scholarly journals The Assessment of Visuospatial Skills and Verbal Fluency in the Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andras Horvath ◽  
Dalida Berente ◽  
Anita Kamondi
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Cognitive Decline ◽  
Negative Correlation ◽  
Verbal Fluency ◽  
Disease Duration ◽  
Cognitive Domains ◽  
Diagnostic Potential ◽  
Intergroup Comparison ◽  
Significant Difference

Abstract Introduction: In the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), examining memory is predominant. Our aim was to analyse the potential role of various cognitive domains in the cognitive evaluation of AD. Methods: 52 individuals with AD underwent neuropsychological evaluation including Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination (ACE). Patients were selected in three groups based on disease duration in years (y) (Group 1: ≤2y n=15; Group 2: 2-4y n=26, Group 3: ≥4y n=11). Covariance weighted intergroup comparison was performed on global cognitive score and subscores of cognitive domains. Spearman’s rho was applied to study the correlation between cognitive subscores and disease duration. Results: Significant difference was found between ACE total scores among groups (χ2=16,03 p<0,001) with a high negative correlation (r= -0,54 p<0,001). With longer disease duration the visuospatial and memory subscores of ACE significantly decreased (χ2=28,36 p<0,001; and f=12,05 p<0,001 respectively). In the early phase of cognitive decline verbal fluency and memory were equally impaired (p>0.05). Visuospatial score showed strong negative correlation with disease duration (r:-0.73).Conclusion: Impairment of verbal fluency seems to have similar diagnostic potential in the early identification of Alzheimer’s disease as memory decline. Visuospatial assessment might be a good marker to monitor the progression of cognitive decline.

Neuropsychological performance of right- and left-frontotemporal dementia compared to Alzheimer's disease

2001 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 468-480 ◽  
Author(s):  
JILL RAZANI ◽  
KYLE BRAUER BOONE ◽  
BRUCE L. MILLER ◽  
ALISON LEE ◽  
DALE SHERMAN
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Frontotemporal Dementia ◽  
Neuropsychological Performance ◽  
Neuropsychological Battery ◽  
Cognitive Domains ◽  
Phonemic Fluency ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Significant Impairment ◽  
Language Measures

The performance of 16 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) was compared to 11 patients with right-frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and 11 patients with left-FTD on a comprehensive neuropsychological battery. Standardized scores (i.e., z scores based on normal control data) were analyzed for 5 cognitive domains. The results revealed that the AD group displayed significant impairment in visual–constructional ability relative to the two FTD groups; however, no significant difference was found between the groups on memory scores (verbal and nonverbal). Patients with left-FTD scored significantly below patients with AD on the language measures (e.g., word retrieval, verbal semantic memory), and verbal executive ability (phonemic fluency); AD patients did not differ from patients with right-FTD on these measures. Patients with right-FTD exhibited significantly more perseverative behavior than AD patients; AD patients did not differ from left-FTD patients on this parameter. These results indicate that the pattern of neuropsychological performance of AD patients is distinguishable from patients with left and right frontal frontotemporal dementia. (JINS, 2001, 7, 468–480)

scholarly journals Quantitative detection and staging of presymptomatic cognitive decline in familial Alzheimer’s disease: a retrospective cohort analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Antoinette O’Connor ◽  
Philip S. J. Weston ◽  
Ivanna M. Pavisic ◽  
Natalie S. Ryan ◽  
Jessica D. Collins ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Cognitive Decline ◽  
Symptom Onset ◽  
Cognitive Change ◽  
Data Driven ◽  
Quantitative Detection ◽  
Familial Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Cognitive Domains ◽  
Familial Alzheimer's Disease

