneous clinical presentations of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) pose a significant challenge for sample characterization. Therefore the main goal of DSM-5 must be to identify subgroups of ASD, including comorbidity disorders and severity. The main goal of this study is to explore the psychiatric comorbidities and the severity of symptoms that could be relevant for the phenotype characterization in ASD and also to compare these results according to the different classification criteria between the DSM-IV-TR and the DSM-5. Method: A comparative study of severity and psychiatric comorbidities was carried out between a sample of participants that only met criteria for Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) according to the DSM-IV-TR and a sample of participants that also met ASD criteria according to DSM-5 classification. The recruitment of children was via educational (N = 123). The psychiatric symptoms, comorbid disorders and severity of symptoms were assessed through The Nisonger Child Behavior Rating Form, clinical interview and The Inventory of Autism Spectrum Disorder, respectively. The psychiatric comorbidities considered were: anxiety, eating behavioural problems, self-aggressiveness, hetero–aggressiveness, self-harm, obsessive compulsive disorder and attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder. Results: Statistically significant differences between both groups were found regarding obsessive compulsive disorder, eating behavioural problems and severity. Conclusions: The results support the hypothesis that patients who meet the DSM-5 criteria have more severe symptoms, not only regarding the core autistic symptoms but also in relation with psychiatric comorbidities.

Atypical conduction aphasia and the right hemisphere: Cross-hemispheric plasticity of phonology in a developmentally dyslexic and dysgraphic patient with early left frontal damage

We report the rare case of a patient, JNR, with history of mixed handedness, developmental dyslexia, dysgraphia, and attentional deficits associated with a Klippel–Trènaunay syndrome and a small subcortical frontal lesion involving the left arcuate fasciculus. In adulthood, he suffered a large right perisylvian stroke and developed atypical conduction aphasia with deficits in input and output phonological processing and poor auditory-verbal short-term memory. Lexical-semantic processing for single words was intact, but he was unable to access meaning in sentence comprehension and repetition. Reading and writing deficits worsened after the stroke and he presented a combination of developmental and acquired dysgraphia and dyslexia with mixed lexical and phonological processing deficits. This case suggest that a small lesion sustained prenatally or early in life could induce a selective rightward shift of phonology sparing the standard left hemisphere lateralisation of lexical-semantic functions.

Neurons of the A5 region are required for the tachycardia evoked by electrical stimulation of the hypothalamic defence area in anaesthetized rats.

•  What is the central question of this study? As the parabrachial complex plays a role in the cardiorespiratory response evoked from the hypothalamic defence area (pressor response and tachycardia) and the A5 region is involved in the responses evoked from the parabrachial complex, a possible interaction between the hypothalamic defence area and A5 is suggested. Accordingly, the present study was carried out to assess this hypothesis in rats. •  What is the main finding and its importance? The neuromorphological, neuropharmacological and electrophysiological results of our study demonstrate, for the first time, that the A5 region is an important component of those brainstem pathways known to be involved in mediating the autonomic changes associated with the electrically evoked defence response.

Deterioro cognitivo en pacientes con enfermedad coronaria: relación con variables clínicas

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Coronary disease has been associated with cognitive disorders. We studied the presence of dysexecutive mild cognitive impairment in patients scheduled for coronary surgery. PATIENTS AND METHODS The executive function of 35 patients was evaluated (Trail Making Test). They were classified into 2 groups: normal performance or cognitive impairment, and we assessed the relationship with others variables (Mann-Whitney, chi-square and multiple regression analysis). RESULTS The dysexecutive cognitive impairment group (n=7; 20%) showed greater degree of angina (odds ratio [OR] 1.4, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.1-2.6; P=.04), 3-vessels coronary artery disease (OR 1.3, 95% CI 1.08-3.6; P=.04) and body mass index (OR 1.56, 95% CI 1.16-3.65; P=.03) and lower diastolic blood pressure (OR 1.56, 95% CI 1.2-2.98; P=.02), hemoglobin (OR 2.03, 95% CI 1.18-4.05; P=.02) and hematocrit (OR 2.45, 95% CI 1.67-3.99; P<.001); these variables proved to be significant in the test performance considered as a dependent variable (R(2)=0.62). CONCLUSIONS We found a significant prevalence of dysexecutive mild cognitive impairment, which was associated with cardiovascular risk factors. We recommend assessment and monitoring of cognitive performance for probable neurological complications after cardiac surgery.

