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Background and purpose Stroke is the leading cause of neurological impairment in the South American Andean region. However, the epidemiology of stroke in the region has been poorly characterized. Methods We conducted a staged three-phase population-based study applying a validated eight-question neurological survey in 80 rural villages in Tumbes, northern Peru, then confirmed presence or absence of stroke through a neurologist’s examination to estimate the prevalence of stroke. Results Our survey covered 90% of the population (22,278/24,854 individuals, mean age 30±21.28, 48.45% females), and prevalence of stroke was 7.05/1,000 inhabitants. After direct standardization to WHO’s world standard population, adjusted prevalence of stroke was 6.94/1,000 inhabitants. Participants aged ≥85 years had higher stroke prevalence (>50/1000 inhabitants) compared to other stratified ages, and some unusual cases of stroke were found among individuals aged 25–34 years. The lowest age reported for a first stroke event was 16.8 years. High blood pressure (aPR 4.2 [2.7–6.4], p>0.001), and sedentary lifestyle (aPR 1.6 [1.0–2.6], p = 0.045) were more prevalent in people with stroke. Conclusions The age-standardized prevalence of stroke in this rural coastal Peruvian population was slightly higher than previously reported in studies from surrounding rural South American settings, but lower than in rural African and Asian regions. The death rate from stroke was much higher than in industrialized and middle-income countries.

Guillain-Barré syndrome shows a cyto-albuminologic dissociation in most patients. Pleocytosis or hypoglycorrhachia may defer the diagnosis, a reason for which an infectious etiology must be ruled out. Three cases of Guillain- Barré are described, whose cerebrospinal fluid tests showed limphocytic pleocytosis and persistently elevated protein concentration, while one of the cases also showed hypoglycorrhachia, and the classic cyto-albuminologic dissociation was only demonstrated in subsequent analysis. The neurophysiologic evaluation revealed an axonal disruption in all the patients. The atypical alterations in the context of acute flaccid paralysis warrant a retesting of the cerebrospinal fluid in order to rule out other etiologies, but without postponing the start of treatment. El síndrome de Guillain-Barré se caracteriza por presentar una disociación albúmino-citológica en la mayoría de pacientes. La presencia de pleocitosis o hipoglucorraquia puede alejar el diagnóstico, por lo que se recomienda descartar, principalmente, causas infecciosas. Se presentan tres casos cuyos estudios de líquido cefalorraquídeo mostraron pleocitosis linfocítica e hiperproteinorraquia persistente y uno de ellos, además, hipoglucorraquia; fue solamente en análisis posteriores que los tres pacientes presentaron la clásica disociación albuminocitológica. El estudio neurofisiológico en todos ellos demostró asimismo un compromiso axonal. Las alteraciones atípicas en el contexto de parálisis flácida aguda justificarían repetir el análisis de líquido cefalorraquídeo y descartar otras etiologías, pero sin posponer en modo alguno el tratamiento.

El estudio que presentamos tiene como propósito de determinar el grado de influencia de la reserva cognitiva sobre la función cognitiva en pacientes con Enfermedad de Parkinson (EP). Para cumplir con el objetivo principal de esta investigación se diseñó un estudio de tipo observacional, analítico y de corte transversal. La población estuvo conformada por pacientes con enfermedad de Parkinson que se atienden en los Hospitales de Chancay y de Huacho. La técnica utilizada para la recolección de datos fue el cuestionario estructurado validado previamente mediante un juicio de expertos así como pruebas neuropsicológicas estandarizadas. Los resultados se obtuvieron de la evaluación de 90 pacientes con EP, 49 (54.4%) fueron varones, el promedio de edad fue 66.5 (DE=11.7). El deterioro cognitivo se presentó en 75 pacientes (83.3%). La reserva cognitiva (RC) se clasificó en baja (26 pacientes), media (44 pacientes) y alta (20 pacientes). La correlación entre la función cognitiva y la reserva cognitiva fue estadísticamente significativa tanto cuando se evaluó a función cognitiva mediante el test de Minimental (r = 0.43; p=0.001) como cuando se utilizó el test de Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) (r = 0.55; p=0.001). Esta correlación se explicó mejor con el análisis de regresión lineal univariado y multivariado. Las conclusiones a las que se llegaron con este estudio fueron, primero, que la reserva cognitiva influye positivamente sobre la función cognitiva en pacientes con EP y, segundo, que un gran porcentaje de estos pacientes muestran deterioro cognitivo en cualquier etapa de la enfermedad. The aim of this study is to determine how much cognitive reserve influences on cognitive profile in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD). Therefore, an analytic, observational and prospective study was designed. The study population was integrated by PD patients from Hospital Regional de Huacho and Hospital de Chancay. A structure questionnaire validated by experts in the field and a standardized neuropsychological test were utilized to collect the patient information. Results were based on 90 PD patients, 49 (54.4%) men, the mean of age was 66.5 (SD=11.7). Cognitive impairment was present in 75 patients (83.3%). Cognitive reserve was divided in low (26 patients), middle (44 patients) and high (20 patients). Correlation between cognitive profile and cognitive reserve was statistically significant when cognitive profile was evaluated by Minimental test (r = 0.43; p=0.001) as well as cognitive profile was evaluated by Montreal Cognitive Assessment test (MoCA) (r = 0.55; p=0.001). This correlation was better explained by univariate and multivariate regression analysis. Conclusions of the study were, first, cognitive reserve influence positively on cognitive profile in patients with PD and, second, a high percentage of patients show cognitive compromise in any phase of the disease. Key words: cognitive reserve, cognitive profile, Parkinson’s disease, cognitive impairment. Tesis

