Biomedical subjects

J Chirivella

Publications and source records attributed to J Chirivella.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

[Verbal fluency tasks in a Spanish sample of young adults (20-49 years of age): normative data of clustering and switching strategies].

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study is to establish normative data on phonological and semantic verbal fluency tests, measuring total production of words, clusters and switching of words in a healthy young adult Spanish population. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We assessed 53 healthy adults between 20-49 years old (32.8 +/- 9.5) with 8-18 years of formal education (9 +/- 3.3 years). The semantic fluency category included: animals, fruits, clothes and the initial letters F, A, S in 1 minute of time. Clustering and switching strategies were examined and scored according to a protocol elaborated ad hoc by the authors. Pearson correlations between number of "clusters", "switching" and total number of words was used and we evaluated the possible influence of age, years of schooling and gender in each one of the categories in 1 minute and in intervals of 15 seconds. RESULTS: The variable years of formal education was the only demographical factor that significantly influenced semantic verbal fluency (r = 0.43; p = 0.04). Switching and clustering were positively correlated with the number of words generated. Clustering was highly correlated with total number of words generated on semantic fluency (r = 0.846; p < 0.01). In contrast, switching was more highly correlated than clustering with total number of words generated on phonemic fluency (r = 0.864; p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Rules for scoring switching and clustering in our population are provided. Optimal fluency performance requires some type of balance between clustering and switching strategies and should be taken into account in studies regarding verbal fluency.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Self-awareness after acquired brain injury--predictors and rehabilitation.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the factors contributing to deficit in self-awareness following acquired brain injury and to study change in self-awareness during a group support program. METHODS: Sixty-two patients (mean age: 35.4 +/- 15.3 years) attending our Service (295 +/- 525 days after injury) were included in the study (41 of them had sustained a head injury). Thirty-six patients were admitted to a multidisciplinary rehabilitation program including a group support program designed to improve self-awareness deficits. All patients were assessed with the Patient Competency Rating Scale as a measure of self-awareness and with a broad range of neuropsychological tests, checklists of psychopathological symptoms, and several functional scales. RESULTS: Thirty patients showed high levels of self-awareness while 32 showed impaired self-awareness. Patients with appropriate perception of their deficits showed less psychopathological symptoms, better neuropsychological function and higher functional independence than those with impaired SA (Student's t test, p < 0.05). Both groups improved, but with different patterns, after rehabilitation (MANOVA, p < 0.05). Multiple regression analysis revealed that cognitive status was predictive of level of self-awareness. CONCLUSION: The level of self-awareness after acquired brain injury is a useful prognostic index of the neuropsychological, psychopathological and functional status of the patient. We recommend the evaluation of this symptom after acquired brain injury due to its clinical relevance.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed2003

[Complutense Verbal Learning Test versus Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised].

INTRODUCTION: We present a comparative study (sensitivity and convergent validity) between a new verbal memory test Complutense Verbal Learning Test (TAVEC) and the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised (WMSr) in a sample of patients with acquired brain injury. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Twenty-eight patients with acquired brain injury were included in this study. Twelve patients were reevaluated six months after their inclusion in a cognitive multidisciplinary rehabilitation program. All patients were assessed with the WMSr (verbal memory, general memory and long-term memory) and the TAVEC (verbal learning, immediate memory and delayed memory). Results obtained with both scales were compared (chi-square) and correlated (Pearson correlation). RESULTS: Globally, learning and memory deficits were detected with both scales. Initially 32.1 % of our sample showed general memory deficits, and 44.4 % long-term memory deficits when assessed with WMSr. These percentages were significantly lower compared to the 57.1 %, 75 % and 78.5 % of our sample who showed learning, recent memory and delayed memory difficulties when evaluated with the TAVEC. The results obtained by the 12 patients included in a cognitive rehabilitation program significantly improved. Numerous strong correlations between the TAVEC and the WMSr were found, suggesting a high degree of convergence between the two instruments. CONCLUSIONS: The TAVEC is a sensitive measure of learning and memory after acquired brain injury. Due to its sensitivity, ecological value and multifactorial structure we recommend this test for the evaluation of learning and memory of these patients.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1997

Dichotic listening: elimination of the right ear advantage under a dual task procedure.

