scholarly journals ORAL EXPRESSION SKILLS OF PEOPLE WITH DEMENTIA

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 69-74
Author(s):  
Eda Can ◽  
Gülmira Kuruoğlu

Communication includes both linguistic and nonlinguistic forms and oral communication is the linguistic communication that exchanges information vocally and aurally. This process can be affected by various reasons and neurodegenerative diseases are one of them. In dementia, which is defined as a neurodegenerative disease, oral expression skills can be impaired in different ways. Linguistic problems can be observed in these patients’ speech. In this context, the oral expression skills of people with dementia of the Alzheimer type were analysed in this study. By using description tests both control group and Alzheimer group were compared within the use of verbal and nominal sentences. It was found out that these patients tend to use verbal sentences more in their oral speech. However, when compared to the control group the use of nominal sentences were higher

Author(s):  
Nattawan Utoomprurkporn ◽  
Chris J.D. Hardy ◽  
Joshua Stott ◽  
Sergi G. Costafreda ◽  
Jason Warren ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Patients with dementia commonly have problems processing speech in the presence of competing background speech or noise. This difficulty can be present from the very early stages of dementia, and may be a preclinical feature of Alzheimer's disease. Purpose This study investigates whether people with dementia perform worse on the dichotic digit test (DDT), an experimental probe of speech processing in the presence of competing speech, and whether test performance may predict dementia onset. Research Design Systematic review and meta-analysis. Data Collection and Analysis A literature search was conducted in Medline, Embase, Scopus, and Psycinfo. We included (1) studies that included people with a diagnosis of dementia and a healthy control group with no cognitive impairment; (2) studies that reported results from a DDT in a free-recall response task; and (3) studies that had the dichotic digit mean correct percentage score or right-ear advantage, as outcome measurements. Results People with dementia had a lower DDT total score, with a pooled mean difference of 18.6% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 21.2–15.9). Patients with dementia had an increased right-ear advantage relative to controls with a pooled difference of 24.4% (95% CI: 21.8–27.0). Conclusion The DDT total scores are lower and the right-ear advantage increased in cognitively impaired versus normal control participants. The findings also suggest that the reduction of dichotic digit total score and increase of right-ear advantage progress as cognitive impairment increases. Whether abnormalities in dichotic digit scores could predict subsequent dementia onset should be examined in further longitudinal studies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (9) ◽  
pp. 4334
Author(s):  
Katrina Albert ◽  
Jonna Niskanen ◽  
Sara Kälvälä ◽  
Šárka Lehtonen

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are a self-renewable pool of cells derived from an organism’s somatic cells. These can then be programmed to other cell types, including neurons. Use of iPSCs in research has been two-fold as they have been used for human disease modelling as well as for the possibility to generate new therapies. Particularly in complex human diseases, such as neurodegenerative diseases, iPSCs can give advantages over traditional animal models in that they more accurately represent the human genome. Additionally, patient-derived cells can be modified using gene editing technology and further transplanted to the brain. Glial cells have recently become important avenues of research in the field of neurodegenerative diseases, for example, in Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. This review focuses on using glial cells (astrocytes, microglia, and oligodendrocytes) derived from human iPSCs in order to give a better understanding of how these cells contribute to neurodegenerative disease pathology. Using glia iPSCs in in vitro cell culture, cerebral organoids, and intracranial transplantation may give us future insight into both more accurate models and disease-modifying therapies.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Rosa Romero-Moreno ◽  
María Márquez-González ◽  
Samara Barrera-Caballero ◽  
Carlos Vara-García ◽  
Javier Olazarán ◽  
...  

Background: While most intervention studies conducted with dementia family caregivers have focused on depressive symptoms as the main outcome, no study has analyzed the effects of an intervention on comorbid clinical presentations of depressive and anxious symptomatology. Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the association between clinical depressive and anxious symptomatology at baseline and treatment responses of dementia family caregivers using samples from two randomized intervention trials with the same pre-post design. Methods: Specifically, the effects on depressive and anxious comorbidity of three intervention conditions (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and a control group (CG)) were analyzed. Participants were 130 dementia family caregivers. In addition to sociodemographic variables, depressive and anxious symptomatology were measured. Results: Caregivers with clinical depressive and anxiety comorbid symptoms at baseline recovered less well from depressive symptoms after CBT (45.45%) and ACT (47.72%) interventions than caregivers with non-comorbidity (100%recovery in both treatments). No significant association between comorbidity and treatment responses on depression was found for the control group. Regarding anxiety, among participants with comorbidity at baseline, 36.36%of caregivers in CBT and 30.9 %in the ACT group recovered from anxiety symptoms after treatment, compared to 6.45%in the control group. Similar results were obtained regarding those who recovered both from clinical depressive and anxiety symptoms and showed comorbidity at baseline. Conclusion: Caregivers that show comorbid depressive and anxiety symptoms at baseline may benefit less from interventions than caregivers who do not show comorbidity.