Abstract Background Understanding the earliest manifestations of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is key to realising disease-modifying treatments. Advances in neuroimaging and fluid biomarkers have improved our ability to identify AD pathology in vivo. The critical next step is improved detection and staging of early cognitive change. We studied an asymptomatic familial Alzheimer’s disease (FAD) cohort to characterise preclinical cognitive change. Methods Data included 35 asymptomatic participants at 50% risk of carrying a pathogenic FAD mutation. Participants completed a multi-domain neuropsychology battery. After accounting for sex, age and education, we used event-based modelling to estimate the sequence of cognitive decline in presymptomatic FAD, and uncertainty in the sequence. We assigned individuals to their most likely model stage of cumulative cognitive decline, given their data. Linear regression of estimated years to symptom onset against model stage was used to estimate the timing of preclinical cognitive decline. Results Cognitive change in mutation carriers was first detected in measures of accelerated long-term forgetting, up to 10 years before estimated symptom onset. Measures of subjective cognitive decline also revealed early abnormalities. Our data-driven model demonstrated subtle cognitive impairment across multiple cognitive domains in clinically normal individuals on the AD continuum. Conclusions Data-driven modelling of neuropsychological test scores has potential to differentiate cognitive decline from cognitive stability and to estimate a fine-grained sequence of decline across cognitive domains and functions, in the preclinical phase of Alzheimer’s disease. This can improve the design of future presymptomatic trials by informing enrichment strategies and guiding the selection of outcome measures.

P2-248: IMPAIRED VERBAL FLUENCY WAS ASSOCIATED WITH THE EVOLUTION OF COGNITIVE DECLINE IN ELDERLY PATIENTS WITH ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. P566-P567
Author(s):  
Rena Muraoka ◽  
Mayumi Saito ◽  
Tomomi Shinoda ◽  
Yuichi Satoh ◽  
Tetsuya Maeda ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Elderly Patients ◽  
Cognitive Decline ◽  
Verbal Fluency

Obstructive sleep apnoea and cognitive decline in mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease

2020 ◽  
Vol 56 (5) ◽  
pp. 2000523
Author(s):  
Carmen Jorge ◽  
Adriano Targa ◽  
Iván David Benítez ◽  
Faride Dakterzada ◽  
Gerard Torres ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Cognitive Decline ◽  
Obstructive Sleep Apnoea ◽  
Sleep Apnoea ◽  
Disease Assessment ◽  
Obstructive Sleep ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Single Centre Study ◽  
The Mean

We evaluated the influence of untreated obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) on the magnitude of cognitive decline and on several cognitive subdomains in patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease.In this single-centre study, 144 patients were recruited prospectively from a cognitive impairment unit and underwent overnight polysomnography.The mean±sd change in the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale cognitive subscale (ADAS-cog) score at 12 months was 3.19±5.61 in the non-OSA group and 0.08±5.62 in the OSA group, with an intergroup difference of −3.36 (95% CI 0.19–0.16; p=0.002). We did not observe a significant difference in any cognitive subdomains at 12 months. Regarding Mini-Mental State Examination scores at 36 months, the mean change was 1.69 (95% CI −1.26–4.64; p=0.445). No significant differences were found among different OSA severity groups.We observed that ADAS-cog scores were better in the OSA group than in the non-OSA group by a statistically but not clinically significant margin. We did not find differences in the different cognitive subdomains after 1 year or in global cognition after 3 years of follow-up.

Olfactory Dysfunction Is Already Present with Subjective Cognitive Decline and Deepens with Disease Severity in the Alzheimer’s Disease Spectrum

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Qiang Wang ◽  
Ben Chen ◽  
Xiaomei Zhong ◽  
Huarong Zhou ◽  
Min Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Cognitive Decline ◽  
Disease Severity ◽  
Olfactory Dysfunction ◽  
Odor Identification ◽  
Subjective Cognitive Decline ◽  
Verbal Recall ◽  
Disease Spectrum ◽  
Significant Difference

Background: Odor identification dysfunction occurs early in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and is considered a preclinical symptom along with subjective cognitive decline (SCD). Nevertheless, whether subjects with SCD are co-symptomatic with odor identification dysfunction remains unclear. Objective: To compare the degree of odor identification dysfunction and assess the relation between odor identification and cognitive performance in the AD spectrum (including SCD, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and AD). Methods: Patients (84 SCD, 129 MCI, 52 AD) and 35 controls underwent the Sniffin’ Sticks Screen 16 test and comprehensive neuropsychological examination. Results: Odor identification scores were progressively lower moving from normal older adult to SCD, MCI, and AD. Additionally,the proportion of odor identification dysfunction were increasingly higher in the AD spectrum (p for trend <0.001), but no significant difference was found in the proportion of subjective olfactory dysfunction. No significant correlation was found between odor identification and cognition in the normal older adults and SCD subjects, but odor identification correlated with global cognition in the MCI (r = 0.199, p = 0.033) and in the AD (r = 0.300, p = 0.036) patients. Multiple linear regression showed that odor identification dysfunction was most strongly associated with memory among different cognitive subdomains and was most strongly associated with immediate verbal recall among different memory subdomains. Conclusion: Odor identification dysfunction is already present with SCD and deepens with disease severity in the AD spectrum, and it may contribute to predicting cognitive decline and identifying SCD subjects who are at risk of developing AD.

