BEHRENS PELLEGRINO, MARIA ISABEL
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BEHRENS PELLEGRINO, MARIA ISABEL
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BEHRENS PELLEGRINO, MARIA ISABEL
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mbehrens@udd.cl
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7007110355

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Frequency and Determinants of Poststroke Cognitive Impairment at Three and Twelve Months in Chile

2010 , Carolina Delgado , Archibaldo Donoso , Patricia Orellana , Carolina Vásquez , DIAZ TAPIA, VIOLETA DEL CARMEN , BEHRENS PELLEGRINO, MARIA ISABEL

A higher risk of poststroke cognitive impairment (CI) has been reported in Hispanics in a US cohort but has not been systematically studied in Latin America. <i>Objectives:</i> Our purpose was to investigate the frequencies and determinants of poststroke CI in the hispano-mestizo population of Santiago, Chile. <i>Methods:</i> A prospective study of hospitalized patients aged >60 years admitted with an ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke was conducted. The cognitive status was determined at 3 and 12 months after the stroke by informant questionnaires, neuropsychological testing and clinical diagnosis. Cardiovascular risk factors, brain imaging and stroke features were analyzed using regression models to establish determinants for poststroke CI. <i>Results:</i> A total of 164 patients (mean age = 72 ± 7.5 years) were recruited. Out of 122 patients (74%) evaluated at 3 months, 81 (66%) had CI. Out of 101 patients (62%) evaluated at 12 months, 39 (39%) had CI no dementia, and 22 (22%) were demented. The new-onset dementia frequency at 1 year was 16%. Independent determinants for dementia were higher functional impairment at hospital egress (OR = 4.0), left-hemisphere large-vessel infarction (OR = 6.9) and a larger amount of white matter changes (OR = 1.3). <i>Conclusions:</i> In this first study on poststroke CI in Latin America, the frequencies and determinants of poststroke CI were similar to those in other cohorts of different ethnic origin.

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Visual-spatial processing impairment in the occipital-frontal connectivity network at early stages of Alzheimer’s disease

2023 , Iván Plaza-Rosales , Enzo Brunetti , Rodrigo Montefusco-Siegmund , Samuel Madariaga , Rodrigo Hafelin , Daniela P. Ponce , BEHRENS PELLEGRINO, MARIA ISABEL , Pedro E. Maldonado , Andrea Paula-Lima

IntroductionAlzheimer’s disease (AD) is the leading cause of dementia worldwide, but its pathophysiological phenomena are not fully elucidated. Many neurophysiological markers have been suggested to identify early cognitive impairments of AD. However, the diagnosis of this disease remains a challenge for specialists. In the present cross-sectional study, our objective was to evaluate the manifestations and mechanisms underlying visual-spatial deficits at the early stages of AD.MethodsWe combined behavioral, electroencephalography (EEG), and eye movement recordings during the performance of a spatial navigation task (a virtual version of the Morris Water Maze adapted to humans). Participants (69–88 years old) with amnesic mild cognitive impairment–Clinical Dementia Rating scale (aMCI–CDR 0.5) were selected as probable early AD (eAD) by a neurologist specialized in dementia. All patients included in this study were evaluated at the CDR 0.5 stage but progressed to probable AD during clinical follow-up. An equal number of matching healthy controls (HCs) were evaluated while performing the navigation task. Data were collected at the Department of Neurology of the Clinical Hospital of the Universidad de Chile and the Department of Neuroscience of the Faculty of Universidad de Chile.ResultsParticipants with aMCI preceding AD (eAD) showed impaired spatial learning and their visual exploration differed from the control group. eAD group did not clearly prefer regions of interest that could guide solving the task, while controls did. The eAD group showed decreased visual occipital evoked potentials associated with eye fixations, recorded at occipital electrodes. They also showed an alteration of the spatial spread of activity to parietal and frontal regions at the end of the task. The control group presented marked occipital activity in the beta band (15–20 Hz) at early visual processing time. The eAD group showed a reduction in beta band functional connectivity in the prefrontal cortices reflecting poor planning of navigation strategies.DiscussionWe found that EEG signals combined with visual-spatial navigation analysis, yielded early and specific features that may underlie the basis for understanding the loss of functional connectivity in AD. Still, our results are clinically promising for early diagnosis required to improve quality of life and decrease healthcare costs.

