Comparative Efficacy of Active Group Music Intervention versus Group Music Listening in Alzheimer’s Disease

Background: Music interventions are promising therapies for the management of symptoms in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Globally, music interventions can be classified as active or receptive depending on the participation of the subjects. Active and receptive music tasks engage different brain areas that might result in distinctive clinical effects. This study aims to compare the clinical effects of two types of music interventions and a control activity. Methods: Ninety AD patients from six nursing homes participated in the study. Nursing homes were randomly and blindly assigned to receive either active music intervention, receptive music intervention, or the usual care. Effects on cognition, behaviour, daily living activities, and motor function were assessed. Results: Active music intervention improved cognition, behaviour, and functional state in a higher extent than both receptive music intervention and usual care. The effect size of active music intervention for cognitive deficits and behavioural symptoms was large (η2 = 0.62 and 0.61, respectively), while for functional state, it was small-to-medium sized (η2 = 0.18). Receptive music intervention had a stabilizing effect on behavioural symptoms compared to control intervention (mean change from baseline ± standard deviation = −0.76 ± 3.66 and 3.35 ± 3.29, respectively). In the active music intervention, the percentage of patients who showed improvement in cognitive deficits (85.7), behavioural symptoms (92.9), and functional state (46.4) was higher than in both receptive listening (11.8, 42.9, and 14.3, respectively) and control group (6.3, 12.2, and 17.1, respectively). Conclusions: Active music intervention is useful to improve symptoms of AD and should be prescribed as a complement to the usual treatment.

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The Clinical Analysis of Combined Effects of Huperzine A and Memantine for Alzheimer’s Disease

Early Detection and Rehabilitation Technologies for Dementia ◽

10.4018/978-1-60960-559-9.ch014 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 112-116

Author(s):

Shouzi Zhang ◽

Qinyun Li ◽

Maolong Gao

Keyword(s):

Alzheimer’S Disease ◽

Alzheimer's Disease ◽

Treated Group ◽

Clinical Analysis ◽

Huperzine A ◽

Control Group ◽

Clinical Effects ◽

Activity Of Daily Living ◽

State Examination ◽

Target Activity

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical effects of a combination of Huperzine A and memantine for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Sixty patients (aged 69 ± 4.5), treated in both outpatient and hospital settings, were divided into two groups, the treated group and the control group. Over 24 weeks of clinical therapy, 30 patients received treatment with Huperzine A (0.2 mg/d), and the other 30 patients received a combination of Huperzine A (0.2 mg/d) and memantine (20 mg/d). Mini-mental State Examination (MMSE) was taken as the main value target. Activity of Daily Living Scale (ADL) and Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) were secondary targets. Results: After 24 weeks, the scores from the MMSE, ADL, and NPI of the treatment group were more improved than those of the control group (P=0.05). Combination treatment with Huperzine A and memantine will be more effective for treating AD than treatment with Huperzine A alone.

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In vivo human molecular neuroimaging of dopaminergic vulnerability along the Alzheimer’s disease phases

10.21203/rs.3.rs-212818/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Daniela Perani ◽

Arianna Sala ◽

Silvia Paola Caminiti ◽

Luca Presotto ◽

Andrea Pilotto ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Alzheimer’S Disease ◽

