scholarly journals Total output and switching in ategory fluency successfully iscriminates Alzheimer's disease from Mild Cognitive Impairment, but not from frontotemporal dementia

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 251-257 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siddharth Ramanan ◽  
Jwala Narayanan ◽  
Tanya Perpetua D'Souza ◽  
Kavita Shivani Malik ◽  
Ellajosyula Ratnavalli

Verbal fluency tasks require generation of words beginning with a letter (phonemic fluency; PF) or from a category (category fluency; CF) within a limited time period. Generally, total output on CF has been used to discriminate Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) from Alzheimer's disease (AD), while poor PF has been used as a marker for behavioral-variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD). However, in the absence of this disparate performance, further characterization of the task becomes necessary. Objective: We examined whether fluency, as well as its components, clustering (successively generated words belonging to a category) and switching (shifting between categories) carried diagnostic utility in discriminating AD from MCI and bvFTD. Methods: PF (letter 'P') and CF ('animals') tasks were administered in English to patients with MCI (n=25), AD (n=37), and bvFTD (n=17). Clustering and switching scores were calculated using established criteria. Results: Our findings suggested that up to 85% of AD and MCI could be successfully discriminated based on total number of responses and switching in CF alone. PF-CF disparity was not noted in AD or bvFTD. Performance on clustering or switching also proved insufficient to discriminate AD from bvFTD. Conclusion: Switching was found to be useful when differentiating AD from MCI. In AD and bvFTD, the course of progression of the disease may lead to attenuation of total number of responses produced on both tasks to an extent where clustering and switching may not be useful measures to discriminate these dementias from each other.

2012 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 857-874 ◽  
Author(s):  
Päivi Hartikainen ◽  
Janne Räsänen ◽  
Valtteri Julkunen ◽  
Eini Niskanen ◽  
Merja Hallikainen ◽  
...  

2009 ◽  
Vol 5 (4S_Part_9) ◽  
pp. P270-P270
Author(s):  
Tao Li ◽  
Mei-Yan Zhang ◽  
Jing Liao ◽  
Daniel Chang ◽  
Huishu Yuan ◽  
...  

2008 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. T570-T570
Author(s):  
Marcia Radanovic ◽  
Roberta M. Mirandez ◽  
Breno S.O. Diniz ◽  
Monica S. Yassuda ◽  
Fernanda S. Pereira ◽  
...  

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 67-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Cotelli ◽  
Rosa Manenti ◽  
Michela Brambilla ◽  
Elena Gobbi ◽  
Clarissa Ferrari ◽  
...  

Introduction Given the limited effectiveness of pharmacological treatments, non-pharmacological interventions in neurodegenerative diseases have gained increasing attention in recent years and telerehabilitation has been proposed as a cognitive rehabilitation strategy. The purpose of this systematic review is to examine the evidence for the efficacy of cognitive telerehabilitation interventions compared with face-to-face rehabilitation in patients with mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia. Methods In accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, a systematic search of the Medline database was conducted. Out of 14 articles assessed for eligibility, five studies were identified, three in participants with mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer’s disease, two in patients with primary progressive aphasia. Results The Physiotherapy Evidence Database scale was used to assess the methodological quality of four out of five studies included in this systematic review, with only one report receiving a high-quality rating. Effect-size analysis evidenced positive effects of telerehabilitation interventions, comparable with those reported for face-to-face rehabilitation. Discussion The available evidence for the effectiveness of cognitive telerehabilitation is limited, and the quality of the evidence needs to be improved. The systematic review provides preliminary evidence suggesting that cognitive telerehabilitation for neurodegenerative disease may have comparable effects as conventional in-person cognitive rehabilitation.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document