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Increased susceptibility to oxidative death of lymphocytes from Alzheimer patients correlates with dementia severity

2014-03 , Ponce, Daniela , Salech, Felipe , Sanmartin, Carol , Silva, Mónica , Xiong, Chengjie , Henriquez, Mauricio , Quest, Andrew F. , BEHRENS PELLEGRINO, MARIA ISABEL

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Frizzled-1 receptor regulates adult hippocampal neurogenesis

2016 , Muriel D. Mardones , Gabriela A. Andaur , Manuel Varas-Godoy , Jenny F. Henriquez , Felipe Salech , BEHRENS PELLEGRINO, MARIA ISABEL , Andrés Couve , Nibaldo C. Inestrosa , Lorena Varela-Nallar

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Usefulness of a brief informant interview to detect Dementia, translated into Spanish (AD8-Ch

2010-08 , Muñoz, Carlos , Núñez, Javier , Flores, Patricia , BEHRENS PELLEGRINO, MARIA ISABEL , Slachevsky, Andrea

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The Impact of a Yoga-Based Mindfulness Intervention versus Psycho-Educational Session for Older Adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment: The Protocol of a Randomized Controlled Trial

2022 , Maryam Farhang , Graciela Rojas , Pablo Martínez , BEHRENS PELLEGRINO, MARIA ISABEL , Álvaro I. Langer , Marcela Diaz , Claudia Miranda-Castillo

Background: There is a global agreement in the medical community that a significant proportion of dementia cases could be prevented or postponed. One of the factors behind this agreement comes from scientific evidence showing that mind-body interventions such as mindfulness and yoga for the elderly have been related to a range of positive outcomes, including improved cognition performance in seniors with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Objective: This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a yoga-based mindfulness intervention (YBM) versus psychoeducational sessions for older adults with MCI attending Hospital Clinic Universidad de Chile in Santiago. Method: Two-arm, individually randomized controlled trial (RCT) will be carried out at Clinical Hospital Universidad de Chile in Santiago. Older people over 60 years with any type of MCI using a score < 21 in the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) test and a score of 0.05 in the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) Scale; and with preserved activities of daily living will be randomly assigned with an allocation ratio of 1:1 in either the yoga-based mindfulness intervention or the active control group based on the psycho-educational program. People who have performed yoga and/or mindfulness in the last 6 months or/and people with a psychiatric clinical diagnosis will be excluded from the study. Montreal Cognitive Assessment, the Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale (IADL), the Barthel Index (BI), the Pemberton happiness index, the Geriatric Anxiety Inventory (GAI) as well as the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-5) will be administered by blinded outcomes assessors before random assignment (Pre-test), the week following the last session of the intervention (post-test), and then after 3- and 6-months follow-up. Results: The YBM intervention protocol based on a video recording has been adapted and designed. This is the first RCT to examine the effects of a yoga-based mindfulness intervention in improving cognitive and physical functions and mental health outcomes for Chilean elderly diagnosed with MCI. It is expected to be implemented as an acceptable and effective non-pharmacological option for older people with MCI. Conclusion: Providing evidence-based programs such as preventive therapy for Alzheimer’s disease has relevant implications for public mental health services in Chile.

