Browsing by Subject "Alzheimer disease"

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
  • Thumbnail Image
    Publication
    Restricted
    Circadian system functionality, hippocampal oxidative stress, and spatial memory in the APPswe/PS1dE9 transgenic model of Alzheimer disease: effects of melatonin or ramelteon
    (Taylor and Francis Group, Taylor and Francis, 2012-07-23) Baño-Otalora, Beatriz; Gambini, Juan; Viña, José; Bonet-Costa, Vicent; Reiter, Russel J.; Camello, Pedro Javier; Rol, María Ángeles; Madrid, Juan Antonio; Popovic, Natalija; Popovic Popovic, Miroljub; Anatomía Humana y Psicobiología
    Alzheimer disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that primarily causes β-amyloid accumulation in the brain, resulting in cognitive and behavioral deficits. AD patients, however, also suffer from severe circadian rhythm disruptions, and the underlying causes are still not fully known. Patients with AD show reduced systemic melatonin levels. This may contribute to their symptoms, since melatonin is an effective chronobiotic and antioxidant with neuroprotective properties. Here, the authors critically assessed the effects of long-term melatonin treatment on circadian system function, hippocampal oxidative stress, and spatial memory performance in the APPswe/PS1 double transgenic (Tg) mouse model of AD. To test if melatonin MT1/MT2 receptor activation, alone, was involved, the authors chronically treated some mice with the selective MT1/MT2 receptor agonist ramelteon. The results indicate that many of the circadian and behavioral parameters measured, including oxidative stress markers, were not significantly affected in these AD mice. During the day, though, Tg controls (Tg-CON) showed significantly higher mean activity and body temperature (BT) than wild-type (WT) mice. Overall, BT rhythm amplitude was significantly lower in Tg than in WT mice. Although melatonin treatment had no effect, ramelteon significantly reduced the amplitude of the BT rhythm in Tg mice. Towards the end of the experiment, Tg mice treated with ramelteon (Tg-RAM) showed significantly higher circadian rhythm fragmentation than Tg-CON and reduced circadian BT rhythm strength. The free-running period (τ) for the BT and locomotor activity (LA) rhythms of Tg-CON was <24 h. Whereas melatonin maintained τ at 24 h for BT and LA in both genotypes, ramelteon treatment had no effect. In the behavioral tests, the number of approaches and time spent exploring novel objects were significantly higher in Tg-CON than WT controls. Brain tissue analysis revealed significant reduction in hippocampal protein oxidation in Tg-MEL and Tg-RAM compared with Tg-CON animals. These results suggest that not all aspects of the circadian system are affected in the APPswe/PS1 mice. Therefore, care should be taken when extending the results obtained in Tg mice to develop new therapies in humans. This study also revealed the complexity in the therapeutic actions of melatonin and ramelteon in this mouse model of AD.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Publication
    Open Access
    Musicoterapia en la enfermedad de Alzheimer: efectos cognitivos, psicológicos y conductuales
    (Elsevier España, S.L.U, 2016-02-17) Gómez Gallego, María; Gómez García, Juan; Atención Sociosanitaria
    Introducción: La musicoterapia forma parte de los programas de envejecimiento activo que se ofrecen a las personas mayores. Su utilidad en el campo de las demencias empieza a ser valorada por la comunidad científica, ya que se han reportado efectos positivos a nivel físico, cognitivo y psicológico. Son necesarios más estudios que perfilen el alcance de tales cambios en la enfermedad de Alzheimer. Objetivos: Conocer el perfil de mejoría clínica que experimentan los pacientes con enfermedad de Alzheimer con la aplicación de una intervención de musicoterapia. Pacientes y métodos: Se aplicó un tratamiento con musicoterapia durante 6 semanas a 42 pacientes con enfermedad de Alzheimer en estadio leve-moderado. Se estudiaron los cambios en las puntuaciones de Mini-examen del estado mental, Inventario de síntomas neuropsiquiátricos, Escala hospitalaria de ansiedad y depresión, e índice de Barthel. Se estudió si estos cambios se influían por el grado de severidad de la demencia. Resultados: Se observó una mejoría significativa de memoria, orientación, depresión y ansiedad (escala HAD) en pacientes leves y moderados; de ansiedad (escala NPI) en pacientes leves; de los delirios, alucinaciones, agitación, irritabilidad y trastornos del lenguaje en el grupo con demencia moderada. El efecto sobre las medidas cognitivas es ya apreciable a las 4 sesiones de musicoterapia. Conclusiones: En la muestra estudiada, la musicoterapia mejoró algunas alteraciones cognitivas, psicológicas y conductuales de los pacientes con enfermedad de Alzheimer. Sería interesante complementar la musicoterapia con intervenciones de danzaterapia a fin de mejorar los aspectos motores y funcionales.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Publication
    Restricted
    Negative bias in the perception and memory of Emotional Information in Alzheimer Disease
    (SAGE Publications, 2017-05) Gómez García, Juan; Gómez Gallego, María; Atención Sociosanitaria