scholarly journals Combined markers for predicting cognitive deficit in patients with Alzheimer’s disease

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dalia Farouk Hussen ◽  
Ayat Allah Farouk Hussein ◽  
Mahmoud Abdel Moety Monzer ◽  
Saida Ali Hammad
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Early Detection ◽  
Cognitive Decline ◽  
Genomic Instability ◽  
Negative Correlation ◽  
Cognitive State ◽  
Absolute Power ◽  
The Absolute ◽  
Alpha Waves

Abstract Background Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most widely recognized type of dementia. It is associated with cell cycle abnormalities including genomic instability and increased micronuclei (MNi) which usually evolve many years before the appearance of the clinical manifestations. Digital electroencephalogram (EEG) has a role in perceiving brain changes in dementia and in early detection of cognitive decline. This study aimed to assess the competency of using neurophysiological markers including absolute power of alpha waves and a cytogenetic marker which comprises scoring of MNi as a step toward early and preclinical diagnosis of AD. The study was conducted on 27 subjects; they were 15 patients diagnosed as sporadic AD and a group of 12 age and sex-matched controls. All subjects were subjected to Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), conventional EEG, digital EEG, and cytokinesis-block micronucleus assay (CBMN) in peripheral blood lymphocytes. Results Conventional EEG showed a normal background activity with no abnormal epileptogenic discharges in both groups. Digital EEG showed significant reduction of the absolute power of alpha waves for AD patients as compared to the control group (P < 0.0001). Score of MNi showed statistical significant difference between the two groups (P < 0.0001). By linking scores of both cognitive state using MMSE and MNi among the group of patients, a significant negative correlation was detected (r = −0.6066). The correlations between cognitive state and the absolute power of alpha wave among the patients revealed a positive correlation (r = 0.2235). Conclusions The combination of both cytogenetic and neurophysiological markers can be beneficial for early detection of cognitive decline and may lead to preclinical identification of individuals at increased risk for AD, where at this stage treatment is constructive. The negative correlation between the scores of MNi and MMSE is suggestive for the impact of genomic instability on the cognitive state.

Semantic Memory as an Early Cognitive Marker of Alzheimer’s Disease: Role of Category and Phonological Verbal Fluency Tasks

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Camillo Marra ◽  
Chiara Piccininni ◽  
Giovanna Masone Iacobucci ◽  
Alessia Caprara ◽  
Guido Gainotti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Semantic Memory ◽  
Verbal Fluency ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Wilks Lambda ◽  
Marginal Means ◽  
Post Hoc

Background: The assessment of semantic memory may be a useful marker to identify individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) who will progress to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in the early stages of the disease. Objective: The aim of this five-year follow-up longitudinal study is to assess whether semantic assessment could predict progression in MCI. Methods: A population of MCI (N = 251); mild (N = 178) and moderate AD (N = 114); and a sample of healthy participants (HP; N = 262) was investigated. The five-year follow-up of the MCI group was completed by 178 patients. Semantic and episodic memory measures were used, including a measure of the discrepancy between categorical and phonological verbal fluency, the semantic–phonological delta (SPD). The main outcome was the progression of MCI due to AD to dementia. Results: A general linear model showed a significant effect of diagnosis on SPD (Wilks’ Lambda = 0.591; p <  0.001). The estimated marginal means were –0.91 (SE = 0.185) in HP, –1.83 (SE = 0.187) in MCI, –1.16 (SE = 0.218) in mild AD, and –1.02 (SE = 0.275) in moderate AD. Post-hoc comparisons showed a significant difference between MCI and HP (p <  0.001). The follow-up was completed by 178 MCI individuals. SPD in MCI patients who progress to dementia was significantly lower than in MCI that will not progress (p = 0.003). Together with the Mini-Mental State Examination, the SPD was the only measure with a significant predicting effect at the five-years follow-up (p = 0.016). Conclusion: The SPD indicate the impairment of semantic memory in individuals with underlying AD at the MCI early stage, reflecting the early involvement of perirhinal and entorhinal cortices in the earliest stages of AD neuropathological process.

