scholarly journals Alcohol Consumption and Risk of Dementia and Cognitive Decline Among Older Adults With or Without Mild Cognitive Impairment

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (9) ◽  
pp. e1910319 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manja Koch ◽  
Annette L. Fitzpatrick ◽  
Stephen R. Rapp ◽  
Richard L. Nahin ◽  
Jeff D. Williamson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Cognitive Decline

Is the Discrimination of Subjective Cognitive Decline from Cognitively Healthy Adulthood and Mild Cognitive Impairment Possible? A Pilot Study Utilizing the R4Alz Battery

2020 ◽  
Vol 77 (2) ◽  
pp. 715-732
Author(s):  
Eleni Poptsi ◽  
Despina Moraitou ◽  
Emmanouil Tsardoulias ◽  
Andreas L. Symeonidisd ◽  
Magda Tsolaki
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Cognitive Decline ◽  
Neurocognitive Disorders ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Subjective Cognitive Decline ◽  
Working Memory Updating

Background: The early diagnosis of neurocognitive disorders before the symptoms’ onset is the ultimate goal of the scientific community. REMEDES for Alzheimer (R4Alz) is a battery, designed for assessing cognitive control abilities in people with minor and major neurocognitive disorders. Objective: To investigate whether the R4Alz battery’s tasks differentiate subjective cognitive decline (SCD) from cognitively healthy adults (CHA) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Methods: The R4Alz battery was administered to 175 Greek adults, categorized in five groups a) healthy young adults (HYA; n = 42), b) healthy middle-aged adults (HMaA; n = 33), c) healthy older adults (HOA; n = 14), d) community-dwelling older adults with SCD (n = 34), and e) people with MCI (n = 52). Results: Between the seven R4Alz subtasks, four showcased the best results for differentiating HOA from SCD: the working memory updating (WMCUT-S3), the inhibition and switching subtask (ICT/RST-S1&S2), the failure sets (FS) of the ICT/RST-S1&S2, and the cognitive flexibility subtask (ICT/RST-S3). The total score of the four R4Alz subtasks (R4AlzTot4) leads to an excellent discrimination among SCD and healthy adulthood, and to fare discrimination among SCD and MCI. Conclusion: The R4Alz battery is a novel approach regarding the neuropsychological assessment of people with SCD, since it can very well assist toward discriminating SCD from HOA. The R4Alz is able to measure decline of specific cognitive control abilities - namely of working memory updating, and complex executive functions - which seem to be the neuropsychological substrate of cognitive complaints in community dwelling adults of advancing age.

scholarly journals Superior Memory Reduces 8-year Risk of Mild Cognitive Impairment and Dementia But Not Amyloid β-Associated Cognitive Decline in Older Adults

2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 585-598 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christa Dang ◽  
Karra D Harrington ◽  
Yen Ying Lim ◽  
David Ames ◽  
Jason Hassenstab ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Cognitive Decline ◽  
Sex Education ◽  
Verbal Memory ◽  
Amyloid Β ◽  
Clinical Progression ◽  
Age Related

Abstract Objective To prospectively examine 8-year risk of clinical disease progression to mild cognitive impairment (MCI)/dementia in older adults ≥60 with superior episodic memory (SuperAgers) compared to those cognitively normal for their age (CNFA). Additionally, to determine the extent to which SuperAgers were resilient to the negative effects of elevated amyloid-beta (Aβ+) on cognition. Method Participants were classified as SuperAgers based on episodic memory performance consistent with younger adults aged 30–44 and no impairment on non-memory tests (n = 179), and were matched with CNFA on age, sex, education, and follow-up time (n = 179). Subdistribution hazard models examined risk of clinical progression to MCI/dementia. Linear mixed models assessed the effect of Aβ on cognition over time. Results Prevalence of Aβ+ and APOE ε4 was equivalent between SuperAgers and CNFA. SuperAgers had 69%–73% reduced risk of clinical progression to MCI/dementia compared to CNFA (HR: 0.27–0.31, 95% CI: 0.11–0.73, p < .001). Aβ+ was associated with cognitive decline in verbal memory and executive function, regardless of SuperAger/CNFA classification. In the absence of Aβ+, equivalent age-related changes in cognition were observed between SuperAgers and CNFA. Conclusions SuperAgers displayed resilience against clinical progression to MCI/dementia compared to CNFA despite equivalent risk for Alzheimer’s disease (AD); however, SuperAgers had no greater protection from Aβ+ than CNFA. The deleterious effects of Aβ on cognition persist regardless of baseline cognitive ability. Thus, superior cognitive performance does not reflect resistance against the neuropathological processes associated with AD, and the observed resilience for SuperAgers may instead reflect neuropsychological criteria for cognitive impairment.

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