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C Cuervo

Publications and source records attributed to C Cuervo.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1999

What is the nature of increased Stroop interference in schizophrenia?

In comparison to controls, patients with schizophrenia classically display (1) an overall slowing in response times (RTs) and (2) a disproportionate slowing in RTs in the conflict condition of the Stroop color/word interference task. These two effects appear repeatedly in the card version of the Stroop task but were not replicated in a number of studies using a computer item-by-item version of the task. The present study was aimed at understanding the exact nature of the increased interference classically found in the performance of patients with schizophrenia in the card version of the Stroop task. We used a computer trial-by-trial version in which we investigated the effects of two major methodological differences between the two versions: (1) blocked (card version) versus mixed (computer version) presentation of the neutral, congruent and conflict conditions and (2) presence (card version) versus absence (computer version) of distractors in the spatial surrounding of the target. We found an overall slowing in performance and a disproportionate slowing in the conflict condition for patients with schizophrenia but only when the target was surrounded by distractors (in Experiments 2 and 3). The data are discussed in terms of a deficit in selective attention and inhibitory processes in schizophrenia.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

The state of functioning of working memory in schizophrenia.

The functioning of working memory in schizophrenic patients according to Baddeley's model was examined in two complementary experiments. Experiment 1 comprised 27 patients and their controls, matched in age and level of education. Of this pool, 20 pairs participated also in Experiment 2. Digit span, reading rate, and immediate serial recall assessed the functioning of the phonological loop. Corsi and pattern span tasks assessed the capacity of visuo-spatial memory. The central executive's ability to monitor two concurrent tasks was evaluated in a dual task paradigm, and its capacity to control action in a random generation task. A preliminary set of analyses showed that the patients' performances were reduced in all tasks explored, except in digit span. This initial pattern changed consistently after controlling for reading rate. While slow and fast reading patients were comparable in demographic and clinical criteria, slow reading patients showed impaired performance in all tasks, whereas fast reading patients exhibited reduced performance in visuo-spatial tasks and in the random generation task only. The state of functioning of working memory in schizophrenia appears, therefore, to vary consistently among the components of the model and is markedly impaired in slow reading patients. The implications of slowness are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Hepatitis C transmission through dialysis machines.

Hepatitis C virus antibodies (HCVAb) were studied in a total of 58 patients on chronic hemodialysis, all of whom were negative for Hepatitis B serology. The patients were evaluated by the second generation EIA test. Twenty-one of these patients, initially HCVAb(-), were dialyzed in unit A (UA), where no patients HCVAB(+) were ever dialyzed nor were patients with increased levels of serum transaminases, although they were HCVAb(-). Thirty-seven patients, also initially HCVAb(-), were dialyzed in unit B (UB), where they shared the same dialysis machines (DM) with 14 HCVAb(+) and 11 HCVAb(-) with elevated serum transaminases patients. Time on hemodialysis for UA patients was 30.95 +/- 10.74 months (range 14-52 months). In UB patients, time on dialysis was 28.46 +/- 17.33 months (range 4-78 months) (P = 0.554). The seroconversion for patients who were initially HCVAb(+) was: in UA, none became (+); and in UB, 17 patients became (+); Chi-square = 11.522 (P < 0.0001). Ten patients were transfused in UA and 23 in UB (Chi-square = 0.638; P = 0.424). In addition, 2.30 +/- 1.5 blood units were given to patients transfused in UA and 2.09 +/- 1.65 were given to patients transfused in UB (P = 0.733). This data indicates the existence of a route of vertical transmission from patient to patient through the DM, which would explain the differences between these two groups.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Valdecoxib provides effective pain relief following acute ankle sprain.

We sought to determine whether valdecoxib is as effective as diclofenac in treating acute ankle sprain. Patients (n=202) with acute first- and second-degree ankle sprain were randomized to valdecoxib (40 mg twice daily on day 1 followed by 40 mg once daily on days 2-7) or diclofenac (75 mg twice daily). The primary efficacy end-point was the Patient's Assessment of Ankle Pain visual analogue scale (VAS, 0-100 mm) value on day 4. Valdecoxib was as efficacious as diclofenac in treating the signs and symptoms of acute ankle sprain. The mean VAS reduction in ankle pain on day 4 was not different between groups; the two-sided 95% confidence interval for the between-group difference was within the prespecified limit for non-inferiority (10 mm). There were no significant differences between groups for all secondary efficacy end-points. The two treatments were similarly effective and well tolerated for treatment of acute ankle sprain.

Adult↗