Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is the most common form of lupus and a chronic autoimmune disorder that can affect multiple organ systems including the joints, skin, the cardiovascular system and even the central and peripheral nervous system. Although rare, these patients may present with neuropsychiatric symptoms. This patient presented initially with an SLE flare associated with sudden focal to generalized tonic-clonic seizures. Further rheumatologic workup was done which revealed that the patient also has scleroderma, an autoimmune connective tissue that causes inflammation of the skin and other key internal organs. Due to the seizure occurrence, cranial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was done which showed incidental mesial temporal sclerosis, which is the scarring of the medial part of the said lobe of the brain. Her overlap syndrome was managed with Hydrocortisone and she was given Valproic acid as her anti-epileptic drug with no recurrence of seizure afterwards.

Human ; Female ; Adult: 25-44 Yrs Old ; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic ; Hippocampal Sclerosis ; Mesial Temporal Sclerosis ; Valproic Acid

INTRODUCTION

Dementia has been a public health concern for several years. As the population continuously ages, the prevalence of dementia is projected to significantly rise, thus governments will face an increasing demand for support services. Unfortunately, dementia is not recognized as a major public health concern in the Philippines. As the extent of the dementia epidemic needs to be further delineated in the Philippines, and research on dementia is still limited, a larger study is needed to provide more information about the disease burden. This will raise awareness and inform policy makers about the necessity of social and health care reform in dementia care.

We aimed to collect uniform data from patients with cognitive impairment and determine the frequency of dementia and mild cognitive impairment in the study population. These data are crucial for providing information to policy makers in the country.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

This is a multi-center, prospective, observational, non-interventional study and standing database of patients clinically diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) or dementia seen at the participating training institutions. Corresponding anonymized data on demographics, medical history, risk factors, level of functional impairment, diagnosis, baseline cognitive scores and management will be collected from each patient and entered into the database using a secure online data collection tool. Collective data will be extracted, summarized and analyzed every year with oversight provided by the Philippine Neurological Association (PNA).

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

Approval from the ethics committees or institutional review boards (EC/IRB) was obtained from the Single Joint Research Ethics Board and all participating institutions.

The PNA1DB-Dementia initiative will be crucial in providing information to policy makers, to further enhance the implementation of the Mental Health Act. The dissemination of results will be conducted through scientific or public conferences and scientific journal publication.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

NCT05484960; ClinicalTrials.gov.

Human ; Dementia ; Database ; Philippines

Background: : Disruption of neurocognitive functioning is one of the most frequent complications in patients infected with Human immunodeficiency virus. It manifests as a form of subcortical dementia characterized by psychomotor slowing, changes in mood and anxiety levels and deficits in memory, abstraction, information processing, verbal fluency, decision-making, and attention. The primary objective of this study is to determine the prevalence of neurocognitive impairment among HIV-positive individuals in the Philippines. Methods: : This is a cross-sectional study done at the outpatient department of a tertiary infectious disease hospital located in Manila, Philippines conducted from May to July 2015. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment – Filipino (MoCA-P) was used to differentiate non-cognitively impaired and cognitively impaired participants. Demographic data was obtained using structured interviews including the CD4 count. Results: : One hundred and twelve HIV positive patients were examined and 56.7% of them were noted to have cognitive impairment while none of them met the criteria for dementia. After logistics regression analysis, only the CD4 count (x=224) was shown to have significant association with cognitive impairment (p=0.0001, OR 0.96). Conclusion: Cognitive impairment was significantly associated with low CD4 count, with a sensitivity of 100% for a count of <224. More than half or 58.7% of subjects with cognitive impairment did not show any neuropsychiatric symptoms. Neurocognitive impairment is still an important component of HIV infection and this study highlights the need to further increase awareness regarding this HIV complication.
Cognitive Dysfunction ; Cognitive Dysfunction ; Dementia

Currently, mental health issues are of greatest importance to society as it is considered to be a growing invisible pandemic. It is strongly suggested to address concerns in the field of neurology and psychiatry, especially at the community level. One of the most popular interventions that the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends is to bring health promotion to the periphery. With this in mind, a public health campaign in one of the University of Santo Tomas Simbahayan partner communities, Kasiglahan Village Rodriguez, Rizal was born. This project aims to bring health awareness to the community, especially at the grassroots levels involving the municipal rural health unit, barangay health care workers and allied specialist stakeholders. They were taught symptom recognition, proper referral to specialists and prevention measures that the community may benefit from, which is much needed at this day and age. Further, this program can serve as a precursor to more public health initiatives regarding mental health in the community to spread awareness and aid in the prevention of mental health illnesses.

Mental Health