Papers by Gabriela Rodríguez
The Journal of Urology, 2001
Alzheimer's & Dementia, 2011
instructed prior to each "nap" to "stay awake as best as you can" as they underwent video/polysom... more instructed prior to each "nap" to "stay awake as best as you can" as they underwent video/polysomnographic monitoring while sitting upright in a bed with the lights turned off. The mean initial sleep latency (ISL) over the 4 "naps" for each subject was then calculated. Scores < 24 minutes are at the 15 th percentile based on normative data, and considered abnormal. Results: Nine DLB patients (8M, 1F) underwent the MWT with a median age of 72 (range 66-80) years and median CDR score of 1 (range 1-2). All subjects were using cholinesterase inhibitors, and none were using medications during the day which could cause significant sedation. The median value across all subjects for the mean ISL was 16.5 minutes (range 3.75 -23.88 minutes), with all scores falling below the cut-off. Conclusions: These data suggest that impairment in the ability to maintain wakefulness exists in at least some DLB subjects. Further assessment of the neurologic mechanisms subserving wakefulness, and the impact of pharmacotherapy on impaired wakefulness, in DLB subjects is warranted.
Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, 2003
Describe modes of death and factors involved in decision-making together with life support limita... more Describe modes of death and factors involved in decision-making together with life support limitation (LSL) procedures. Prospective, descriptive, longitudinal, and noninterventional study. Sixteen pediatric intensive care units in Argentina. Every patient who died during a 1-yr period was included. Age, sex, length of stay (LOS), primary and admission diagnosis, underlying chronic disease (CD), postoperative condition (PO). Deaths were classified in four groups: a) failed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR); b) do-not-resuscitate (DNR) status; c) withholding or withdrawing life-sustaining treatment (WH/WD); and d) brain death (BD). Justifications were classified as a) imminent death; b) poor long-term prognosis; c) poor quality of life; and d) family request. Data were collected from medical records and interviews with the attending physicians. Descriptive statistics were performed. Differences among groups were analyzed through contingency tables and analysis of variance when required. Relative risks and confidence intervals of variables potentially related to LSL were analyzed, and logistic regression was performed. There were 6358 admissions and 457 deaths. CPR was performed in 52%, DNR in 16%, WH/WD in 20%, and BD in 11% of dead patients. BD patients were older, LOS and CD prevalence were higher in the WH/WD group. Inotropic drugs were the most frequently limited treatment in 110 patients (55%), CPR in 72 (35.6%), and mechanical ventilation in 63 (31%). Imminent death was the most frequently reported justification for LSL. CD and more staff were associated with a higher probability of LSL. Most of the patients in Argentina underwent CPR before their death. We have a high proportion of patients with CD (65%) and low BD diagnosis. PO condition decreased LSL probability in chronically ill patients. Do-not-resuscitate orders and withholding new treatments were the most common LSL. Active withdrawal was exceptional. The Ethics Committee was consulted in 5% of the LSL population.
European Journal of Clinical Investigation, 2011
Background-Metabolomics, the comprehensive profile of small molecule metabolites found in biologi... more Background-Metabolomics, the comprehensive profile of small molecule metabolites found in biological specimens, has the potential to provide insights into the pathogenesis of disease states and lead to identification of new biomarkers.
Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 2013
The purpose of this study was to examine the feasibility, acceptability, and initial outcome of a... more The purpose of this study was to examine the feasibility, acceptability, and initial outcome of a home-based adaptation of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy for at-risk infants with externalizing behavior problems. Seven 12- to 15-month-old infants and their families were recruited at a large pediatric primary care clinic to participate in a home-based parenting intervention to prevent subsequent externalizing behavior problems. Home-based assessments were conducted at baseline, postintervention, and a 4- to 6-month follow-up. Six of the 7 (86%) families completed the intervention, and all completers reported high satisfaction with the intervention. All of the mothers demonstrated significant improvements and statistically reliable changes in their interactions with their infant, and most reported clinically significant and statistically reliable changes in infant behavior problems. The current study provides preliminary support for the use of this brief, home-based parenting intervention in addressing behavior problems as early as possible to improve access to an intervention for at-risk infants and their families. Successes and challenges with the development and implementation of this intervention are discussed along with directions for future research and clinical practice.