2021 ◽  
pp. 216770262097436
Author(s):  
Alice Y. Hua ◽  
Jenna L. Wells ◽  
Casey L. Brown ◽  
Robert W. Levenson

Caregiving for a person with dementia or neurodegenerative disease is associated with increased rates of depression and anxiety. As the population ages and dementia prevalence increases worldwide, mental health problems related to dementia caregiving will become an even more pressing public health concern. In the present study, we assessed emotional empathy (physiological, behavioral, and self-reported emotional responses to a film depicting others suffering) and two measures of cognitive empathy (identifying the primary emotion experienced by another person and providing continuous ratings of the valence of another person’s changing emotions) in relation to mental health (standard questionnaires) in 78 caregivers of people with dementia or neurodegenerative disease. Greater emotional empathy (self-reported emotional responses) was associated with worse mental health even after accounting for known risk factors. Neither measure of cognitive empathy was associated with mental health. A relationship between high levels of emotional empathy and poor mental health in caregivers suggests possible risk indicators and intervention targets.


Author(s):  
Benjamin C Creekmore ◽  
Yi-Wei Chang ◽  
Edward B Lee

Abstract Neurodegenerative diseases are characterized by the accumulation of misfolded proteins. This protein aggregation suggests that abnormal proteostasis contributes to aging-related neurodegeneration. A better fundamental understanding of proteins that regulate proteostasis may provide insight into the pathophysiology of neurodegenerative disease and may perhaps reveal novel therapeutic opportunities. The 26S proteasome is the key effector of the ubiquitin-proteasome system responsible for degrading polyubiquitinated proteins. However, additional factors, such as valosin-containing protein (VCP/p97/Cdc48) and C9orf72, play a role in regulation and trafficking of substrates through the normal proteostasis systems of a cell. Nonhuman AAA+ ATPases, such as the disaggregase Hsp104, also provide insights into the biochemical processes that regulate protein aggregation. X-ray crystallography and cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structures not bound to substrate have provided meaningful information about the 26S proteasome, VCP, and Hsp104. However, recent cryo-EM structures bound to substrate have provided new information about the function and mechanism of these proteostasis factors. Cryo-EM and cryo-electron tomography data combined with biochemical data have also increased the understanding of C9orf72 and its role in maintaining proteostasis. These structural insights provide a foundation for understanding proteostasis mechanisms with near-atomic resolution upon which insights can be gleaned regarding the pathophysiology of neurodegenerative diseases.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-29
Author(s):  
David R. Elmaleh ◽  
Matthew A. Downey ◽  
Ljiljana Kundakovic ◽  
Jeremy E. Wilkinson ◽  
Ziv Neeman ◽  
...  

Progressive neurodegenerative diseases represent some of the largest growing treatment challenges for public health in modern society. These diseases mainly progress due to aging and are driven by microglial surveillance and activation in response to changes occurring in the aging brain. The lack of efficacious treatment options for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), as the focus of this review, and other neurodegenerative disorders has encouraged new approaches to address neuroinflammation for potential treatments. Here we will focus on the increasing evidence that dysbiosis of the gut microbiome is characterized by inflammation that may carry over to the central nervous system and into the brain. Neuroinflammation is the common thread associated with neurodegenerative diseases, but it is yet unknown at what point and how innate immune function turns pathogenic for an individual. This review will address extensive efforts to identify constituents of the gut microbiome and their neuroactive metabolites as a peripheral path to treatment. This approach is still in its infancy in substantive clinical trials and requires thorough human studies to elucidate the metabolic microbiome profile to design appropriate treatment strategies for early stages of neurodegenerative disease. We view that in order to address neurodegenerative mechanisms of the gut, microbiome and metabolite profiles must be determined to pre-screen AD subjects prior to the design of specific, chronic titrations of gut microbiota with low-dose antibiotics. This represents an exciting treatment strategy designed to balance inflammatory microglial involvement in disease progression with an individual’s manifestation of AD as influenced by a coercive inflammatory gut.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena DE DIOS-RODRIGUEZ ◽  
María C PATINO-ALONSO ◽  
Susana GONZÁLEZ-SÁNCHEZ ◽  
Joana RIPOLL ◽  
Olaya TAMAYO-MORALES ◽  
...  

