Browsing by Author "Rocha, H"
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- Cognitive Impairment and Magnetic Resonance Imaging Correlates in Primary Progressive Multiple SclerosisPublication . Gouveia, A; Dias, S; Santos, T; Rocha, H; Coelho, C; Ruano, L; Galego, O; Diogo, M; Seixas, D; Sá, MJ; Batista, SObjectives: To characterize cognitive impairment in primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) and to correlate the pattern of cognitive deficits with brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) volumetric data. Materials and methods: In a multicenter cross-sectional study, we recruited consecutive patients with PPMS as well as age, sex, and education level-matched healthy controls (HC). All participants underwent neuropsychological (NP) assessment, and brain MRI was performed in patients with PPMS for analysis of lesion load, subcortical GM volumes, and regional cortical volumes. Results: We recruited 55 patients with PPMS and 36 HC. Thirty-six patients were included in the MRI analysis. Patients with PPMS performed significantly worse than HC in all NP tests. Subcortical GM volume was significantly correlated with all NP tests, except for Stroop Test, with the largest effect for the thalamus (r=-.516 [BVMT-R DR, P=.016 FDR-corrected] to r=.664 [SDMT, P<.001 FDR-corrected]). In the stepwise linear regression model, thalamic volume was the only predictor of performance in all NP tests. Conclusion: Cognitive impairment is common in PPMS and affects all evaluated cognitive domains. Subcortical GM volume, particularly of the thalamus, is a strong predictor of cognitive performance, suggesting it has a central role in the pathophysiology of PPMS-related cognitive dysfunction.
- Phenylketonuria in Portugal: Genotype–Phenotype Correlations Using Molecular, Biochemical, and Haplotypic AnalysesPublication . Ferreira, F; Azevedo, L; Neiva, R; Sousa, C; Fonseca, H; Marcão, A; Rocha, H; Carmona, C; Ramos, S; Bandeira, A; Martins, E; Campos, T; Rodrigues, E; Garcia, P; Diogo, L; Ferreira, AC; Sequeira, S; Silva, F; Rodrigues, L; Gaspar, A; Janeiro, P; Amorim, A; Vilarinho, LBackground: The impairment of the hepatic enzyme phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) causes elevation of phenylalanine levels in blood and other body fluids resulting in the most common inborn error of amino acid metabolism (phenylketonuria). Persistently high levels of phenylalanine lead to irreversible damage to the nervous system. Therefore, early diagnosis of the affected individuals is important, as it can prevent clinical manifestations of the disease. Methods: In this report, the biochemical and genetic findings performed in 223 patients diagnosed through the Portuguese Neonatal Screening Program (PNSP) are presented. Results: Overall, the results show that a high overlap exists between different types of variants and phenylalanine levels. Molecular analyses reveal a wide mutational spectrum in our population with a total of 56 previously reported variants, most of them found in compound heterozygosity (74% of the patients). Intragenic polymorphic markers were used to assess the haplotypic structure of mutated chromosomes for the most frequent variants found in homozygosity in our population (p.Ile65Thr, p.Arg158Gln, p.Leu249Phe, p.Arg261Gln, p.Val388Met, and c.1066-11G>A). Conclusion: Our data reveal high heterogeneity at the biochemical and molecular levels and are expected to provide a better understanding of the molecular basis of this disease and to provide clues to elucidate genotype-phenotype correlations.
- Phenylketonuria in Portugal: Genotype-Phenotype Correlations Using Molecular, Biochemical, and Haplotypic AnalysesPublication . Ferreira, F; Azevedo, L; Neiva, R; Sousa, C; Fonseca, H; Marcão, A; Rocha, H; Carmona, C; Ramos, S; Bandeira, A; Martins, E; Campos, T; Rodrigues, E; Garcia, P; Diogo, L; Ferreira, AC; Sequeira, S; Silva, F; Rodrigues, L; Gaspar, A; Janeiro, P; Amorim, A; Vilarinho, LThe impairment of the hepatic enzyme phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) causes elevation of phenylalanine levels in blood and other body fluids resulting in the most common inborn error of amino acid metabolism (phenylketonuria). Persistently high levels of phenylalanine lead to irreversible damage to the nervous system. Therefore, early diagnosis of the affected individuals is important, as it can prevent clinical manifestations of the disease.