    Abstract Background: There is some controversy about the ability of patients with Alzheimer disease (AD) to experience and remember emotional stimuli. This study aims to assess the emotional experience of patients with AD and the existence of emotional enhancement of memory. We also investigated the influence of affective state on these processes. Methods: Sixty pictures from the International Affective Picture System were administered to 106 participants (72 patients with AD and 54 controls). Participants performed immediate free recall and recognition tasks. Positive and Negative Affect Schedule was used to assess the participants’ current affect. Results: Patients identified the valence of unpleasant pictures better than of others pictures and experienced them as more arousing. Patients and controls recalled and recognized higher number of emotional pictures than of neutral ones. Patients discriminated better the unpleasant pictures. A mood congruent effect was observed on emotional experience but not on memory. Positive affect was associated with better immediate recall and with a more liberal response bias. Conclusion: Patients with AD can identify the emotional content of the stimuli, especially of the unpleasant ones, and the emotional enhancement of memory is preserved. Affective state does not explain the differences in the processing and memory of emotional items between patients and controls.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Publication
    Open Access
    EL olfato y el gusto como marcadores precoces de enfermedad de Alzheimer
    Pozo Navas, Carlos Javier; Orenes-Piñero, Esteban; Ciencias Sociosanitarias (Lorca)
    Los trastornos en la percepción organoléptica (olfato y gusto) aumentan con la edad y con frecuencia afectan a personas de edad avanzada que tienen pre-demencia o demencia. En el presente trabajo se va a describir cómo la literatura previa nos muestra la relación que existe entre los procesos neurodegenerativos y el deterioro en la percepción organoléptica. Centrándonos en la percepción del olfato y del gusto, se puede observar que en deterioros sensitivos existe una relación significativa con la enfermedad de Alzheimer. Según la bibliografía existente se ha demostrado que los métodos de identificación del deterioro en la percepción olfativa y gustativa son mejores y mucho más sencillos que incluso los métodos de análisis de deterioro cognitivo de Alzheimer, que no son tan eficaces. Se ha evidenciado también que dichas herramientas para la identificación de la percepción organoléptica son más económicas y fáciles de utilizar, por lo tanto son un buen método de trabajo para poner en marcha en las consultas de los neurólogos como método de prevención e identificación temprana de la patología neurodegenerativa.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Publication
    Open Access
    Reading and lexical-semantic retrieval tasks outperforms single task speech analysis in the screening of Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer's Disease
    (Nature Research, 2023-07-01) Martínez Nicolás, Israel; Martínez Sánchez, Francisco; Ivanova, Olga; García Meilán, Juan José; Psicología Básica y Metodología
    Age‐related cognitive impairment have increased dramatically in recent years, which has risen the interes in developing screening tools for mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease. Speech analysis allows to exploit the behavioral consequences of cognitive deficits on the patient’s vocal performance so that it is possible to identify pathologies affecting speech production such as dementia. Previous studies have further shown that the speech task used determines how the speech parameters are altered. We aim to combine the impairments in several speech production tasks in order to improve the accuracy of screening through speech analysis. The sample consists of 72 participants divided into three equal groups of healthy older adults, people with mild cognitive impairment, or Alzheimer’s disease, matched by age and education. A complete neuropsychological assessment and two voice recordings were performed. The tasks required the participants to read a text, and complete a sentence with semantic information. A stepwise linear discriminant analysis was performed to select speech parameters with discriminative power. The discriminative functions obtained an accuracy of 83.3% in simultaneous classifications of several levels of cognitive impairment. It would therefore be a promising screening tool for dementia.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Publication
    Restricted
    Sex moderates the relationship of stress and perceived social support with neuropsychological symptoms among community-dwelling persons with Alzheimer disease in Spain
    (Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins, 2021-12) Gómez Gallego, María; Gallego-Mellado, María; Gómez Gallego, Juan Cándido; Gómez García, Juan; Economía Aplicada
    Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) are common in Alzheimer disease (AD) patients, especially in women. Stress and stress-vulnerability factors (eg, poor social support) may trigger NPS. This cross-sectional study (n=196) aimed to examine the moderating effect of sex on the relationships between both perceived social support and salivary cortisol levels and NPS of AD patients. Only in women, greater cortisol levels were associated with higher scores in Neuropsychiatric Inventory mood, agitation, and frontal subscales whereas higher Psychosocial Support Questionnaire scores were related to lower scores in Neuropsychiatric Inventory mood and psychosis subscales. Given the relevance that sex differences might have on the design of preventive strategies, present findings should be confirmed in longitudinal studies.