Dementia is a major cause of dependency and disability among older persons, and imposes huge economic burdens. Only a few cost-of-illness studies for dementia have been carried out in middle and low-income countries. Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze costs of dementia in demented patients of a private clinic in Lima, Peru. Methods: We performed a retrospective, cohort, 3-month study by extracting information from medical records of demented patients to assess the use of both healthcare and non-healthcare resources. The total costs of the disease were broken down into direct (medical and social care costs) and indirect costs (informal care costs). Results: In 136 outpatients, we observed that while half of non-demented patients had total care costs of less than US$ 23 over three months, demented patients had costs of US$ 1500 or over (and more than US$ 1860 for frontotemporal dementia). In our study, the monthly cost of a demented patient (US$ 570) was 2.5 times higher than the minimum wage (legal minimum monthly wage in Peru for 2011: US$ 222.22). Conclusion: Dementia constitutes a socioeconomic problem even in developing countries, since patients involve high healthcare and non-healthcare costs, with the costs being especially high for the patient's family.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate caregiver burden based on Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI) and depression in caregivers on the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II). Methods: Literate individuals, 18 years or older, who spoke Spanish as their native language were included. Demographic characteristics: Age, sex, education, relationship to person with dementia, length of time caregiving, other sources of help for caring, impact on the household economy, family support, and perception of impaired health; and Clinical data on care-recipients: type of dementia, time since diagnosis, treatment, and Global Deterioration Scale (GDS); the ZBI and BDI-II. Descriptive and analytical statistics were employed to assess caregiver burden and predictors of higher burden in caregivers. Results: A total of 92 informal caregivers were evaluated. Regarding care-recipients, 75% were 69 years old or over, 75% had at least one year since diagnosis, 73.9% had Alzheimer’s disease, 84.8% received treatment, 75% scored 5 or over on the GDS. For caregivers, 75% were 55.5 years old or over, predominantly female (81.5%), married (83.7%), the spouse of care-recipients (60.87%), had at least 10 years of education (75.0%) and one year of caregiving (75%), reduced entertainment time (90.2%) and self-perception of impaired health (83.7%). Median score on the ZBI was 37.5 (minimum value = 3; and maximum value = 74). The coefficient of BDI was 1.38 (p-value

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate caregiver burden based on Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI) and depression in caregivers on the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II). METHODS: Literate individuals, 18 years or older, who spoke Spanish as their native language were included. Demographic characteristics: Age, sex, education, relationship to person with dementia, length of time caregiving, other sources of help for caring, impact on the household economy, family support, and perception of impaired health; and Clinical data on care-recipients: type of dementia, time since diagnosis, treatment, and Global Deterioration Scale (GDS); the ZBI and BDI-II. Descriptive and analytical statistics were employed to assess caregiver burden and predictors of higher burden in caregivers. RESULTS: A total of 92 informal caregivers were evaluated. Regarding care-recipients, 75% were 69 years old or over, 75% had at least one year since diagnosis, 73.9% had Alzheimer's disease, 84.8% received treatment, 75% scored 5 or over on the GDS. For caregivers, 75% were 55.5 years old or over, predominantly female (81.5%), married (83.7%), the spouse of care-recipients (60.87%), had at least 10 years of education (75.0%) and one year of caregiving (75%), reduced entertainment time (90.2%) and self-perception of impaired health (83.7%). Median score on the ZBI was 37.5 (minimum value = 3; and maximum value = 74). The coefficient of BDI was 1.38 (p-value