Circulation: Cardiovascular Genetics, 2011
Background-Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) are classic forms o... more Background-Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) are classic forms of systolic and diastolic heart failure, respectively. Mutations in genes encoding sarcomere and cytoskeletal proteins are major causes of HCM and DCM. MURC, encoding muscle-restricted coiled-coil, a Z line protein, regulates cardiac function in mice. We investigated potential causal role of MURC in human cardiomyopathies.
Circulation Research, 2009
The phenotypic hallmark of arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy, a genetic disease of ... more The phenotypic hallmark of arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy, a genetic disease of desmosomal proteins, is fibroadipocytic replacement of the right ventricle. Cellular origin of excess adipocytes, the responsible mechanism(s) and the basis for predominant involvement of the right ventricle are unknown. We generated 3 sets of lineage tracer mice regulated by cardiac lineage promoters ␣-myosin heavy chain (␣MyHC), Nkx2.5, or Mef2C. We conditionally expressed the reporter enhanced yellow fluorescent protein while concomitantly deleting the desmosomal protein desmoplakin in cardiac myocyte lineages using the Cre-LoxP technique. Lineage tracer mice showed excess fibroadiposis and increased numbers of adipocytes in the hearts. Few adipocytes in the hearts of ␣MyHC-regulated lineage tracer mice, but the majority of adipocytes in the hearts of Nkx2.5-and Mef2C-regulated lineage tracer mice, expressed enhanced yellow fluorescent protein. In addition, rare cells coexpressed adipogenic transcription factors and the second heart field markers Isl1 and Mef2C in the lineage tracer mouse hearts and in human myocardium from patients with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy. To delineate the responsible mechanism, we generated transgenic mice expressing desmosomal protein plakoglobin in myocyte lineages. Transgene plakoglobin translocated to nucleus, detected by immunoblotting and immunofluorescence staining and coimmunoprecipitated with Tcf7l2, a canonical Wnt signaling transcription factor. Expression levels of canonical Wnt/Tcf7l2 targets bone morphogenetic protein 7 and Wnt5b, which promote adipogenesis, were increased and expression level of connective tissue growth factor, an inhibitor of adipogenesis, was decreased. We conclude adipocytes in arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy originate from the second heart field cardiac progenitors, which switch to an adipogenic fate because of suppressed canonical Wnt signaling by nuclear plakoglobin.
Circulation, 2009
Background-Cardiac hypertrophy, the clinical hallmark of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), is a ... more Background-Cardiac hypertrophy, the clinical hallmark of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), is a major determinant of morbidity and mortality not only in HCM but also in a number of cardiovascular diseases. There is no effective therapy for HCM and generally for cardiac hypertrophy. Myocardial oxidative stress and thiol-sensitive signaling molecules are implicated in pathogenesis of hypertrophy and fibrosis. We posit that treatment with N-acetylcysteine, a precursor of glutathione, the largest intracellular thiol pool against oxidative stress, could reverse cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis in HCM. Methods and Results-We treated 2-year-old -myosin heavy-chain Q403 transgenic rabbits with established cardiac hypertrophy and preserved systolic function with N-acetylcysteine or a placebo for 12 months (nϭ10 per group). Transgenic rabbits in the placebo group had cardiac hypertrophy, fibrosis, systolic dysfunction, increased oxidized to total glutathione ratio, higher levels of activated thiol-sensitive active protein kinase G, dephosphorylated nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFATc1) and phospho-p38, and reduced levels of glutathiolated cardiac ␣-actin. Treatment with N-acetylcysteine restored oxidized to total glutathione ratio, normalized levels of glutathiolated cardiac ␣-actin, reversed cardiac and myocyte hypertrophy and interstitial fibrosis, reduced the propensity for ventricular arrhythmias, prevented cardiac dysfunction, restored myocardial levels of active protein kinase G, and dephosphorylated NFATc1 and phospho-p38. Conclusions-Treatment with N-acetylcysteine, a safe prodrug against oxidation, reversed established cardiac phenotype in a transgenic rabbit model of human HCM. Because there is no effective pharmacological therapy for HCM and given that hypertrophy, fibrosis, and cardiac dysfunction are common and major predictors of clinical outcomes, the findings could have implications in various cardiovascular disorders.
Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 2014
The aim of the current study was to examine the moderating effect of emotion regulation on treatm... more The aim of the current study was to examine the moderating effect of emotion regulation on treatment efficacy following a parent-training intervention, parent-child interaction therapy, for young children born preterm. In this pilot randomized controlled trial, 28 young children who were born preterm (i.e.,\37 weeks gestation) and presented with elevated levels of externalizing behavior problems were randomly assigned to an immediate treatment or waitlist control group. Observers masked to treatment condition coded an index of emotion regulation (i.e., global regulation) during a videotaped 10-min parent-child interaction at the initial baseline assessment. Treatment efficacy was assessed using a parent-report questionnaire of child disruptive behavior. Results demonstrated that global regulation significantly interacted with treatment condition in predicting change in child disruptive behavior. Specifically, higher levels of distress at baseline were associated with greater improvements in child disruptive behavior following the intervention. These findings are discussed in the context of the differential susceptibility hypothesis and highlight the importance of considering children's emotion regulation skills in the course of psychosocial treatment for young children born premature.
Molecular Brain Research, 2005
The N-methyl-d-aspartate family of glutamate receptors (NMDARs) are tetrameric cation channels in... more The N-methyl-d-aspartate family of glutamate receptors (NMDARs) are tetrameric cation channels including NR1, NR2, and possibly NR3 subunits. The physiological properties of the receptor are directly related to the subunit composition of the oligomer. Whereas NR1 is essential for the formation of functional channels, NR2 and NR3 play a modulatory role. This work reports, for the first time, the cloning of a non-mammalian NR1 gene, including the 5V-regulatory region. The chick gene spans 31 kb of genomic DNA sequence composed of 22 exons interrupted by 21 introns. The exon/intron organization and the deduced amino acid sequence up to the end of exon 19 showed 85% homology to mammalian NR1 cloned genes. Significant differences from mammals were found at the C-terminal region which in the chick gene, includes a novel exon (exon 20) previously identified at the mRNA level in the chick retina. The basal promoter activity was shown to reside within the proximal 377 bp of 5V-regulatory region. The transcriptional activity of the 5V-flanking region of the chick NR1 gene was shown to be higher in neuronally-differentiated PC12 cells and in chick retinal neurons, than in non-differentiated PC12 cells and Mü ller glia. Comparison of the 5V-flanking region of chick NR1 gene with mammalian NR1 genes suggests that, in spite of significant differences in the nucleotide sequence, they share common DNA binding sites such as RE1, SP1, AP2, CREB, NFnB, and MEF2; therefore, some of the molecular mechanisms involved in transcriptional regulation of NR1 gene expression could be conserved among species. D 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 2014
When speakers describe motion events using different languages, they subsequently classify those ... more When speakers describe motion events using different languages, they subsequently classify those events in language-specific ways . Here we ask if bilingual speakers flexibly shift their event classification preferences based on the language in which they verbally encode those events. English-Spanish bilinguals and monolingual controls described motion events in either Spanish or English. Subsequently they judged the similarity of the motion events in a triad task. Bilinguals tested in Spanish and Spanish monolinguals were more likely to make similarity judgments based on the path of motion versus bilinguals tested in English and English monolinguals. The effect is modulated in bilinguals by the age of acquisition of the second language. Late bilinguals based their judgments on path more often when Spanish was used to describe the motion events versus English. Early bilinguals had a path preference independent of the language in use. These findings support "thinking-for-speaking" in late bilinguals.
School-aged children with conduct problems and high levels of callous-unemotional (i.e., lack of ... more School-aged children with conduct problems and high levels of callous-unemotional (i.e., lack of empathy, guilt, and lack of caring behaviors) traits (CP+CU) tend to yield less benefit from traditional interventions than do their low-CU counterparts, particularly with respect to CP outcomes. To date, little is known about treatment response among young children with CP+CU, particularly those with or at risk for developmental delay. Components of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), a parent training program effective at reducing CP in young children, have compelling theoretical support for addressing core deficits unique to children with CP+CU and have been used successfully with young children with developmental delay. Our first aim was to test the psychometric properties of a measure of CU traits in preschool children with and without developmental delay. Our second aim was to test whether CU traits predicted post-treatment CP after controlling for initial levels of CP. Participants were 63 families of young children (mean age = 3.87 years), with or at-risk for developmental delay, who presented with elevated CP and were treated in a hospital-based outpatient clinic. Results indicated that developmentally delayed children with high levels of CU traits, but not children at-risk for delay due to premature birth, showed significantly poorer CP outcomes following treatment with PCIT than did children scoring low on CU traits, even after controlling for initial CP severity. The implications of these findings with regard to treating and preventing severe disruptive behaviors among young children with CP+CU are discussed.
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Papers by Gabriela Rodríguez