Screening for Frontotemporal Dementias and Alzheimer’s Disease with the Philadelphia Brief Assessment of Cognition: A Preliminary Analysis

At the Second Canadian Consensus Conference on Dementia (CCCD) (February, 1998), a group of neurologists, geriatricians, and psychiatrists met to consider guidelines for evaluation of dementia in Canada. This review paper formed a background paper for their discussion of dementia diagnosis. These experts from across the country concluded that diagnosis of suspected dementia cases continued to rest on skilled clinical assessment. Mental status exam, preferably in some quantifiable form, has become an essential part of the assessment. Selected laboratory tests are advisable in all cases (CBC, TSH, electrolytes, calcium, and glucose), but the CCCD continued to advise that CT scanning was mandatory only in selected cases where clinical findings pointed to another possibility besides Alzheimer’s disease. The growing list of other diagnostic measures with potential usefulness in diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease or dementia in general was reviewed, but the evidence was judged as insufficient to support routine use of these tests by physicians. As new treatments for Alzheimer’s disease become available, neurologists face new diagnostic challenges - differentiating Mild Cognitive Impairment, Frontotemporal dementias and Mixed dementias, and Lewy Body Dementia. Guidelines to aid in differential diagnosis are presented.

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[P3-441]: THE ADDENBROOKE's COGNITIVE EXAMINATION-REVISED (ACE-R) IN THE DIAGNOSIS OF MILD COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT DUE TO ALZHEIMER's DISEASE: A PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS

Alzheimer s & Dementia ◽

10.1016/j.jalz.2017.06.1659 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 13 (7S_Part_23) ◽

pp. P1138-P1138

Author(s):

Viviane Amaral Carvalho ◽

Luciano Inácio Mariano ◽

Thais Bento Lima-Silva ◽

Henrique Cerqueira Guimaraes ◽

Leonardo Cruz de Souza ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Alzheimer’S Disease ◽

Alzheimer's Disease ◽

Cognitive Impairment ◽

Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽

Preliminary Analysis ◽

Addenbrooke’S Cognitive Examination

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Community Memory Screening as a Strategy for Recruiting Older Adults into Alzheimer’s Disease Research

10.21203/rs.2.19958/v2 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Guerry M. Peavy ◽

Cecily W. Jenkins ◽

Emily A. Little ◽

Christina Gigliotti ◽

Amanda Calcetas ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Alzheimer’S Disease ◽

Alzheimer's Disease ◽

Positive Family History ◽

Memory Loss ◽

Recruitment Strategy ◽

Cognitive Screening ◽

Ongoing Research ◽

Brief Assessment ◽

Memory Screening ◽

Memory Concerns

Abstract Background Growing awareness of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has prompted a demand for quick and effective ways to screen for memory loss and cognitive decline in large numbers of individuals in the community. Periodic Memory Screening Day events provide free, brief cognitive screening aimed at those 65 years and older, and can serve as an opportunity to gauge participants’ attitudes towards AD research and recruit them into ongoing research projects. Methods Over 6 single-day events in 2 years, more than 574 individuals were individually screened using the MoCA and a story recall task (immediate and delayed), given feedback about their performance, and introduced to AD research and opportunities to participate. Results Screening classified 297 individuals (52.0%) as having “ No Decline ”, 192 (33.6%) as “ Possible decline ” and 82 (14.4%) as “ Likely decline ”. Those with “ Likely decline ” were older and less educated, had more memory concerns, were more likely to be men, and were less likely to have a positive family history of dementia than those with “ No Decline ”. Subsequent validation of screening procedures against a full clinical evaluation showed 72% classification accuracy with a skew towards over-calling Possible and Likely decline and thereby guiding questionable individuals to a more thorough evaluation. Of those screened, 378 (66%) agreed to additional research and consented to being listed in a research registry; and a majority (70-85%) of those consenting reported they were amenable to various AD research procedures including lumbar puncture, MRI and autopsy. Overall, 19.1% of those screened met inclusion criteria for ongoing studies and were successfully recruited into AD research. Conclusions Conducting a few concentrated community memory screening events each year may help meet the public’s demand for brief assessment of memory concerns and can be a relatively effective and efficient recruitment strategy for AD research.

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Preliminary analysis of qEEG during a subliminally‐primed task‐switching test in pre‐symptomatic Alzheimer’s disease

Alzheimer s & Dementia ◽

10.1002/alz.057869 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 17 (S5) ◽

Author(s):

Daw‐An Wu ◽

Sara W. Adams ◽

Shao‐Min Hung ◽

Iyla P. Rossi ◽

Michael G. Harrington ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Alzheimer’S Disease ◽

Alzheimer's Disease ◽

Task Switching ◽

Preliminary Analysis

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P2-138: The proportional reasoning test: A novel assessment tool for Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementias

Alzheimer s & Dementia ◽

10.1016/j.jalz.2013.05.782 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

pp. P396-P396

Author(s):

Jeanyung Chey ◽

Hyunn Song ◽

Suk Jungsuh ◽

Minue Kim

Keyword(s):

Alzheimer’S Disease ◽

Alzheimer's Disease ◽

Assessment Tool ◽

Proportional Reasoning ◽

Reasoning Test ◽

Frontotemporal Dementias

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Effects of Dog-Assisted Therapies on Cognitive Mnemonic Capabilities in People Affected by Alzheimer’s Disease

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani11051366 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (5) ◽

pp. 1366

Author(s):

Fausto Quintavalla ◽

Simona Cao ◽

Diana Spinelli ◽

Paolo Caffarra ◽

Fiammetta M. Rossi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Alzheimer’S Disease ◽

Alzheimer's Disease ◽

Social Relations ◽

Companion Animals ◽

Disease Assessment ◽

Control Group ◽

Assessment Tests ◽

Brief Assessment ◽

The Relationship ◽

State Examination

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia in humans and, currently, a valid treatment is lacking. Our goal is to demonstrate the importance and benefits of the relationship with companion animals (considered as co-therapists), intended as a means of facilitating social relations and promoting evident wellbeing in AD patients. The study involved 30 randomly chosen patients with Alzheimer’s disease (group T) and three dogs. The group participated in a total of 24 animal-assisted interventions (AAIs) sessions over a span of 12 weeks, using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Wellness and Cognitive Ability Questionnaire (Brief Assessment Cognition or BAC), and Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale (ADAS) as assessment tests. A second group (group C), consisting of 10 people with AD, was enrolled as control group and underwent the same assessment tests but did not benefit from the presence of the dogs. Tests were carried out at time T0 (before starting sessions), T1 (end of sessions), and T2 (two months after last session). People belonging to group T achieved an overall improvement in their perceived state of wellbeing, even on a cognitive and mnemonic plane. However, two months after the end of the sessions, the test results in people suffering from AD decreased towards the baseline (T0). The study shows how such progress can be achieved through activities based on the relationship with an animal, as long as the animal is a steady presence in the life of the patient receiving the intervention. Dogs involved in other dog-assisted therapies have been found suitable also for assisting patients with AD.

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In vitro tau aggregation inducer molecules influence the effects of MAPT mutations on aggregation dynamics

10.1101/2021.08.06.455436 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

David J Ingham ◽

Kelsey M Hillyer ◽

Madison J McGuire ◽

Truman Christopher Gamblin

Keyword(s):

Alzheimer’S Disease ◽

Alzheimer's Disease ◽

Health Care Cost ◽

In Vitro Studies ◽

Chromosome 17 ◽

Wild Type ◽

Different Strains ◽

Tau Aggregation ◽

Frontotemporal Dementias

Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Alzheimer's disease related dementias (ADRDs) affect 6 million Americans and they are projected to have an estimated health care cost of $355 billion for 2021. A histopathological hallmark of AD and many ADRDs is the aberrant intracellular accumulation of the microtubule associated protein tau. These neurodegenerative disorders that contain tau aggregates are collectively known as tauopathies and recent structural studies have shown that different tauopathies are characterized by different "strains" of tau filaments. In addition, mutations in the gene that encodes for tau protein expression have been associated with a group of tauopathies known as frontotemporal dementias with Parkinsonism linked to chromosome 17 (FTDP-17 or familial frontotemporal dementia). In vitro studies often use small molecules to induce tau aggregation as tau is extremely soluble and does not spontaneously aggregate in typical lab conditions and the use of authentic filaments to conduct in vitro studies is not feasible. This study highlights how different inducer molecules can have fundamental disparities to how disease related mutations effect the aggregation dynamics of tau. Using three different classes of tau aggregation inducer molecules we characterized disease relevant mutations in tau's PGGG motifs at positions P301S, P332S, and P364S. When comparing these mutations to wild type tau, we found that depending on the type of inducer molecule used we saw fundamental differences in total aggregation, aggregation kinetics, immunoreactivity, and filament morphology. These data support the hypothesis that different tau aggregation inducer molecules make different polymorphs and perhaps structurally distinct strains.

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