Vestibular Nucleus Involvement in Patients With Acute Vertigo Due to Herpes Zoster Oticus or Vestibular Neuritis.

Objectives: Herpes zoster oticus (HZO) typically provokes vestibular symptoms and is traditionally viewed as a cranial nerve equivalent of shingles, but in contrast to vestibular neuritis (VN), it is unclear whether the pathology of HZO is limited to the vestibular nerve (neuritis) or can also involve the brainstem (nucleitis).

Methods: We retrospectively compared brain MRIs of patients with HZO with those of patients with VN to study radiologic changes in the brainstem.

Results: Five of 10 patients with HZO showed signal abnormalities in the vestibular nuclei, which lie in multiple vascular territories, whereas no patients with VN exhibited such findings.

Publication outcomes of abstracts presented at the Argentine Congress of Rheumatology.

Objective: To analyse the outcome of scientific abstracts submitted to the Argentine Congress of Rheumatology (ACOR) in 2000, 2005, 2010, and 2015.

Methods: Every abstract submitted to the ACOR was analysed. The number of these manuscripts published was determined through Google Scholar and PubMed searches.

Universal Repositioning Maneuver: A New Treatment for Single Canal and Multi-Canal Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo by 3-Dimensional Model Analysis.

Background: Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo is the most common peripheral vestibular disorder and is currently treated by many types of repositioning maneuvers. A simplification of this procedure would be desirable. A new, anatomically realistic, 3-dimensional computational simulator of the human labyrinth provides a novel insight to evaluate the viability of any new maneuver.

Social concepts and the cerebellum: behavioural and functional connectivity signatures in cerebellar ataxic patients.

Neurocognitive research on social concepts underscores their reliance on fronto-temporo-limbic regions mediating broad socio-cognitive skills. Yet, the field has neglected another structure increasingly implicated in social cognition: the cerebellum. The present exploratory study examines this link combining a novel naturalistic text paradigm, a relevant atrophy model and functional magnetic resonance imaging.

Fish and the Thyroid: A Janus Bifrons Relationship Caused by Pollutants and the Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids.

Benefits of the omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) on a number of clinical disorders, including autoimmune diseases, are widely reported in the literature. One major dietary source of PUFA are fish, particularly the small oily fish, like anchovy, sardine, mackerel and others. Unfortunately, fish (particularly the large, top-predator fish like swordfish) are also a source of pollutants, including the heavy metals.

Development of Histologically Verified Thyroid Diseases in Women Operated for Breast Cancer: A Review of the Literature and a Case Series.

Background: The possible relationships between breast and thyroid diseases have been reported in the literature. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the occurrence of histologically verified thyroid pathologies in women who were diagnosed with breast cancer and, after mastectomy/quadrantectomy complemented by oncological treatment, were thyroidectomized based on their periodic thyroid evaluation.

Patients And Methods: Our series consist of 31 women with a mean age of 62.

Comparison of the prognostic value of AJCC cancer staging system 7th and 8th editions for differentiated thyroid cancer.

Background: In the last American Joint Committee on Cancer/Tumor, Node, Metastasis (AJCC/TNM) 8th edition (TNM8), several changes were introduced to this risk stratification system to improve the prognosis of differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC).

Aim: To validate the impact of TNM8 vs. TNM 7th edition (TNM7) in DTC in terms of predictive value in two hospitals from Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Assessment of the Sources of Information by Patients With Rheumatic Diseases.

Objective: The aim of this study was to ascertain the frequency of use, search intent (SI), level of accessibility, and degree of reliability of sources of information (SOIs) in rheumatology.

Methods: A survey among adult outpatients with rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, systemic sclerosis, and spondyloarthritis was conducted. They were asked if they had procured information from 12 selected SOIs during the past year.

The Enduring Controversy of Cervicogenic Vertigo, and Its Place among Positional Vertigo Syndromes.

The idea of cervicogenic vertigo (CV) was proposed nearly a century ago, yet despite considerable scrutiny and research, little progress has been made in clarifying the underlying mechanism of the disease, developing a confirmatory diagnostic test, or devising an appropriately targeted treatment. Given the history of this idea, we offer a review geared towards understanding why so many attempts at clarifying it have failed, with specific comments regarding how CV fits into the broader landscape of positional vertigo syndromes, what a successful diagnostic test might require, and some practical advice on how to approach this in the absence of a diagnostic test.

Predictors of adherence and persistence to disease-modifying therapies in Multiple Sclerosis.

Background And Aims: In multiple sclerosis (MS), non-adherence/non-persistence is related to suboptimal response to treatment, including disease relapses and the need for more expensive healthcare. The aim of this study was to identify predictors related to adherence to disease modifying therapies (DMTs) in a cohort of Argentinian MS patients.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study at the National Medical Care Program from Argentina.

A comparative study of two methods for treatment of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo in the emergency department.

Introduction: Posterior canal benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (PC-BPPV) is considered the most common cause of peripheral vertigo in the emergency department (ED). Although the canalith repositioning maneuver (CRM) is the standard of care, the most effective method to deliver it in the ED has been poorly studied.