Substance Use-Related Cognitive Decline in Families with Autosomal Dominant Alzheimer’s Disease: A Cohort Study

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Claudia Ramos ◽  
Camilo Villalba ◽  
Jenny García ◽  
Serggio Lanata ◽  
Hugo López ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Substance Use ◽  
Cohort Study ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
Cognitive Decline ◽  
Verbal Fluency ◽  
Genetic Variant ◽  
Progression Rate ◽  
Other Substances

Background: Cigarette smoking is a known risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, the association between neurodegeneration and other substances has not been fully determined. It is of vital importance to evaluate this relationship in populations at high risk of dementia. Since substance use possibly modifies the progression rate of cognitive decline, we studied this association in a unique and well-phenotyped cohort from the University of Antioquia: carriers of the PSEN1-E280A genetic variant. Objective: To determine the association between substance use and cognitive decline in carriers of the PSEN1-E280A genetic variant. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted with 94 carriers and 69 noncarriers recruited between January 2019 and April 2020. A psychiatrist interviewed the participants using the Consumption of Alcohol, Cigarettes and other Substances questionnaire. The participants were also submitted to cognitive evaluation. The relationship between cognitive decline and substance use was explored through a mixed effects regression model. Results: There was an association between cigarettes and better performance on tasks related to perceptual organization, verbal fluency, and memory in carriers. Alcohol had a positive or negative effect on memory according to the type of alcoholic beverage. Results on marijuana use were no conclusive. Coffee was associated with progressive improvements in executive function and verbal fluency. Conclusion: Cigarette and alcohol were associated with an improvement of some cognitive assessments, possibly by a survival bias. In addition, coffee was related to improvements in executive function and language; therefore, its short-term neuroprotective potential should be studied.

Sleep profile predicts the cognitive decline of mild-moderate Alzheimer’s disease patients

SLEEP ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adriano D S Targa ◽  
Iván D Benítez ◽  
Faridé Dakterzada ◽  
Anna Carnes ◽  
Montse Pujol ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Cerebrospinal Fluid ◽  
Cognitive Function ◽  
Cognitive Decline ◽  
Sleep Stage ◽  
P Value ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Neuropsychological Evaluations

Abstract Study Objectives To investigate the association between sleep and cognitive decline of patients with mild-moderate Alzheimer’s disease. Methods Observational, prospective study, including consecutive patients diagnosed with mild-moderate Alzheimer’s disease. Cerebrospinal fluid was collected for amyloid-beta, total-tau, and phospho-tau levels determination. Also, overnight polysomnography was performed, followed by neuropsychological evaluations at baseline and after 12 months of follow-up. Principal component analysis revealed two profiles of patients in terms of sleep: one with a propensity to deepen the sleep (deep sleepers) and the other with a propensity to spend most of the time in the lighter sleep stage (light sleepers). Results The cohort included 125 patients with a median [IQR] of 75.0 [72.0;80.0] years. Deep and light sleepers did not present differences in relation to the cerebrospinal fluid pathological markers and to the cognitive function at the baseline. However, there was a significant difference of -1.51 (95% CI: -2.43 to -0.59) in the Mini-mental state examination after 12 months of follow-up. Accordingly, sleep depth and cognitive decline presented a dose-response relationship (p-for-trend = 0.02). Similar outcomes were observed in relation to the processing speed (Stroop words test, p-value = 0.016) and to the executive function (Verbal fluency test, p-value = 0.023). Conclusions Considering the increased cognitive decline presented by light sleepers, the sleep profile may have a predictive role in relation to the cognitive function of patients with mild-moderate Alzheimer’s disease. The modifiable nature of sleep sets this behavior as a possible useful intervention to prevent a marked cognitive decline.

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