The aim of this article is to investigate the attentional effect on the dichotic listening (DL) performance when doing a simultaneous right hemisphere task. A group of 30 right-handed male participants had a standard DL test followed by a dual task procedure that consisted of a manipulospatial discrimination through the left hand and performed while doing the DL test. Participants showed the typical right ear advantage (REA), which lost its significance when they were confronted with the dual task, presumably due to the manipulospatial performance. The elimination of the REA was mainly due to facilitation of the left ear responses. Results are discussed in terms of Kinsbourne's model and other paradigms of attentional effects on dichotic listening performance.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1991

Immunoglobulin variable-region-like domains of diverse sequence within the major histocompatibility complex of the chicken.

The highly polymorphic B-G antigens are considered to be part of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) of the chicken, the B system of histocompatibility, because they are encoded in a family of genes tightly linked with the genes encoding MHC class I and class II antigens. To better understand these unusual MHC antigens, full-length B-G cDNA clones were isolated from B21 embryonic erythroid cell cDNA library, restriction-mapped, and sequenced. Five transcript types were identified. Analysis of the deduced amino acid sequences suggests that the B-G polypeptides are composed of single extracellular domains that resemble immunoglobulin domains of the variable-region (V) type, single membrane-spanning domains typical of integral membrane proteins, and long cytoplasmic tails. Sequence diversity among the five transcript types was found in all domains, notably including the B-G immunoglobulin V-like domains. The cytoplasmic tails of the B-G antigens are made up entirely of units of seven amino acid residues (heptads) that are typical of an alpha-helical coiled-coil conformation. The heptads vary in number and sequence between the different transcripts. The presence within B-G polypeptides of polymorphic immunoglobulin V-like domains warrants further investigations to determine the degree and nature of variability within this domain in these unusual MHC antigens.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Usefulness of FDG-PET in the diagnosis of patients with chronic severe brain injury].

INTRODUCTION: To describe the changes in cerebral glucose metabolism after a severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), at the beginning of the rehabilitation, to analyze its diagnostic agreement with morphologic neuroimaging technologies (MR/CT) and to correlate the neuroimaging findings with the intensity of the TBI and the functional ability for daily activities. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Prospective study of 55 patients who had sustained a severe TBI (GCS < or = 8) by means of 18F-FDG PET and MR/CT. The agreement between anatomical and functional neuroimagen studies was measured. Correlation between cerebral injury severity in neuroimaging, clinical functional evaluation assessed with Barthel-M Index and GCS were tested. RESULTS: 100 % of patients showed changes in cerebral metabolism, being the thalamus the area more frequently affected. 60 % of patients showed injuries in MR/CT, more frequently in frontal areas. The agreement for the diagnosis of pathology between morphologic and functional neuroimagen was very low. The TBI severity showed significant statistical correlation with the degree of cerebral metabolism and the level of disability. CONCLUSIONS: 18F-FDG PET allows to know the cerebral glucose metabolism at the beginning of the rehabilitation, being correlated with the TBI severity and the level of patient's disability for daily activities. 18F-FDG PET diagnoses major number of injuries that traditional neuroimaging and demonstrates a high thalamic vulnerability, with injuries in up to 76 % of patients with severe TBI.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Intelligence and prognosis in severe traumatic brain injury: a neuropsychological study with the Wechsler adult intelligence scale (WAIS-III)].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the utility of the Wechsler adult intelligence scale III (WAIS-III) as a measure of intelligence after severe brain injury, and to elucidate prognostic factors associated with intelligence coefficients (IQs). METHODS: Forty-six patients (age: 27.4 +/- 12.8 years) attending our service after a severe head injury were included in our study (chronicity: 315.3 +/- 330 days after injury). All patients were assessed with the WAIS-III. WAIS-III IQs were correlated (Pearson and Spearman) with clinical and demographic data. A significance level of p < 0.05 was used in all comparisons. IQs between 1 and 2 standard deviation (SD) below normative data were considered "mild abnormal" while indexes below 2 SD were considered "abnormal". RESULTS: Only eleven patients (25 %) showed normal total IQ with predominance of manipulative (77.7 %) compared to verbal (64.5 %) impairment. Thirty-eight patients (95 %) had difficulties in speed processing, thirty-six (85.6 %) had problems with working-memory, twenty-five (62.5 %) showed impairments in perceptual organization, and twenty-six (62 %) had verbal comprehension deficits. WAIS-III IQs showed significant correlations with length of coma and posttraumatic amnesia duration (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The WAIS-III is a valid and sensible tool to detect cognitive deficits associated with brain injury. Almost all patients with severe brain injury show abnormal IQs with a slow processing speed as predominant symptom. Length of coma and posttraumatic amnesia seems to be the most relevant parameter related to intelligence in severe brain-injured patients.

Adolescent↗