Objective: To compare two protocols of the Epley maneuver for the treatment of PC-BPPV.

The spectrum of acute vestibular neuropathy through modern vestibular testing: A descriptive analysis.

Objective: Acute vestibular neuropathy (AVN), often referred to as vestibular neuritis, is a cranial neuropathy responsible for a significant proportion of cases of acute vertigo. This study describes the spectrum of lesion patterns in AVN as identified by video head impulse testing (vHIT) which assesses the high frequency vestibulo-ocular reflex function of the semicircular canals, and cervical and ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (VEMPs) which assess otolith function.

Methods: We used vHIT and VEMPs to assess 35 patients with vestibular neuropathy in the acute stage.

The impact of COVID-19 on the well-being and cognition of older adults living in the United States and Latin America.

Background: In the COVID-19 pandemic, older adults from vulnerable ethnoracial groups are at high risk of infection, hospitalization, and death. We aimed to explore the pandemic's impact on the well-being and cognition of older adults living in the United States (US), Argentina, Chile, Mexico, and Peru.

Methods: 1,608 (646 White, 852 Latino, 77 Black, 33 Asian; 72% female) individuals from the US and four Latin American countries aged ≥ 55 years completed an online survey regarding well-being and cognition during the pandemic between May and September 2020.

Impact of Social Isolation on People with Dementia and Their Family Caregivers.

Background: People with dementia and their family caregivers may face a great burden through social isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which can be manifested as various behavioral and clinical symptoms.

Objective: To investigate the impacts of social isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic on individuals with dementia and their family caregivers.

Methods: Two semi-structured questionnaires were applied via telephone to family caregivers of people diagnosed with dementia in three cities in Argentina, Brazil, and Chile, in order to assess clinical and behavioral changes in people with dementia and in their caregivers.

Square wave manoeuvre for apogeotropic variant of horizontal canal benign paroxysmal positional vertigo in neck restricted patients.

Objective: We aimed to describe the clinical features of the apogeotropic variant of horizontal canal benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (HC BPPV-AG) in a cluster of patients with restrictive neck movement disorders and a new therapeutic manoeuvre for its management.

Methods: In a retrospective review of cases from an ambulatory tertiary referral center, patients with HC BPPV-AG in combination with neck movement restriction that prevented any classical manual repositioning procedure or who were refractory to canalith repositioning manoeuvres, were treated with a new manoeuvre comprised of sequential square-wave pattern of head and body supine rotations while nystagmus was being monitored, until either an apogeotropic to geotropic conversion or resolution of the nystagmus was observed.

Results: Fifteen patients were studied.

Histology and neuroanatomy suggest a unified mechanism to explain the distribution of lesion patterns in acute vestibular neuropathy.

Human temporal bone studies have described the distribution of afferent fibers from each of the five organelles in the labyrinth. Data from vestibular tests in patients with vestibular neuritis can be abnormal in almost any pattern. We propose a unified explanation for these patterns, based on histological and neuroanatomical factors.

Teleconsultation and Teletreatment Protocol to Diagnose and Manage Patients with Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV) during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

 Telehealth consists in the application of technology to provide remote health service. This resource is considered safe and effective and has attracted an exponential interest in the context of the COVID pandemic. Expanded to dizzy patients, it would be able to provide diagnosis and treatment, minimizing the risk of disease transmission.

A study to assess the unmet medical needs associated with the use of basal insulin in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Aim: To describe in a real-world setting, the proportion of patients with a symptomatic hypoglycaemic event and the proportion of individuals with type 2 diabetes, who newly or recently initiated with basal insulin, achieving individual or general HbA1c target.

Materials And Method: DINAS-AR was a national prospective observational study to assess the unmet needs in patients with type 2 diabetes treated with basal insulin with or without oral antihyperglycaemic drugs and/or GLP-1 receptor agonist. The study was conducted at 19 hospitals.

Leuko-platelet index predicts thrombotic events in patients with acute coronary syndrome.

Purpose: To evaluate the predictive value of a bedside index in hospitalized patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS).

Methods: We studied the association of leuko-platelet index (LPI: platelet count * leukocyte count/10) with risk of mortality, shock, or heart failure (combined end point-CEP), and with the response to antiplatelet therapy, measured by light transmission aggregometry.

Results: In the derivation cohort we included 1100 patients with non STEM-ACS, GRACE score of 133 ± 52, Crusade score 24,3 ± 14, 66% male, 65 + 11 years.

The impact of SARS-CoV-2 in dementia across Latin America: A call for an urgent regional plan and coordinated response.

The SARS-CoV-2 global pandemic will disproportionately impact countries with weak economies and vulnerable populations including people with dementia. Latin American and Caribbean countries (LACs) are burdened with unstable economic development, fragile health systems, massive economic disparities, and a high prevalence of dementia. Here, we underscore the selective impact of SARS-CoV-2 on dementia among LACs, the specific strain on health systems devoted to dementia, and the subsequent effect of increasing inequalities among those with dementia in the region.