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HIGHLIGHTS What is already known about this subject?Celiac disease (CD) has a high clinical and histological diversity and the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon remain elusive.H. pylori is a bacterium that chronically infect gastric and duodenal mucosa activating both a Th1/Th17 and T-reg pathways.The role of H. pylori (and the effect of their virulence factors) in CD have not yet completely elucidated.What are the new findings?cagA+ H. pylori strains are associated to milder histological damage in infected CD patients.In active-CD patients the presence of cagA+ H. pylori is associated to an increase in T-reg markers, contrasting with a downregulation in cagA+ infected potential-CD individuals.How might it impact on clinical practice in the foreseeable future?The identification of microbiological factors that could modulate inflammation and clinical expression of CD may be used in the future as preventive strategies or as supplementary treatment in patients that cannot achieve complete remission, contributing to the better care of these patients.Background: Mechanisms underlying the high clinical and histological diversity of celiac disease (CD) remain elusive. Helicobacter pylori (Hp) chronically infects gastric and duodenal mucosa and has been associated with protection against some immune-mediated conditions, but its role (specifically of cagA+ strains) in CD is unclear.Objective: To assess the relationship between gastric Hp infection (cagA+ strains) and duodenal histological damage in patients with CD.Design: Case-control study including patients with active-CD, potential-CD and non-celiac individuals. Clinical presentation, HLA genotype, Hp/cagA gene detection in gastric mucosa, duodenal histology, Foxp3 positive cells and TGF-β expression in duodenal lamina propria were analyzed.Results: We recruited 116 patients, 29 active-CD, 37 potential-CD, and 50 non-CD controls. Hp detection was similar in the three groups (~30–40%), but cagA+ strains were more common in infected potential-CD than in active-CD (10/11 vs. 4/10; p = 0.020) and non-CD (10/20; p = 0.025). Among active-CD patients, Foxp3 positivity was significantly higher in subjects with cagA+ Hp+ compared to cagA- Hp+ (p < 0.01) and Hp- (p < 0.01). In cagA+ Hp+ individuals, Foxp3 positivity was also higher comparing active- to potential-CD (p < 0.01). TGF-β expression in duodenum was similar in active-CD with cagA+ Hp+ compared to Hp- and was significantly downregulated in cagA+ potential-CD subjects compared to other groups.Conclusion: Hp infection rates were similar among individuals with/without CD, but infection with cagA+ strains was associated with milder histological damage in celiac patients infected by Hp, and in active-CD cases with higher expression of T-reg markers. Results suggest that infection by cagA+ Hp may be protective for CD progression, or conversely, that these strains are prone to colonize intestinal mucosa with less severe damage.

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Schizophrenic neuropsychological disorders are increasingly a focus of interest in research. The purpose of this study is to determine the efficacy of a battery of psychological tests for detectingIntroducción a evaluación neuropsicológica examina la integridad del funcionamiento cerebral a través del rendimiento de las personas frente a tests objetivos y estandarizados. Su aplicación a pacientes esquizofrénicos permite colaborar con el diagnóstico clínico y entregar información sobre los déficits y las habilidades remanentes que presentan estos pacientes (1,2) .Los estudios sobre alteraciones neuropsicoló-gicas en la esquizofrenia describen principalmente dos tipos de déficit: generalizados y específi-cos. Algunos autores se refieren a alteraciones cognitivas más bien generalizadas, que implican funciones que se encuentran representadas en diversas áreas del sistema nervioso central. Otros destacan la existencia de alteraciones específicas que provocan déficits significativos en pruebas que exploran percepción visual, memoria verbal, memoria visoespacial y recuerdo libre. Estas alteraciones más específicas comprometen a sistemas cerebrales restringidos, localizados principalmente en áreas prefrontales, circuito frontoestriado y áreas témporo-límbicas, lo cual se corroboraría con hallazgos obtenidos a través de neuroimágenes (3) .Los pacientes esquizofrénicos presentan un patrón común de alteraciones cognitivas: lentificación de los procesos cognitivos, sin pérdida de eficacia en la realización de las actividades. Se muestran afectadas tanto la atención como la memoria. Las habilidades requeridas para preparar, elaborar y controlar la conducta también se alteran. La capacidad de abstracción, la comprensión, el cálculo y el manejo de información aparecen disminuidas en estos pacientes.Galindo y cols destacaron en los esquizofré-

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