A Novel Integrative Mechanism in Anxiolytic Behavior Induced by Galanin 2/Neuropeptide Y Y1 Receptor Interactions on Medial Paracapsular Intercalated Amygdala in Rats

Anxiety is evoked by a threatening situation and display adaptive or defensive behaviors, found similarly in animals and humans. Neuropeptide Y (NPY) Y1 receptor (NPYY1R) and Galanin (GAL) receptor 2 (GALR2) interact in several regions of the limbic system, including the amygdala. In a previous study, GALR2 enhanced NPYY1R mediated anxiolytic actions on spatiotemporal parameters in the open field and elevated plus maze, involving the formation of GALR2/NPYY1R heteroreceptor complexes in the amygdala. Moreover, the inclusion of complementary ethological parameters provides a more comprehensive profile on the anxiolytic effects of a treatment. The purpose of the current study is to evaluate the anxiolytic effects and circuit activity modifications caused by coactivation of GALR2 and NPYY1R. Ethological measurements were performed in the open field, the elevated plus-maze and the light-dark box, together with immediate early gene expression analysis within the amygdala-hypothalamus-periaqueductal gray (PAG) axis, as well as in situ proximity ligation assay (PLA) to demonstrate the formation of GALR2/NPYY1R heteroreceptor complexes. GALR2 and NPYY1R coactivation resulted in anxiolytic behaviors such as increased rearing and head-dipping, reduced stretch attend postures and freezing compared to single agonist or aCSF injection. Neuronal activity indicated by cFos expression was decreased in the dorsolateral paracapsular intercalated (ITCp-dl) subregion of the amygdala, ventromedial hypothalamic (VMH) nucleus and ventrolateral part of the periaqueductal gray (vlPAG), while increased in the perifornical nucleus of the hypothalamus (PFX) following coactivation of GALR2 and NPYY1R. Moreover, an increased density of GALR2/NPYY1R heteroreceptor complexes was explicitly observed in ITCp-dl, following GALR2 and NPYY1R coactivation. Besides, knockdown of GALR2 was found to reduce the density of complexes in ITCp-dl. Taken together, these results open up the possibility that the increased anxiolytic activity demonstrated upon coactivation of NPYY1R and GALR2 receptor was related to actions on the ITCp-dl. GALR2-NPYY1R heteroreceptor complexes may inhibit neuronal activity, by also modifying the neuronal networks of the hypothalamus and the PAG. These results indicate that GALR2/NPYY1R interactions in medial paracapsular intercalated amygdala can provide a novel integrative mechanism in anxiolytic behavior and the basis for the development of heterobivalent agonist drugs targeting GALR2/NPYY1R heteromers, especially in the ITCp-dl of the amygdala for the treatment of anxiety.

Effects of food and drink ingestion on body composition variables of abdominal bioelectrical impedance

OBJECTIVE to know the changes in trunk fat and visceral fat level determined by abdominal bioelectrical impedance (BIA) as well as other anthropometric measures related to the central or abdominal fat after the ingestion of a lunch. METHODS the experimental study was conducted to assess a longitudinal intervention descriptive study. PARTICIPANTS 21 subjects (10 male and 11 female), volunteers who have access to a medical assessment, with an age of 74 ± 13.43 years. MEASUREMENTS Maximal waist circumference in standing position, waist circumference at navel level in supine position and sagittal abdominal diameter (SAD). In the same position trunk fat and visceral fat level by abdominal bioelectrical impedance analysis with Tanita AB-140 (ViScan) were obtained before and after meal. RESULTS anthropometric measures as waist circumference in supine position and SAD did not show significant differences (P > 0.05), after food ingestion, except for a significant increase of the maximal waist circumference in standing position (P < 0.05). In addition trunk fat and visceral fat ratio did not change (P > 0.05). The percentage changes of the measures were less than 2% for waist circumference in standing position, waist circumference by Viscan, sagittal abdominal diameter and trunk fat and 5.9% for visceral fat ratio. CONCLUSIONS the effects on trunk fat and visceral fat ratio by abdominal bioelectrical impedance are minimal after the ingestion of a portion of food and drink, although it is always recommended to do it in fasting conditions.