Publications by authors named "Alexandra Prufer de Queiroz Campos Araujo"

Article Synopsis
  • Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA-5q) is a serious neurodegenerative condition that leads to muscle weakness and atrophy, with SMA 1 showing symptoms in infancy; early treatment improves outcomes.
  • This study assessed the safety and effectiveness of two treatments—nusinersen and onasemnogene abeparvovec (OA)—in children with SMA 1 by evaluating their motor, respiratory, and feeding functions.
  • Results showed that patients who started treatment earlier saw significantly better improvements, with 70% achieving motor milestones, no serious side effects, and most maintaining respiratory and feeding functions.
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Duchenne muscular dystrophy is a progressive and fatal X-linked neuromuscular disease. Emergent disease-modifying therapy (DMT) in nonsense Duchenne muscular dystrophy (nmDMD) has brought new perspectives to slow down functional decline in this fatal disease. To investigate if there are differences in natural history between nmDMD and other genotypes, we described a retrospective cohort analysis of 25 nonsense mutation DMD (nmDMD) boys without disease-modifying therapy, aged between 1 and 22 years, over the last 15 years (2007-2022) in a single neuromuscular center in Rio de Janeiro and use published data on DMD natural history for comparison.

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Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a genetic neuromuscular progressive disorder that is currently treatable. The sooner the disease-modifying therapies are started, the better the prognosis. Newborn screening for SMA, which is already performed in many countries, has been scheduled to begin in the near future.

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Spinal muscular atrophy linked to chromosome 5 (SMA-5q) is an autosomal recessive genetic disease caused by mutations in the . SMA-5q is characterized by progressive degeneration of the spinal cord and bulbar motor neurons, causing severe motor and respiratory impairment with reduced survival, especially in its more severe clinical forms. In recent years, highly effective disease-modifying therapies have emerged, either acting by regulating the splicing of exon 7 of the gene or adding a copy of the gene through gene therapy, providing a drastic change in the natural history of the disease.

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In the last few decades, there have been considerable improvements in the diagnosis and care of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), the most common childhood muscular dystrophy. International guidelines have been published and recently reviewed. A group of Brazilian experts has developed a standard of care based on a literature review with evidence-based graded recommendations in a two-part publication.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to analyze the genetic variations in the survival motor neuron 1 (SMN1) gene among Brazilian patients with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and to connect these variants with disease severity.
  • Out of 450 patients, the majority (89.3%) had a common deletion in exon 7, while others had a mix of this deletion and additional point mutations, with certain variants being more prevalent in compound heterozygous cases.
  • The research concluded that specific variants (c.460C>T and c.5C>G) were linked to milder disease forms, and that the copy number of the gene did not consistently predict disease severity among these patients.*
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Objective: Duchenne muscular dystrophy, an X-linked genetic disease, leads to progressive muscle weakness mainly in the lower limbs. Motor function tests help to monitor disease progression. Can low-cost, simple assessments help in the diagnostic suspicion of Duchenne muscular dystrophy? The authors aim to define the sensitivity of time to rise from the floor, time to walk 10meters, and time to run 10meters, evaluating them as eventual diagnostic screening tools.

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Allgrove or triple A syndrome (AS or AAA) is a rare autosomal recessive syndrome with variable phenotype due to mutations in gene which encodes a protein called ALADIN. Generally, it's characterized by of adrenal insufficiency in consequence of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) resistance, besides of achalasia, and alacrimia. Neurologic features are varied and have been the subject of several case reports and reviews.

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Objective: To perform a pilot study to investigate the association between working memory and cortical thickness in a sample of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) children.

Methods: Seventeen children aged 7-10 years diagnosed with ADHD and 16 healthy children underwent a magnetic resonance scan for cortical thickness measurements. Data was correlated with working memory performance using the Backwards Digit Span subtest of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children.

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Background: Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is caused by mutations in the dystrophin gene. The immune inflammatory response also contributes to disease progression in DMD patients. In a previous study, we demonstrated higher levels of circulating CD49dhi and CD49ehi T cells in DMD patients compared to healthy control.

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Objective: Motor function tests are used clinically and in research in children, particularly in those with neuromuscular disorders. Timed function tests are recommended in the follow-up of patients with neuromuscular disorders. This study was designed to know how healthy children perform on simple timed motor function tests.

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Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) affects about 5% of school-aged child. Previous published works using different techniques of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have demonstrated that there may be some differences between the brain of people with and without this condition. This review aims at providing neurologists, pediatricians and psychiatrists an update on the differences between the brain of children with and without ADHD using advanced techniques of magnetic resonance imaging such as diffusion tensor imaging, brain volumetry and cortical thickness, spectroscopy and functional MRI.

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Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is an important cause of death in children and SMA type I, also known as Werdnig-Hoffman disease, is the most severe form of this disease. We report 2 cases of infants with SMA I in whom a distal necrosis developed, a feature not previously reported. Poor perfusion, autonomic dysfunction, and position-dependent factors may all play a role in the development of this complication.

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Objective: Scholastic achievement in a nonclinical sample of ADHD children and adolescents was evaluated taking into consideration variables such as comorbid learning disorders, family income, and parental education which may also be associated with poor academic performance.

Method: After screening for ADHD in 396 students, the authors compared academic performance of 26 ADHD individuals and 31 controls paired for gender, age, and intelligence level considering both mathematics and Portuguese language scores. Learning disorders were investigated and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.

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Unlabelled: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a frequent condition in school-age children and commonly presents in comorbidity with other psychiatric diseases. In Brazil, there are few studies concerning non-clinical samples.

Purpose: The present study aims to calculate the prevalence of this disorder and its comorbidities in a sample of school-age children.

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Background: Rheumatic chorea (RC) has recently been linked to an antibody-mediated immune mechanism.

Objective/method: To verify if this knowledge reflected in management changes we conceived a descriptive study.

Results: The medical charts of 20 children (13 females) aged 6 to 12 years (mean 8 years), diagnosed as RC from June 1996 to June 1999, were reviewed.

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Synopsis of recent research by authors named "Alexandra Prufer de Queiroz Campos Araujo"

  • - Alexandra Prufer De Queiroz Campos Araujo's research primarily focuses on neuromuscular diseases, particularly Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), investigating disease progression, natural history, and the impact of emerging disease-modifying therapies.
  • - Recent findings emphasize the importance of early diagnosis and intervention through newborn screening programs for SMA, as well as a comparative analysis of nonsense mutations in DMD to establish appropriate treatment approaches.
  • - The researcher has contributed to Brazilian consensus guidelines for managing these conditions, promoting evidence-based care and highlighting the need for standardized diagnostic tools in neuromuscular disorders.