Browsing by Author "Ibañez, Agustin"

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    Biomarkers for dementia in Latin American countries: Gaps andopportunities
    (2023) Parra, Mario A.; Orellana, Paulina; León, Tomas; Victoria, Cabello G.; Henriquez, Fernando; Gomez, Rodrigo; Avalos, Constanza; Damian, Andres; Slachevsky Chonchol, Andrea; Ibañez, Agustin; Zetterberg, Henrik; Tijms, Betty M.; Yokoyama, Jennifer S.; Piña-Escudero, Stefanie D.; Cochran, Nicholas; Matallana, Diana L.; Acosta, Daisy; Allegri, Ricardo; Arias-Suáres, Bianca P.; Barra, Bernardo; Behrens, María Isabel; Brucki, Sonia M.D.; Busatto, Geraldo; Caramelli, Paulo; Castro-Suarez, Sheila; Contreras, Valeria; Custodio, Nilton; Dansilio, Sergio; De la Cruz-Puebla, Myriam; Cruz de Souza, Leonado; Díaz, Monica M.; Duque, Lissette; Farias, Gonzalo A.; Ferreira, Sergio T.; Magrath Guimet, Nahuel; Kmaid, Ana; Lira, David; Lopera, Francisco; Mar Meza, Beatriz; Miotto, Eliane C.
    Limited knowledge on dementia biomarkers in Latin American and Caribbean (LAC)countries remains a serious barrier. Here, we reported a survey to explore the ongo-ing work, needs, interests, potential barriers, and opportunities for future studiesrelated to biomarkers. The results show that neuroimaging is the most used biomarker(73%), followed by genetic studies (40%), peripheral fluids biomarkers (31%), and cere-brospinal fluid biomarkers (29%). Regarding barriers in LAC, lack of funding appears toundermine the implementation of biomarkers in clinical or research settings, followedby insufficient infrastructure and training. The survey revealed that despite the abovebarriers, the region holds a great potential to advance dementia biomarkers research.Considering the unique contributions that LAC could make to this growing field,we highlight the urgent need to expand biomarker research. These insights allowedus to propose an action plan that addresses the recommendations for a biomarkerframework recently proposed by regional experts.
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    Towards affordable biomarkers of frontotemporal dementia: A classification study via network's information sharing
    (Nature Publishing Group, 2017) Dottori, Martin; Sedeño, Lucas; Martorell, Miguel; Alifano, Florencia; Hesse, Eugenia; Mikulan, Ezequiel; García, Adolfo; Ruiz-Tagle, Amparo; Lillo, Patricia; Slachevsky, Andrea; Serrano, Cecilia; Fraiman, Daniel; Ibañez, Agustin
    Developing effective and affordable biomarkers for dementias is critical given the difficulty to achieve early diagnosis. In this sense, electroencephalographic (EEG) methods offer promising alternatives due to their low cost, portability, and growing robustness. Here, we relied on EEG signals and a novel information-sharing method to study resting-state connectivity in patients with behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) and controls. To evaluate the specificity of our results, we also tested Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients. The classification power of the ensuing connectivity patterns was evaluated through a supervised classification algorithm (support vector machine). In addition, we compared the classification power yielded by (i) functional connectivity, (ii) relevant neuropsychological tests, and (iii) a combination of both. BvFTD patients exhibited a specific pattern of hypoconnectivity in mid-range frontotemporal links, which showed no alterations in AD patients. These functional connectivity alterations in bvFTD were replicated with a low-density EEG setting (20 electrodes). Moreover, while neuropsychological tests yielded acceptable discrimination between bvFTD and controls, the addition of connectivity results improved classification power. Finally, classification between bvFTD and AD patients was better when based on connectivity than on neuropsychological measures. Taken together, such findings underscore the relevance of EEG measures as potential biomarker signatures for clinical settings.
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    Using game authoring platforms to develop screen-based simulated functional assessments in persons with executive dysfunction following traumatic brain injury
    (Elsevier, 2017) Martínez, David; Núñez, Javier; del Blanco, Ángel; Ruiz-Tagle, Amparo; Velásquez, Juan; Gomez, Mariela; Blesius, Carl; Ibañez, Agustin; Fernández, Baltasar; Slachevsky, Andrea
    The assessment of functional status is a critical component of clinical neuropsychological evaluations used for both diagnostic and therapeutic purposes in patients with cognitive brain disorders. There are, however, no widely adopted neuropsychological tests that are both ecologically valid and easily administered in daily clinical practice. This discrepancy is a roadblock to the widespread adoption of functional assessments. In this paper, we propose a novel approach using a serious game authoring platform (eAdventure) for creating screen-based simulated functional assessments. We created a naturalistic functional task that consisted of preparing a cup of tea (SBS-COT) and applied the assessment in a convenience sample of eight dyads of therapists/patients with mild executive dysfunction after traumatic brain injury. We had three main aims. First, we performed a comprehensive review of executive function assessment in activities of daily living. Second, we were interested in measuring the feasibility of this technology with respect to staffing, economic and technical requirements. Third, a serious game was administered to patients to study the feasibility of this technology in the clinical context (pre-screening test). In addition, quantitative (Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) questionnaires) and qualitative (semistructured interviews) evaluations were applied to obtain user input. Our results suggest that the staffing, economic and technical requirements of the SBS-COT are feasible. The outcomes of the pre-screening test provide evidence that this technology is useful in the functional assessment of patients with executive dysfunction. In relation to subjective data, the TAM questionnaire showed good user acceptability from a professional perspective. Interview analyses with professionals and patients showed positive experiences related to the use of the SBS-COT. Our work indicates that the use of these types of authoring platforms could have positive long-term implications for neuropsychological research, opening the door to more reproducible, cooperative and efficient research by allowing the facilitated production, reuse and sharing of neuropsychological assessment tools.

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