Publications by authors named "Francisco J Lopez-Gonzalez"

Article Synopsis
  • Recent research on late-life dementia highlights both neurodegenerative and vascular conditions contributing to the varied symptoms in patients, utilizing the Vallecas Alzheimer's Reina Sofía (VARS) cohort with over 550 participants and associated brain donations.
  • The study focused on 167 patients, primarily older women (79%) with an average age of 88, and found a significant presence of the ApoE-e4 gene variant (43%).
  • The main findings revealed that 79.6% had Alzheimer's disease, with a high prevalence of other conditions like vascular dementia and Lewy body dementia, and over 71.1% of the patients showed multiple neuropathological findings, indicating the complexity of dementia in this cohort.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: This study investigated the effectiveness and tolerability of brivaracetam (BRV) monotherapy in a large series of patients with epilepsy.

Method: This was a multicenter, retrospective, observational, non-interventional study in 24 hospitals across Spain. Patients aged ≥18 years who started on BRV monotherapy, either as first-line or following conversion, at least 1 year before database closure were included.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS)-guided mediastinal cryobiopsy is a novel technique that increases the accuracy of diagnosing most pathologies that affect the mediastinum. Although EBUS-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) is the first choice in the diagnosis of mediastinal pathology, mediastinal cryobiopsy offers a larger and higher quality biopsy with minimal artifacts and no crushing when compared to conventional cytological samples obtained through EBUS-TBNA. It is particularly valuable in pathologies where EBUS-TBNA has diagnostic limitations, such as lymphoproliferative diseases, benign granulomatous conditions like sarcoidosis and silicosis, some rare infectious processes, metastases from rare non-pulmonary tumors, and in advanced stages of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) where immunohistochemistry and molecular analysis are essential for personalized treatment.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objectives: Calprotectin (CP) is a calcium and zinc binding protein that is widely measured on faecal samples but its determination in other biological fluids might be of interest. The aim of this work was to validate the measurement of CP in pleural fluid by chemiluminescence.

Methods: LIAISONXL, a fully automated chemiluminescence analyzer, was used for CP quantification on pleural fluid.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Rho-related BTB domain-containing protein 2 () is a protein that interacts with cullin-3, a crucial E3 ubiquitin ligase for mitotic cell division. has been linked to early infantile epileptic encephalopathy, autosomal dominant type 64 (OMIM618004), in 34 reported patients.

Methods: We present a case series of seven patients with -related disorders (-RD), including a description of a novel heterozygous variant.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological conditions worldwide. The main goal of its treatment is to achieve seizure freedom without intolerable adverse effects. However, despite the availability of many anti-seizure medications, including the latest options, called third-generation anti-seizure medications (ASMs), approximately 40% of people with epilepsy present drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: This study investigated early, real-world outcomes with cenobamate (CNB) in a large series of patients with highly drug-resistant epilepsy within a Spanish Expanded Access Program (EAP).

Method: This was a multicenter, retrospective, observational study in 14 hospitals. Inclusion criteria were age ≥18 years, focal seizures, and EAP authorization.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

This study explored the feasibility and effectiveness of a short-term (10-week) intervention trial using Donepezil administered alone and combined with intensive language action therapy (ILAT) for the treatment of apathy and depression in ten people with chronic post-stroke aphasia. Outcome measures were the Western Aphasia Battery and the Stroke Aphasia Depression Questionnaire-21. Structural magnetic resonance imaging and fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography were acquired at baseline and after two endpoints (Donepezil alone and Donepezil-ILAT).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Aim: To evaluate the effectiveness and tolerability of cannabidiol (CBD) in patients with developmental and epileptic encephalopathies, including Dravet syndrome (DS), and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS), in a Spanish Expanded Access Program (EAP).

Methods: This was a multicenter, retrospective, observational study of patients treated with purified CBD in 14 hospitals across Spain. Patients with (1) written informed consent and (2) at least 6 months follow-up before the closure of the database were included.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Pleural effusion (PE) is a common yet complex disease that requires specialized, multidisciplinary management. Recent advances, novel diagnostic techniques, and innovative patient-centered therapeutic proposals have prompted an update of the current guidelines. This document provides recommendations and protocols based on a critical review of the literature on the epidemiology, etiology, diagnosis, prognosis, and new therapeutic options in PE, and addresses some cost-effectiveness issues related to the main types of PE.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: [F]Flortaucipir (FTP) PET quantification is usually hindered by spill-in counts from off-target binding (OFF) regions. The present work aims to provide an in-depth analysis of the impact of OFF in FTP PET quantification, as well as to identify optimal partial volume correction (PVC) strategies to minimize this problem.

