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The study aimed to assess sleep quality in PCC patients and its predictors by analysing its relationship with emotional, cognitive and functional variables, as well as possible differences based on COVID-19 severity. We included 368 individuals with PCC and 123 healthy controls (HCs) from the NAUTILUS Project (NCT05307549 and NCT05307575). We assessed sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, PSQI), anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder, GAD-7), depression (Patient Health Questionnaire, PHQ-9), global cognition (Montreal Cognitive Assessment, MoCA), everyday memory failures (Memory Failures of Everyday Questionnaire, MFE-30), fatigue (Chadler Fatigue Questionnaire, CFQ), quality of life (European Quality of Life-5 Dimensions, EQ-5D), and physical activity levels (International Physical Activity Questionnaire, IPAQ). 203 were nonhospitalized, 83 were hospitalized and 82 were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). We found statistically significant differences in the PSQI total score between the PCC and HC groups (p < 0.0001), but there were no differences among the PCC groups. In the multiple linear regressions, the PHQ-9 score was a predictor of poor sleep quality for mild PCC patients (p = 0.003); GAD-7 (p = 0.032) and EQ-5D (p = 0.011) scores were predictors of poor sleep quality in the hospitalized PCC group; and GAD-7 (p = 0.045) and IPAQ (p = 0.005) scores were predictors of poor sleep quality in the group of ICU-PCC. These results indicate that worse sleep quality is related to higher levels of depression and anxiety, worse quality of life and less physical activity. Therapeutic strategies should focus on these factors to have a positive impact on the quality of sleep.

This study explores the functional and structural patterns of connectivity underlying working memory impairment after severe traumatic axonal injury.

This article presents an unusual and interesting neuropsychological and neuroimaging longitudinal study of a child who showed a relatively specific developmental language disorder in the absence of any other significant cognitive, emotional or neurological disturbance. The neuropsychological assessment included tests of intelligence, memory, language and frontal lobe functions. Our patient had a marked developmental language disorder characterized by severe impairment of oral and written language and a restricted vocabulary, even though the comprehension of both spoken and written language was relatively preserved. Moreover, his non-verbal intellectual ability was normal and he showed superior visuoconstructive and visuospatial abilities which suggested good development of right temporoparietal functions. On computerized tomography and magnetic resonance imaging there were no structural abnormalities in those cerebral areas concerned with language, although both neuroimaging studies did show a feasible reversed asymmetry or further atrophy on the left sylvian. It is noticeable that at age 17 a severe deficit in the expressive aspects of language remains. In contrast, visuo-constructive functions have improved. These results suggest a functional reorganization of the brain by increasing non-verbal capabilities. The prognosis in dysphasic syndromes is worse than in acquired aphasia in children, since despite speech therapy, an important language impairment persists during adulthood.

Article abstract—We investigated the long-term persistence and short-term stability of globus pallidus (GP) hyperintensity on T1--weighted MRI in 19 cirrhotic patients. After a mean interval of 25.8 months, the hyperintensity of the GP persisted in 17 patients. Hyperintensity disappeared in two patients with hepatocarcinoma, indicating that hyperintensity can revert to normal in circumstances other than liver transplants. Ten patients participated in a 6–month study with repeated evaluations of GP signal intensity, plasma ammonia levels, and selected neuropsychological tests. The GP signal was fairly stable during the follow-up, and the variables considered maintained significant relationships. GP hyperintensity appears as a stable indicator of the functional status of cirrhotic patients.