Abstract Aim: To evaluate the effectiveness of an intervention in primary health care designed to increase physical activity in people with dementia and their family caregivers.Methods: A cluster-randomized multicentre clinical trial was carried out.Participants: 140 people with dementia (median age 82 years;63.6% women) and 176 caregivers (median age 62 years ;72.7% women). Seventy patients and 80 caregivers were assigned to the Control Group (CG) and 70 patients and 96 caregivers to the Intervention Group (IG). The physical activity was measured with the pedometer and with the IPAQ-SF questionnaire. The intervention consisted of applying in primary care the program promoting physical activity (PEPAF) for 3 months. The changes observed at 6 months were analyzed. Results:In people with dementia, in the pedometer assessment a decrease was observed in both groups, but it was larger in the CG both in the total number step/day lower in the IG than in the CG and in the aerobic steps / day (52.89 vs -615.93). The activity reported with the IPAQ-SF decreased more in IG, both in the MET/min/week (-258.470 vs -148.23) and in the MVPA min/week. In caregivers the pedometer assessment showed that total steps/day increased more in the IG, as did aerobic steps/day (356.91 vs -12.95). The IPAQ-SF a smaller increase in global activity was declared in the IG than in the CG (545.25 MET/min/week vs 609.55), but the increase in vigorous activity was greater. No differences were found in changes in the functional status and the cognitive performances of people with dementia nor in the mental health in the caregivers, but systolic blood pressure, the Family APGAR and overload in the IG did improve.Conclusions: The results suggest that the intervention carried out may be effective on physical activity in both patients and caregivers. It can also improve systolic blood pressure, the Family APGAR and overload in caregivers. This is the first study to implement a primary care intervention aimed at simultaneously increasing physical activity in people with dementia and their relatives. These results reinforce the importance of using objective measures in clinical trials in people with dementia.Trial registration number: NCT 02044887.


2016 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-23
Author(s):  
Bruna Marjorie Dias FROTA ◽  
Sarah Nascimento HOLANDA ◽  
Fabrício Bitú SOUSA ◽  
Ana Paula Negreiros Nunes ALVES

ABSTRACT Objective: To compare the general clinical conditions and oral alterations, and also evaluate the prosthesis, in subjects diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease (AD) or Parkinson's disease (PD), attended at two geriatric centers in the city of Fortaleza - Ceará. Methods: 70 patients were analyzed (between 57 to 91 years) with AD and PD, through evaluation of neurological medical records and oral clinical examination. Variables as sex, age, race, comorbidities, oral manifestations and prosthetic conditions were observed. A total of 20 elderly patients without neurological disease consisted the control group (CG). Fisher's exact test and Kruskal-Wallis were used as statistical analysis. Results: In both groups, blood hypertension was the most frequent comorbidity. As for the oral examination in the group with AD, it was observed that 54.2% had periodontal disease, 34.2% caries. Similar results were found in PD patients (31.4%; 22.8% - respectively). However, no difference was observed between the groups, as the systemic and oral manifestations in both geriatric centers (p> 0.05). Was identified more than half of the subjects (57.7%) using dentures, and 86.5% of these had become maladaptive, with some kind of defect. There was statistical difference in the presence of associated oral pathology, denture stomatitis, between dementia and control group (p = 0.0213). Conclusion: Elderly patients with AD and PD have poor oral health, as well as those without neurodegenerative diseases. However, have more defects and disorders associated with the use of removable dentures.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang-Hao Ou ◽  
Ming-Che Chang ◽  
Wen-Fu Wang ◽  
Kai-Ming Jhang

Abstract Background: There is an increasing awareness of caregiver's burden, especially in those caring for people with dementia. The caregiver burden has been studied extensively in Western countries; however, the interpretation of the results and replication of the intervention may deem unfit in the Chinese culture. Therefore, this study identifies the change in caregiver burden by interventional methods under current Taiwan's long-term care Act 2.0.Method: A total of 2,598 newly diagnosed dementia outpatients was evaluated by the Changhua Christian Hospital dementia care team. Eighty patients utilize one of the three care resources, including community-based services (n = 33), home-based services (n = 19), or taking care by foreign caregivers (n = 28). Participants in the control group were selected by matching their global CDR score, gender, age, and caregivers' age with a 1:4 ratio. All caregivers completed the Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI) questionnaires before and six months after utilizing the care resources. Results: The home-based and the foreign caregiver groups have the highest baseline ZBI scores with 37.63±16.14 and 36.57±17.14, respectively. The second ZBI score was assessed about six months after the baseline showing that the home-based group remained the highest caregiver burden (ZBI = 31.74±12.23) and the foreign caregiver group showed the lowest burden (ZBI = 25.68±12.09). The mean difference in the ZBI score confirmed that the foreign caregiver group had the most improvement, averaging a decrease of 17.99±31.08 points (adjust observation time). A linear regression model showed that home-based care and foreign caregiver contributes the most reduction in caregiver burden (-11.83 and -19,07 ZBI scores, respectively).Conclusion: Caring for people with dementia includes caring for their caregivers. Dementia care team should provide proper social resources, which are crucial in the alleviation of caregiver burden.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (16) ◽  
pp. 119-125
Author(s):  
Syamsul Anwar Sultan Ibrahim ◽  
Akehsan Dahlan ◽  
Ahmad Zamir Che Daud

Older people with dementia always experience the cognitive difficulties that are believed to impact their daily life significantly. However, information regarding occupation-based intervention toward older people with mild dementia in the institution is inconclusive. The results of this randomized controlled trial indicate a significant difference in cognitive functions, social relationship, and the quality of life. Participants in the experimental group improved significantly compared to the participants in the control group. Engagement in occupational activities should be encouraged to older people with mild dementia in institution to facilitate the cognitive functions, social relationship, and quality of life. Keywords: older people; mild dementia; occupation-based; quality of life eISSN: 2398-4287© 2021. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians/Africans/Arabians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v6i16.2727


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