Methods: 309 amyloid-beta (Aβ) negative cognitively normal subjects were included in the study.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Multidimensional flow cytometry (MFC) is routinely used for the diagnosis and follow-up of hematolymphoid neoplasms but its contribution to the identification of non-hematolymphoid malignant tumors is limited.

Methods: The presence of non-hematolymphoid cells in clinical samples obtained via minimally invasive methods was ascertained by using a panel of monoclonal antibodies previously developed in our laboratory comprising a mixture of antibodies: CD9-PacB/CD45-OC515/CD57-FITC/CD56-PE/CD3-PerCP-Cy5.5/CD117-PE-Cy7/CD326-APC/CD81-APC-C750.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: Add-on therapy with monoclonal antibodies is the recommended therapy for severe asthmatic patients refractory to maintenance treatment. In randomized control trials, mepolizumab reduced the number of exacerbations, the need of oral corticosteroids (OCS), increased asthma control, and lung function in a population of uncontrolled severe eosinophilic asthmatic patients. In this piece of work, we aimed to assess mepolizumab efficacy and safety in a cohort of patients with severe eosinophilic asthma in real-life conditions.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: To analyse the accuracy of commonly used risk scores (PSI and CURB-65) in predicting mortality and need for ICU admission in Covid-19.

Material And Methods: Prospective study of patients diagnosed with Covid-19 pneumonia. Patients were followed until home discharge or death.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The lack of standardization of intensity normalization methods and its unknown effect on the quantification output is recognized as a major drawback for the harmonization of brain FDG-PET quantification protocols. The aim of this work is the ground truth-based evaluation of different intensity normalization methods on brain FDG-PET quantification output.

Methods: Realistic FDG-PET images were generated using Monte Carlo simulation from activity and attenuation maps directly derived from 25 healthy subjects (adding theoretical relative hypometabolisms on 6 regions of interest and for 5 hypometabolism levels).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: We aim to provide a systematic study of the impact of white matter (WM) spill-in on the calculation of standardized uptake value ratios (SUVRs) on Aβ-negative subjects, and we study the effect of including WM in the reference region as a compensation. In addition, different partial volume correction (PVC) methods are applied and evaluated.

Methods: We evaluated magnetic resonance imaging and F-AV-45 positron emission tomography data from 122 cognitively normal (CN) patients recruited at the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: To develop recommendations for the management of patients with primary or secondary generalized tonic-clonic seizures (GTCS) based on best evidence and experience.

Methods: The Delphi methodology was followed. A multidisciplinary panel of 10 experts was established, who defined the scope, users and preliminary recommendations.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: To assess the effectiveness and tolerability of eslicarbazepine acetate (ESL) monotherapy in routine clinical practice for the treatment of focal-onset seizures.

Methods: Multicenter, retrospective, observational study conducted in patients older than 16 years treated with ESL as first-line monotherapy or converted to ESL monotherapy from polytherapy or other monotherapy. Outcomes included 1-year retention rate, seizure-free rates after 6 and 12 months of monotherapy treatment, and safety/tolerability issues.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: The pharmacokinetics of brivaracetam (BRV), added to its effectiveness observed in animal models of status epilepticus (SE), makes this drug attractive for use in emergency situations. Our objective was to evaluate the use of intravenous BRV in a multicenter study.

Methods: A retrospective multicenter registry of SE cases treated with BRV was created.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Pleural disease involves a large number of admissions and long hospital stays. In order to improve this situation, a Pleural Unit (PU) was created in our hospital. Our aim was to analyze the clinical impact of this unit.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The two forms of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), idiopathic and acquired, have been linked to abnormalities in the fronto-striato-thalamo-cortical circuitry, involving the orbitofrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, thalamus, and striatum. Accumulating evidence indicates that damage to other brain regions (ie, temporal lobes) is also implicated in the pathogenesis of both types of OCD. In addition, some discrete OCD symptoms have received less attention because of their presumed low occurrence and difficultly of categorization.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF