Further Evidence that Reading Ability is not Preserved in Alzheimer's Disease

1995 ◽  
Vol 167 (5) ◽  
pp. 659-662 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. E. O'Carroll ◽  
N. Prentice ◽  
C. Murray ◽  
M. Van Beck ◽  
K. P. Ebmeier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Reading Ability ◽  
Disease Process ◽  
Total Sample ◽  
Regression Equations ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Dementia Severity ◽  
Adult Reading ◽  
National Adult Reading Test

BackgroundPre-morbid intelligence level is routinely assessed in Alzheimer's disease using the National Adult Reading Test (NART). This practice is based on the assumption that pronunciation of irregular words remains unaffected by the disease process. Recent reports have suggested that reading ability may become compromised in moderately demented subjects.MethodSixty-eight probable Alzheimer patients were classified into stages of severity (minimal, mild and moderate) using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). NART and demographic equations were used to estimate pre-morbid ability.ResultsA significant correlation emerged between dementia severity and reading ability, NART v. MMSE scores, r = 0.46, P < 0.01. When the total sample was subdivided into moderate, mild and minimal subgroups, significant between-group differences emerged, despite the groups being well matched for age, sex, and years of full-time education. Pre-morbid IQ, as estimated by demographic regression equations, did not correlate with dementia severity.ConclusionNART performance is compromised in moderate Alzheimer disease, and the measure provides a serious underestimate of pre-morbid IQ in patients with an MMSE of 13 or less.

Premorbid intelligence estimation and level of dementia in Alzheimer's disease

1996 ◽  
Vol 2 (6) ◽  
pp. 551-555 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Matt Maddrey ◽  
C.M. Cullum ◽  
M.F. Weiner ◽  
C.M. Filley
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Word Reading ◽  
Progressive Dementia ◽  
Sight Word Reading ◽  
Dementia Severity ◽  
Premorbid Intelligence ◽  
Adult Reading ◽  
Iq Scores ◽  
National Adult Reading Test

AbstractSimple sight-word reading tasks have demonstrated utility in the estimation of premorbid intelligence, although the effects of progressive dementia on such tasks has not been thoroughly examined. The present investigation sought to examine estimated IQ scores from the National Adult Reading Test-Revised (NART-R; Blair & Spreen, 1989) in relation to a WAlS-R-bascd (Wechsler, 1981) estimate of IQ in a series of patients with probable Alzheimer's disease across varying levels of dementia. Results suggest that while NART-R scores do show a decrement with dementia severity, this decline is mild, in contrast to traditionally based IQ scores and other measures of cognitive function, which show more marked declines. Similarly, compared with other tasks, the NART-R showed the strongest correlation with education across the sample as a whole, while the other indices were more related to level of dementia. These findings support the use of measures such as the NART-R in estimating premorbid intellectual functioning in patients at various levels of dementia severity, including those with more advanced cognitive deterioration. (JINS, 1996, 2, 551–555.)

A longitudinal study of reading ability in patients suffering from dementia

1995 ◽  
Vol 1 (6) ◽  
pp. 517-524 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise Paque ◽  
Elizabeth K. Warrington
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Reading Ability ◽  
Intellectual Functioning ◽  
Reading Test ◽  
Verbal Iq ◽  
Adult Reading ◽  
National Adult Reading Test ◽  
Over Time

AbstractThe aim of this study was to investigate whether reading is a preserved ability in patients suffering from dementia, as was first suggested by Nelson and McKenna (1975). The 57 patients included in the study had possible or probable Alzheimer's disease or similar degenerative conditions and were assessed longitudinally. Their performance on the National Adult Reading Test [(NART); Nelson, 1982, 1991] is compared to that on a shortened version of the WAIS-R. It is found that although performance on the NART does decline gradually over time, the deterioration on formal tests of IQ is more rapid and more severe. It seems that the decline in reading across the group is due to those patients who have a lower verbal IQ (VIQ) than performance IQ (PIQ). It is concluded that generally the NART can be used as a predictor of the premorbid intellectual functioning of a patient with dementia, given that the VIQ is greater than PIQ. (JINS, 1995, 1, 517–524.)

Auditory Dysfunction in Alzheimer's Disease

2010 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sridhar Krishnamurti
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Care Setting ◽  
Neurodegenerative Disorder ◽  
Disease Process ◽  
Clinical Protocols ◽  
Speech Language Pathologist ◽  
Auditory Dysfunction

Alzheimer's disease is neurodegenerative disorder which affects a growing number of older adults every year. With an understanding of auditory dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease, the speech-language pathologist working in the health care setting can provide better service to these individuals. The pathophysiology of the disease process in Alzheimer's disease increases the likelihood of specific types of auditory deficits as opposed to others. This article will discuss the auditory deficits in Alzheimer's disease, their implications, and the value of clinical protocols for individuals with this disease.

scholarly journals Potential Virus Involvement in Alzheimer’s Disease: Results from a Phase IIa Trial Evaluating Apovir, an Antiviral Drug Combination

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Nina Lindblom ◽  
Lars Lindquist ◽  
Jacob Westman ◽  
Mikael Åström ◽  
Roger Bullock ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Cerebrospinal Fluid ◽  
Drug Combination ◽  
Antiviral Treatment ◽  
Antiviral Drug ◽  
Disease Process ◽  
Drop Out ◽  
Large Drop ◽  
Drop Out Rate

Background: Accumulating data suggest infectious agents are involved in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The two primary aims of this trial were to assess safety and efficacy of an antiviral drug combination on AD progression. Objective: The trial evaluated whether Apovir, a combination of two antiviral agents, pleconaril (active on enteroviruses) and ribavirin (active on several viruses), could slow AD progression. Methods: Sixty-nine patients 60–85 years were treated with Apovir or placebo for 9 months and followed until 12 months after end of treatment. Cognitive tests, safety, biomarkers, drug plasma, and cerebrospinal fluid concentrations were assessed. Results: The tolerability of Apovir was compromised as demonstrated by the large drop-out rate and increased frequency and severity of adverse events. The primary endpoint, demonstrating a difference in change from baseline to 9 months between groups in ADAS-cog total score, was not met (p = 0.1809). However, there were observations indicating potential effects on both ADAS-cog and CDR-SB but these effects need to be verified. Also, there was a decrease in cerebrospinal fluid amyloid-β in Apovir at 9 months (p = 0.0330) but no change in placebo. Conclusion: This was the first randomized, placebo controlled clinical trial exploring antiviral treatment on AD progression. The trial is considered inconclusive due to the large drop-out rate. New trials are needed to verify if the indications of effect observed can be confirmed and which component(s) in Apovir contributed to such effects. Pleconaril alone may be studied to improve the tolerability and to verify if enterovirus is involved in the disease process.

Measuring Disease Modification in Alzheimer's Disease

CNS Spectrums ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 12 (S1) ◽  
pp. 11-14
Author(s):  
Jeffrey L. Cummings
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Immunoglobulin A ◽  
Disease Process ◽  
Underlying Disease ◽  
Therapeutic Interventions ◽  
Disease Modification ◽  
Amyloid Disease ◽  
Therapeutic Modalities ◽  
Disease Modifying

AbstractWe appear to be on the brink of a new epoch of treatment for Alzheimer's disease. Compelling evidence suggests that Aβ42 secretion is the triggering event in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease, and that tau aggregation may be an important secondary event linked to neurodegeneration. Prophylactic administration of anti-amyloid agents designed to prevent Aβ accumulation in persons with subclinical disease is likely to be more effective than therapeutic interventions in established Alzheimer's disease. Drug development programs in Alzheimer's disease focus primarily on agents with anti-amyloid disease-modifying properties, and many different pharmacologic approaches to reducing amyloid pathology and tauopathy are being studied. Classes of therapeutic modalities currently in advanced-stage clinical trial testing include forms of immunotherapy (active β -amyloid immunoconjugate and human intravenous immunoglobulin), a γ-secretase inhibitor, the selective Aβ42-lowering agent R-flurbiprofen, and the anti-aggregation agent tramiprosate. Non-traditional dementia therapies such as the HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (statins), valproate, and lithium are now being assessed for clinical benefit as anti-amyloid disease-modifying treatments. Positive findings of efficacy and safety from clinical studies are necessary but not sufficient to demonstrate that a drug has disease-modifying properties. Definitive proof of disease-modification requires evidence from validated animal models of Alzheimer's disease; rigorously controlled clinical trials showing a significantly improved, stabilized, or slowed rate of decline in cognitive and global function compared to placebo; and prospectively obtained evidence from surrogate biomarkers that the treatment resulted in measurable biological changes associated with the underlying disease process.

scholarly journals Voxel-based analysis of confounding effects of age and dementia severity on cerebral metabolism in Alzheimer's disease

2000 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Salmon ◽  
Fabienne Collette ◽  
Christian Degueldre ◽  
Christian Lemaire ◽  
Georges Franck
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Cerebral Metabolism ◽  
Dementia Severity
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