Background/Aims: Dementia is a worldwide public health problem and there are several diagnostic tools for its assessment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of the Memory Alteration Test (M@T) to discriminate between patients with early Alzheimer's disease (AD), patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (a-MCI), and subjects with a cognitively healthy status (CHS). Methods: The discriminative validity was assessed in a sample of 90 patients with AD, 45 patients with a-MCI, and 180 subjects with CHS. Clinical, functional, and cognitive studies were independently performed in a blinded fashion and the gold standard diagnosis was established by consensus on the basis of these results. The test performance was assessed by means of a receiver operating characteristic curve analysis as area under the curve (AUC). Results: M@T mean scores were 17.7 (SD = 5.7) in AD, 30.8 (SD = 2.3) in a-MCI, and 44.5 (SD = 3.1) in CHS. A cutoff score of 37 points had a sensitivity of 98.3% and a specificity of 97.8% to differentiate a-MCI from CHS (AUC = 0.999). A cutoff score of 27 points had a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 98.9% to differentiate mild AD from a-MCI and from CHS (AUC = 1.000). Conclusions: The M@T had a high performance in the discrimination between early AD, a-MCI and CHS.

La persistencia de la arteria trigeminal es una alteración vascular infrecuente y representa la permanencia, después del nacimiento, de la comunicación entre el sistema carotideo y el sistema vertebro-basilar. Esta persistencia se ha asociado a la existencia de otras alteraciones de la morfología vascular cerebral y a condiciones clínicas variadas. Reportamos tres casos de persistencia de la arteria trigeminal, dos como hallazgo incidental en pacientes con sintomatología transitoria y uno en un cuadro de hemorragia subaracnoidea, identificados mediante reconstrucción tridimensional de imágenes obtenidas por angiotomografía. Persistent trigeminal artery is a rare vascular disorder and represents the permanence of the communication between the carotid system and vertebrobasilar system after birth. This persistence has been associated with the existence of other alterations of brain vascular morphology and different clinical conditions. We report three cases of persistent trigeminal artery, two incidental findings in patients with transient symptoms and one in a patient with subarachnoid hemorrhage, identified by three-dimensional reconstruction of images obtained by angiotomography.

Introducción: La trombosis venosa cerebral, una enfermedad cerebro vascular rara, afecta fundamentalmente niños y mujeres en edad fértil. Caso clínico: Paciente de sexo femenino, 45 años de edad, evaluada en otro establecimiento de salud donde le diagnosticaron fiebre tifoidea, acudió a emergencia refiriendo un tiempo de enfermedad de 14 días, con cefalea frontal de moderada intensidad, náuseas y vómitos, fue hospitalizada por una probable hemorragia subaracnoidea. Al examen físico tenía funciones vitales estables y examen neurológico normal; la tomografia cerebral mostró edema cerebral difuso, la angiotomografía cerebral y resonancia magnética de encéfalo evidenciaron trombosis del seno sagital superior, transverso y sigmoide derecha. Los exámenes de analítica sanguínea fueron normales. Se diagnosticó trombosis venosa cerebral y se inició tratamiento antiedema cerebral y anticoagulación con heparina de bajo peso molecular y después con warfarina, siendo dada de alta sin compromiso neurológico. Discusión: La Trombosis venosa cerebral es una entidad rara y presenta síntomas inespecíficos; siendo el más frecuente la cefalea recurrente, persistente y refractaria al tratamiento, algunos casos son de díficil diagnóstico, el método diagnóstico de elección es la resonancia magnética en fase venosa y su tratamiento se realiza con anticoagulantes. Introduction: Cerebral venous thrombosis, rarely cerebrovascular disease, affects mainly children and women of childbearing age. Case report:. Female patient, 45 years of age, evaluated at another health center where she was diagnosed with typhoid fever, she went to emergency referring a time of illness 14 days, with frontal headache of moderate intensity, nausea and vomiting, she was hospitalized with a probable subarachnoid hemorrhage. On physical examination, she had stable vital functions and normal neurological examination, brain tomography showed diffuse cerebral edema, cerebral angiography and MRI of the brain showed thrombosis of the sagittal sinus, transverse and sigmoid. Blood tests were normal. Cerebral venous thrombosis was the diagnosis and she was treated with antiedema cerebral and started anticoagulation with low molecular weight heparin and then with warfarin, after was discharged without neurological impairment. Discussion: Cerebral venous thrombosis is a rare entity and presents inespecific symptoms, the most frequent is persistent headache refractory to treatment, some cases are of difficult diagnosis, the diagnostic method of choice is MRI in venous phase and the treatment is with anticoagulants.