RESUMEN

OBJECTIVE: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is one of the most prevalent diseases among the adult population. The early detection of Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), which may trigger AD, is essential to slow down the cognitive decline process. METHODS: This paper presents a suit of serious games that aims at detecting AD and MCI overcoming the limitations of traditional tests, as they are time-consuming, affected by confounding factors that distort the result and usually administered when symptoms are evident and it is too late for preventive measures. The battery, named Panoramix, assesses the main early cognitive markers (i.e., memory, executive functions, attention and gnosias). Regarding its validation, it has been tested with a cohort study of 16 seniors, including AD, MCI and healthy individuals. RESULTS: This first pilot study offered initial evidence about psychometric validity, and more specifically about construct, criterion and external validity. After an analysis using machine learning techniques, findings show a promising 100% rate of success in classification abilities using a subset of three games in the battery. Thus, results are encouraging as all healthy subjects were correctly discriminated from those already suffering AD or MCI. CONCLUSIONS: The solid potential of digital serious games and machine learning for the early detection of dementia processes is demonstrated. Such a promising performance encourages further research to eventually introduce this technique for the clinical diagnosis of cognitive impairment.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

Pyomyositis is an acute bacterial infection that affects striated muscle and is generally accompanied by the formation of an abscess. In most cases, the microorganism involved is Staphylococcus aureus. Clinical findings are characterized by pain, swelling and muscular edema, together with variable general symptoms. Complications include arthritis, osteomyelitis and even septic shock with a mortality of 1.8%. We report the case of an 8-year-old boy who sustained a closed lumbar injury on banging his shoulder while he was playing on a trampoline and who developed paravertebral pyomyositis complicated by sepsis. S. aureus was isolated in the blood culture. The boy subsequently developed a perivertebral abscess and finally contiguous osteomyelitis in the L3 spinous process. The patient received treatment with vancomycin and metronidazole for 6 weeks followed by cloxacillin therapy for 2 weeks (a total of 8 weeks of intravenous antibiotic therapy). Physical examination 3 months after discharge revealed no abnormalities. The possibility of pyomyositis should be borne in mind, especially in children with fever, localized muscular pain and a history of accidental or sports injuries. Early diagnosis and treatment are important to reduce the risk of possibly fatal complications.

RESUMEN

OBJECTIVE: To assess whether children with Henoch-Schonlein purpura (HSP) who had an upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) or received medication prior to the onset of the disease exhibited a different clinical spectrum of features and outcome from children without such a history. METHODS: Retrospective study of children (< or = 14 years old) with HSP diagnosed from 1980 through December 2001 at the single hospital for the Lugo region (Northwest Spain). Children with primary cutaneous vasculitis were classified as having HSP according to currently used criteria. Drugs or URTI were considered precipitating events if any new medication was taken or an URTI had occurred within a week prior to the onset of the vasculitis. A comparative analysis of clinical and laboratory features according to the presence or absence of URTI and drugs was conducted. RESULTS: Eighty-six children fulfilled the classification criteria for HSP. Eight of them were excluded from this analysis due to insufficient follow-up (less than 1 year post-diagnosis). An URTI and a history of drugs were reported to occur in 32/78 (41%) and 23/78 (30%) children respectively. No differences in the age at the onset of the disease, gender and seasonal incidence between children with or without URTI were observed. However, 23/32 (72%) children with URTI had hematuria with or without proteinuria, compared with only 18/46 (39%) children without history of URTI (p = 0.004). This higher incidence of renal manifestations in HSP with URTI was not associated with more severe nephritis or with a significantly higher frequency of renal sequelae or relapses of the disease. No statistically significant differences between children with or without a history of drugs were observed. CONCLUSION: Although in unselected children with HSP a history of URTI seems to be associated with a higher incidence of nephritis, it does not influence the outcome of the disease.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

Any surgery for ordinary that it's seen can be to cause the complications but at infection of the penis after circumcision is a rare occurrence. We report a prepuber patient who on the immediately surgery after circumcision was present a penis abscess. The epidemiological, etiopathogenic aspects and therapeutic are analyzed of the penis infection after a circumcision.

Asunto(s)

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

Cualquier cirugía por intrascendente que parezca puede ocasionar complicaciones pero una infección del pene después de una circuncisión es un hecho poco habitual. Se trata de una enfermo prepúber que en el post-operatorio inmediato tras una circuncisión presentó un absceso de pene. Se analizan los aspectos epidemiológicos, etiopatogénicos y terapéuticos de la infección peneana siguiente a una circuncisión (AU)

Asunto(s)

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

Non-syndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate (CL/P, MIM 119530) is among the most common of major birth defects. Homozygosity for a nonsense mutation of PVRL1, W185X, results in an autosomal recessive CL/P syndrome on Margarita Island, CLPED1 (ref. 1). Here we demonstrate highly significant association between heterozygosity for this mutation and sporadic, non-syndromic CL/P in northern Venezuela.

Asunto(s)

Asunto(s)

Asunto(s)

Asunto(s)