Laura Rodríguez-Santos

Background/Objectives: The 6 min walk test (6MWT) has been used to measure the level of walking capacity in people with Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, the use of a non-linear circuit has not yet been investigated deeply. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the test–retest reliability of the 6 min walk test in a rectangular circuit in people with PD. Methods: Forty-two people with PD (men = 27, women = 15), mean age 66 ± 9.61 years, participated. All of them were in ON state. Each patient performed the 6MWT on 2 test days separated by 1 week, walking at a constant speed on a 20 m × 3.5 m circuit. Test–retest reliability was assessed using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), minimal detectable change (MDC), and standard error of measurement (SEM), and Student’s t-test was applied to determine whether there were statistically significant differences between the test and the retest. Results: The ICC values for the total sample were excellent (>0.90) in both men and women. In addition, they had similar reliability, although slightly higher in women. The results showed that, for the total sample, a MDC < 17% can be considered as a true change for this procedure. The SEM percentage was 6.1%. Conclusions: The 6MWT, performed on a rectangular circuit, demonstrated excellent test–retest reliability in patients with Parkinson’s disease.

Background: The 6-minute walk test (6MWT) has been used to measure the level of functional capacity in people with Parkinson's disease (PD). However, the use of a non-linear circuit has not yet been investigated. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the test-retest reliability of the 6-minute walk test in a rectangular circuit in people with PD. Methods: Forty-two people with PD (men=27, women=15), mean age 66±9.61 years, partici-pated. Each patient performed the 6MWT on 2 test days separated by 1 week, walking at a constant speed on a 20m x 3.5m circuit. Test-retest reliability was assessed using the intraclass correlation coefficient and the Student's t-test was applied to determine whether there were statistically significant differences between the test and the retest. Results: The ICC values for the total sample were excellent (< 0.90) in both men and women. In addition, they had similar reliability, although slightly higher in women. The results showed that, for the total sample, a smallest true difference (SRD) < 17% can be considered as a true change for this procedure. The standard error of measurement (SEM) percentage was 6.1. Conclusions: The 6-minute walk test (6MWT), performed on a rectangular circuit, is a reliable and valid tool for assessing functional capacity in PD patients.

Microalgae are organisms with great potential for the use of goods and services in areas of social and commercial interest. The application of bioproducts of microalgal origin for the purpose of feed in aquaculture and agriculture directly influences the generation or mitigation of environmental impacts. Its use in the treatment of wastewater allows the reduction of nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and CO₂, providing a system that acts in the reuse and use of water resources, generating the return of cleaner water to bodies of water and acting in the reduction of the gases greenhouse effect. Microalgae biomass is presented as an alternative to generating a wide variety of value-added products that, in recent years, given its biotechnological potential, have been gaining ground in agribusiness. This document aims to show the application and current perspectives for obtaining biomass of microalgae from crops in wastewater that can be used as raw material for the production of biofertilizers, biostimulants, feed additives that encourage reuse, transformation, recovery, and savings of resources to promote bioeconomic and circular economy processes. Generate strategies to develop practices in the agricultural sector with high productivity, quality, and efficiency, which in turn can be sustainable, friendly, and provide economic advantages, part of the need to use bioresources and implement circular bioeconomy concepts.

Background: The concern in the scientific community for the study of people with dementia and their families is comprehensible, especially the importance of knowing the effects that caring for the patient has on their family dynamic, paying special attention to the main caregiver. The objective of this study was to analyze the relationship of resilience and emotional intelligence with functional performance in the main caregivers of people with dementia in Spain according to the phase of the disease. Methods: A cross-sectional, descriptive, and analytical study was carried out. A total of 144 primary family caregivers of patients with dementia in Spain were included in the study. The following variables were measured: sociodemographic, psychosocial, and occupational, as well as resilience and emotional intelligence. Results: The caregivers obtained a low moderate resilience (mean = 64.01 ± 14.5), an emotional intelligence bordering between moderate and high (mean = 78.48 ± 14.82), and a 61.8% self-care categorized as somewhat and quite a bit. The presence of higher levels of resilience in family caregivers of people with dementia were positively related to the time spent on self-care (r = 0.227; p = 0.033) and leisure (r = 0.262; p = 0.014), especially in the moderate phase of the disease, while in the severe phase, this relationship appeared with productivity (r = 0.355; p = 0.034). The higher levels of emotional intelligence were positively related to a greater time dedicated to self-care (r = 0.233, p = 0.005), as well as the data observed in the moderate and severe phase (r = 0.214; p = 0.046 and r = 0.398; p = 0.016 respectively). Conclusions: The primary caregivers of relatives with dementia who have higher levels of resilience and emotional intelligence spend more time on self-care and leisure activities, especially in the moderate phase of the disease.

