ORCID Profile
0000-0001-9030-3686
Current Organisations
Philips Healthcare
,
Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade do Porto
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Publisher: Wiley
Date: 30-07-2015
DOI: 10.1002/MDS.26311
Abstract: Alpha-synuclein (α-Syn) is particularly abundant in the vermiform appendix, which makes this structure an anatomical candidate for the initiation of Parkinson's disease (PD) pathology. We hypothesized that history of appendectomy might affect PD clinical onset. A total of 295 PD patients enrolled in a comprehensive observational study were asked about past history of appendectomy. Cox's regression, with a time-dependent covariate, explored the effects of appendectomy on age at PD onset. Thirty-four patients (11.5%) had appendectomy before PD onset. There was no significant effect of appendectomy on age at PD onset for the entire cohort (P = 0.153). However, among patients with late onset (≥55 years), we found evidence that those with past appendectomy had more years of life without PD symptoms than patients without appendectomy (P = 0.040). No association was found for the young-onset group (P = 0.663). An apparent relationship was observed between appendectomy and PD onset in the late PD cohort.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 07-01-2013
Abstract: The main goal of this study was to produce normative data for the Portuguese population on the Trail Making Test (TMT). The study included 1,038 community-dwelling in iduals aged between 18 and 93 years, who had educational backgrounds ranging from 3 to 22 years. The results showed that sex, age, and education were significantly associated with TMT performance. These demographic characteristics accounted for 57% of the performance variance at part A and 50% at part B. The normative data are presented as regression-based algorithms to adjust direct and derived test scores for sex, age, and education. The adjusted scores' percentile distributions and their correspondence with scaled scores are also provided.
Publisher: Hindawi Limited
Date: 2015
DOI: 10.1155/2015/976589
Abstract: Introduction . A possible association between olfactory dysfunction and Parkinson’s disease (PD) severity has been a topic of contention for the past 40 years. Conflicting reports may be partially explained by procedural differences in olfactory assessment and motor symptom evaluation. Methods . One hundred and sixty-six nondemented PD patients performed the Brief-Smell Identification Test and test scores below the estimated 20th percentile as a function of sex, age, and education (i.e., 80% specificity) were considered demographically abnormal. Patients underwent motor examination after 12 h without antiparkinsonian medication. Results . Eighty-two percent of PD patients had abnormal olfaction. Abnormal performance on the Brief-Smell Identification Test was associated with higher disease severity (i.e., Hoehn and Yahr, Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale-III, Freezing of Gait questionnaire, and levodopa equivalent dose), even when disease duration was taken into account. Conclusions . Abnormal olfaction in PD is associated with increased severity and faster disease progression.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 12-01-2015
DOI: 10.1080/23279095.2014.927767
Abstract: This study aimed to produce adjusted normative data for the Portuguese version of the Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AVLT). The study included 1,068 community-dwelling in iduals (736 women, 332 men) aged 18 to 93 years old (Mage = 56 years, SD = 18) who had educational backgrounds ranging from 0 to 24 years (M = 9.8 years, SD = 5.3). The results showed that sex, age, and education were significantly associated with AVLT performance. These demographic characteristics accounted for 24% to 35% of the variance of direct recall trials and for 8% to 39% of the variance of derived recall scores. The normative data for direct and derived recall scores are presented as regression-based algorithms to adjust for sex, age, and education with subsequent correspondence between adjusted scores and percentile distribution. The norms for the recognition correct score are presented as algorithms to estimate the recognition scores for 5th, 10th, and 18th percentiles for each combination of the variables sex, age, and education.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 21-01-2013
Abstract: The main goal of this study was to produce adjusted normative data for the Portuguese population on two verbal fluency measures: the semantic fluency test (animals category) and the phonemic fluency test (letters M, R, and P). The study included 950 community-dwelling in iduals (624 women and 326 men) aged between 18 and 98 (mean = 57.8, SD = 19.0), who had educational backgrounds ranging from 0 to 20 years (mean = 8.8, SD = 5.2). The results showed that age and education were significantly associated with semantic fluency and phonemic fluency performance. These demographic characteristics accounted for 42% of the semantic fluency and between 23% and 31% of the phonemic fluency performance variance. No significant sex effects were found. The normative data are presented as regression-based algorithms to adjust test scores for age and education, with subsequent correspondence between adjusted scores and percentile distribution.
No related grants have been discovered for Alexandra Gonçalves.