Unilateral Spatial Neglect in The Late Stage of Alzheimer's Disease

Abstract The Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test (RCFT) is widely used to measure visuoperceptual and visuoconstructional skills, while the Line Bisection (LB) test is commonly employed to assess unilateral spatial neglect (USN). Previous studies have suggested that Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients may suffer from left USN. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to clarify whether left USN occurs in AD. Methods: Forty controls, 40 very mild AD patients and 31 mild/moderate AD patients performed both the RCFT copying and the LB test. Results: The very mild AD and mild/moderate AD groups had lower total RCFT copying scores and also scored lower in the "left" and "detail" categories compared to controls. However, there were no correlations between the left-category score for RCFT and the LB score. Instead, peripheral inattention and simplification patterns were noted. Conclusions: We found that the RCFT copying test is effective for detecting early AD and suggest that AD patients manifest peripheral inattention and simplification but not left USN.

Download Full-text

Unilateral spatial neglect in Alzheimer's disease A line bisection study

Acta Neurologica Scandinavica ◽

10.1111/j.1600-0404.1996.tb00204.x ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 93 (2-3) ◽

pp. 219-224 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

S. Ishiai ◽

R. Okiyama ◽

Y. Koyama ◽

K. Seki

Keyword(s):

Alzheimer’S Disease ◽

Alzheimer's Disease ◽

Line Bisection ◽

Spatial Neglect ◽

Unilateral Spatial Neglect

Download Full-text

Pure allocentric unilateral spatial neglect in a case of Alzheimer’s disease presenting with posterior cortical atrophy syndrome

Neurological Sciences ◽

10.1007/s10072-019-04235-1 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 41 (6) ◽

pp. 1619-1621

Author(s):

Sebastiano Lorusso ◽

Cristina Maioli ◽

Edoardo Barvas

Keyword(s):

Alzheimer’S Disease ◽

Alzheimer's Disease ◽

Spatial Neglect ◽

Cortical Atrophy ◽

Posterior Cortical Atrophy ◽

Unilateral Spatial Neglect

Download Full-text

Covert versus overt self-recognition in late stage Alzheimer's disease

Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society ◽

10.1017/s1355617797001951 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 3 (2) ◽

pp. 195-198 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

SANDRA M. BOLOGNA ◽

CAMERON J. CAMP

Keyword(s):

Alzheimer’S Disease ◽

Alzheimer's Disease ◽

Late Stage ◽

Memory Systems ◽

Self Recognition ◽

Nondeclarative Memory

Some persons with Alzheimer's disease (AD) lose the ability to recognize themselves, as when they cannot overtly recognize their reflection in a mirror. There is evidence, however, that covert or unconscious self-recognition might be displayed in such individuals. In this study, 3 persons with AD lacking the ability to overtly self-recognize demonstrated multiple instances of unconscious or covert self-recognition. A variety of interventions, inspired by research with prosopagnosics, was implemented to remediate this loss. Interventions enabled all participants to exhibit overt self-recognition, though each did so with the aid of a different intervention. In addition, successful overt self-recognition required a verbal probe and was entirely intervention-dependent: When the intervention was removed, overt self-recognition was lost. Results support a dissociation between explicit–declarative versus implicit–nondeclarative memory systems, and extends this dissociation into the realm of self-recognition in AD. (JINS, 1997, 3, 195–198.)

Download Full-text

Successful Combination Therapy of Trazodone and Fluvoxamine for Pica in Alzheimer's Disease: A Case Report

Frontiers in Psychiatry ◽

10.3389/fpsyt.2021.704847 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Tadashi Kanamori ◽

Yoshiyuki Kaneko ◽

Kouju Yamada ◽

Masahiro Suzuki

Keyword(s):

Alzheimer’S Disease ◽

Alzheimer's Disease ◽

Case Report ◽

Drug Therapy ◽

Combination Therapy ◽

Frontotemporal Dementia ◽

Late Stage ◽

Daytime Sleepiness ◽

Extrapyramidal Symptoms ◽

Common Drug

Pica in Alzheimer's disease (AD) makes it difficult for caregivers to provide care. However, few effective medications have been reported for pica in AD. We report a case of AD with pica that was successfully improved by trazodone and fluvoxamine. An 80-year-old woman with AD was admitted to our hospital due to aggravated pica, including eating weeds in the facility's garden and eating a dishwashing sponge. Her pica was accompanied by oral tendency, prosopagnosia, and placidity. She took rivastigmine and memantine, but these were ineffective for her pica. She was given olanzapine and perospirone, but both were discontinued due to over-sedation and severe extrapyramidal symptoms, respectively. We then administered trazodone and fluvoxamine, both of which have demonstrated effectiveness for pica in frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Her pica behaviors then disappeared without daytime sleepiness. In this case, pica with oral tendency, which was accompanied by prosopagnosia and placidity, may be interpreted as a partial symptom of Klüver–Bucy syndrome (KBS). KBS is often seen in FTD, but also occurs in late-stage AD. Our case together with previous reports showing that trazodone and fluvoxamine were effective for pica in FTD suggest that the same common drug therapy may be successful in pica with oral tendency, regardless of the subtype of dementia.

Download Full-text