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disorder that affects physical, psychological, and social quality of life. Square Stepping Exercise (SSE) is an effective balance training program to prevent falls and to stimulate cognitive function in the elderly; however, no study has analyzed the effect of SSE in people with PD. The main objective is to investigate whether the application of SSE is safe, applicable, and can improve balance, and is effective in preventing falls, improving cognitive and psychological aspects and thus maximize quality of life in people with PD. Methods/Design: SSE will be performed three times per week for 8 weeks with an additional month follow-up after the intervention. Sixty people with PD will participate, randomly distributed into two groups: experimental group (SSE: n = 30) and control group (Usual care: n = 30). The primary measurements will be: (1) Applicability, (2) Safety, (3) Balance, and (4) Annual number of falls. Secondary measurements will be: (1) Sociodemographic information, (2) Physical condition, (3) Health-related quality of life, (4) Depressive symptoms, (5) Cognitive aspects, (6) Perceived functional social support, and (7) Anticipatory cognition.

Giant cell arteritis (GCA), also known as temporal arteritis or Horton disease, is categorized as a large- and medium-sized vessels vasculitis. Systemic symptoms are common in GCA and although vascular involvement may be widespread, the cranial branches of the aortic arch are responsible for the hallmark symptoms of GCA: headache, jaw claudication and ocular symptoms, particularly visual loss. The large vessel (LV)-GCA phenotype may differ or overlap from cranial arteritis. Clinical consequences of LV-GCA comprise aneurysms and dissections of the aorta, as well as stenosis, occlusion and ectasia of large arteries. Symptoms of polymyalgia rheumatica occurring in a patient with GCA include characteristic proximal polyarthralgias and myalgias, sometimes accompanied by remitting seronegative symmetrical synovitis with pitting edema (RS3PE), Less common manifestations reported include central nervous system involvement, audiovestibular and upper respiratory symptoms, pericarditis, mesenteric ischemia and female genital tract involvement.

The economic recession that recently affected most European countries has led to a worsening of the mental health situation in the general population and an associated rise in outpatient psychiatric care. The aim of this study was to analyse the socio-demographic, clinical and assistential features of the demand for specialist mental health attention. A descriptive and analytical study was conducted in the period 2011–2015 (N = 1252). The principal relations among variables were analysed by an χ² test, followed by a Z test with Bonferroni’s correction. For a global perspective a Multiple Correspondence Analysis was performed. 2 The most frequent disorders were adjustment, anxiety and mood disorders, and in addition there were a large number of patients without diagnosis. The percentage of unemployed or inactive patients was high, as it was for those with a low academic level. The younger patients were more prone to have adjustment disorders, especially among the unemployed ones, while anxiety disorders were more frequent in the patients with jobs. A close association seems to exist between unemployment, low academic level and mental health problems. The high demand for mental health attention reveals a clear need to optimize the utilization of specialized care in mental health.

Background: Patients with eating disorders (ED) are very sensitive and responsive to psychosocial stress. Stress response includes changes in immune cell distribution and may be modulated by the capability to cope with stressors. Thus, the present study sought to analyze the association between coping strategies and immune response (natural killer [NK] cell redistribution following psychosocial stress) in patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN) and healthy controls (HC).Method: Twenty‐four AN patients, 29 BN patients, and 58 HC were studied. A multidimensional assessment tool, the COPE Inventory, was used to assess coping strategies. The number of NK cells was quantified in peripheral blood before and after the application of the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST). Potentially mediating variables, such as weight status, severity of eating pathology, depression, anxiety, and impulsivity were controlled.Results: The three groups differed in intensity and direction of cell redistribution: The TSST was followed in BN patients by a significant decrease in the number of NK cells, whereas HC displayed a moderate decrease and AN a clear increase. Specific correlations between coping strategies and NK cell mobilization were found, especially in BN patients (positive for “planning” and negative for “substance abuse”).Conclusion: Recognition and subsequent modification of the dysfunctional coping strategies used by patients with ED could contribute to improving their immune status, strengthening their resilience and increasing their ability to overcome the disease.

Summary: Objective: Clinical research on cortisol response to stress in patients with eating disorders has provided controversial and even contradictory results. As this might be the consequence of the inclusion in the studies of heterogeneous clinical populations, 3 highly selected samples were studied.Methods: Dexamethasone suppression test was performed on 15 restricting anorexia nervosa patients without history of bulimia nervosa (BN), 17 BN patients with normal weight and no history of anorexia nervosa, and 22 healthy controls. Three days later, the Trier Social Stress Test was applied, and 8 saliva samples were collected along the trial for cortisol assessment.Results: When the patients were considered as a single group, a slightly blunted cortisol response to stress was observed, but when the 3 groups were considered separately, the blunted response was observed only in the BN patients.Discussion: The results support the association between blunted cortisol response and bulimic features.