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Senescence Markers in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells in Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer’s Disease

2022 , Felipe Salech , Carol D. SanMartín , Jorge Concha-Cerda , Esteban Romero-Hernández , Daniela P. Ponce , Gianella Liabeuf , Nicole K. Rogers , Paola Murgas , Bárbara Bruna , Jamileth More , BEHRENS PELLEGRINO, MARIA ISABEL

Recent studies suggest that cellular senescence plays a role in Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) pathogenesis. We hypothesize that cellular senescence markers might be tracked in the peripheral tissues of AD patients. Senescence hallmarks, including altered metabolism, cell-cycle arrest, DNA damage response (DDR) and senescence secretory associated phenotype (SASP), were measured in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of healthy controls (HC), amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and AD patients. Senescence-associated βeta-galactosidase (SA-β-Gal) activity, G0-G1 phase cell-cycle arrest, p16 and p53 were analyzed by flow cytometry, while IL-6 and IL-8 mRNA were analyzed by qPCR, and phosphorylated H2A histone family member X (γH2AX) was analyzed by immunofluorescence. Senescent cells in the brain tissue were determined with lipofuscin staining. An increase in the number of senescent cells was observed in the frontal cortex and hippocampus of advanced AD patients. PBMCs of aMCI patients, but not in AD, showed increased SA-β-Gal compared with HCs. aMCI PBMCs also had increased IL-6 and IL8 mRNA expression and number of cells arrested at G0-G1, which were absent in AD. Instead, AD PBMCs had significantly increased p16 and p53 expression and decreased γH2Ax activity compared with HC. This study reports that several markers of cellular senescence can be measured in PBMCs of aMCI and AD patients.

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A Common Biological Mechanism in Cancer and Alzheimers Disease?

2009 , BEHRENS PELLEGRINO, MARIA ISABEL , C. Lendon , C. Roe

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Association of Vitamin D Receptor Polymorphisms with Amyloid-β Transporters Expression and Risk of Mild Cognitive Impairment in a Chilean Cohort

2021 , Nohela B. Arévalo , Daniela P. Castillo-Godoy , Italo Espinoza-Fuenzalida , Nicole K. Rogers , Gonzalo Farias , Carolina Delgado , Mauricio Henriquez , Luisa Herrera , BEHRENS PELLEGRINO, MARIA ISABEL , Carol D. SanMartín , K.S. Jagannatha Rao , Gabrielle B. Britton , Luisa Lilia Rocha Arrieta , Norberto Garcia-Cairasco , Alberto Lazarowski , Adrián Palacios , Antoni Camins Espuny , Ricardo B. Maccioni

Background: Amyloid-β peptide (Aβ) deposition in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is due to an imbalance in its production/clearance rate. Aβ is transported across the blood-brain barrier by LRP1 and P-gp as efflux transporters and RAGE as influx transporter. Vitamin D deficit and polymorphisms of the vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene are associated with high prevalence of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and AD. Further, vitamin D promotes the expression of LRP1 and P-gp in AD-animal model brains. Objective: To associate VDR polymorphisms Apa I (rs7975232), Taq I (rs731236), and Fok I (rs2228570) with the risk of developing MCI in a Chilean population, and to evaluate the relationship of these polymorphisms to the expression of VDR and Aβ-transporters in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Methods: VDR polymorphisms Apa I, Taq I, and Fok I were determined in 128 healthy controls (HC) and 66 MCI patients. mRNA levels of VDR and Aβ-transporters were evaluated in subgroups by qPCR. Results: Alleles A of Apa I and C of Taq I were associated with a lower risk of MCI. HC with the Apa I AA genotype had higher mRNA levels of P-gp and LRP1, while the expression of VDR and RAGE were higher in MCI patients and HC. For Fok I, the TC genotype was associated with lower expression levels of Aβ-transporters in both groups. Conclusion: We propose that the response to vitamin D treatment will depend on VDR polymorphisms, being more efficient in carriers of protective alleles of Apa I polymorphism.

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Validación del instrumento Montreal Cognitive Assessment en español en adultos mayores de 60 años

2019 , C. Delgado , A. Araneda , BEHRENS PELLEGRINO, MARIA ISABEL

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