Alzheimer's Disease ◽

Cognitive Deficits ◽

Neuropsychiatric Symptoms ◽

System Level ◽

Binding Potential ◽

Control Group ◽

Molecular Connectivity ◽

Dice Coefficient

Abstract Background Preclinical and pathology evidence suggest an involvement of brain dopamine (DA) circuitry in Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). We in vivo investigated, if, when and in which target regions, DA signaling and molecular connectivity are damaged along the AD course. Methods We retrospectively selected 16 amyloid-positive subjects with mild cognitive impairment due to AD (AD-MCI), 22 amyloid-positive patients with probable AD dementia (AD-D) and 74 healthy controls, all with available [123I]FP-CIT-SPECT imaging. We tested whether nigrostriatal vs. mesocorticolimbic dopaminergic targets present binding potential loss, via MANCOVA, and alterations in molecular connectivity, via partial-correlation analysis. Results were deemed significant at p<0.05, after Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons. Results We found significant reductions of dopamine transporter density in both AD-MCI and AD-D compared to controls. Dopaminergic deficits were prominent in the major targets of the ventrotegmental-mesocorticolimbic pathway, namely the ventral striatum and the hippocampus, in both clinical groups, and in the cingulate gyrus, in patients with dementia only. Within the nigrostriatal projections, only the dorsal caudate nucleus showed reduced dopaminergic transporter density, in both groups. Molecular connectivity assessment revealed a widespread loss of inter-connections among subcortical and cortical targets of the mesocorticolimbic network only (poor overlap with the control group as expressed by a Dice coefficient < 0.25), and no alterations of the nigrostriatal network (high overlap with controls, Dice coefficient = 1). Conclusion Local and system-level alterations of the mesocorticolimbic dopaminergic circuitry characterize AD, already in prodromal disease phases. These results might foster new therapeutic strategies for AD. The clinical correlates of these findings deserve to be carefully considered within the emergence of both neuropsychiatric symptoms and cognitive deficits.

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In vivo human molecular neuroimaging of dopaminergic vulnerability along the Alzheimer’s disease phases

Alzheimer s Research & Therapy ◽

10.1186/s13195-021-00925-1 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Arianna Sala ◽

Silvia Paola Caminiti ◽

Luca Presotto ◽

Andrea Pilotto ◽

Claudio Liguori ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Alzheimer’S Disease ◽

Alzheimer's Disease ◽

Cognitive Deficits ◽

Neuropsychiatric Symptoms ◽

System Level ◽

Binding Potential ◽

Control Group ◽

Molecular Connectivity ◽

Dice Coefficient

Abstract Background Preclinical and pathology evidence suggests an involvement of brain dopamine (DA) circuitry in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). We in vivo investigated if, when, and in which target regions [123I]FP-CIT-SPECT regional binding and molecular connectivity are damaged along the AD course. Methods We retrospectively selected 16 amyloid-positive subjects with mild cognitive impairment due to AD (AD-MCI), 22 amyloid-positive patients with probable AD dementia (AD-D), and 74 healthy controls, all with available [123I]FP-CIT-SPECT imaging. We tested whether nigrostriatal vs. mesocorticolimbic dopaminergic targets present binding potential loss, via MANCOVA, and alterations in molecular connectivity, via partial correlation analysis. Results were deemed significant at p < 0.05, after Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons. Results We found significant reductions of [123I]FP-CIT binding in both AD-MCI and AD-D compared to controls. Binding reductions were prominent in the major targets of the ventrotegmental-mesocorticolimbic pathway, namely the ventral striatum and the hippocampus, in both clinical groups, and in the cingulate gyrus, in patients with dementia only. Within the nigrostriatal projections, only the dorsal caudate nucleus showed reduced [123I]FP-CIT binding, in both groups. Molecular connectivity assessment revealed a widespread loss of inter-connections among subcortical and cortical targets of the mesocorticolimbic network only (poor overlap with the control group as expressed by a Dice coefficient ≤ 0.25) and no alterations of the nigrostriatal network (high overlap with controls, Dice coefficient = 1). Conclusion Local- and system-level alterations of the mesocorticolimbic dopaminergic circuitry characterize AD, already in prodromal disease phases. These results might foster new therapeutic strategies for AD. The clinical correlates of these findings deserve to be carefully considered within the emergence of both neuropsychiatric symptoms and cognitive deficits.

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NEUTROPHILS’ FUNCTIONAL STATE IN ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE

Medical academic journal ◽

10.17816/maj191s181-82 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 19 (1S) ◽

pp. 81-82

Author(s):

P A Ivanov ◽

A A Shmakova ◽

N M Mikhailova

Keyword(s):

Alzheimer’S Disease ◽

Alzheimer's Disease ◽

Functional State ◽

Phagocytic Activity ◽

Control Group ◽

Amino Acid Residues ◽

Activity Increase ◽

Microglial Phagocytosis ◽

Key Factor ◽

Peripheral Markers

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most widespread neurodegenerative disease of older age, which is associated with the deposition of amyloid-beta polymerized peptide (consisting of 42 amino-acid residues) in the brain. The microglial phagocytosis disturbance, which is observed during AD, is possibly the key factor in the process. The research of neutrophils in patients with AD is of special interest due to the pressing problem of finding peripheral markers of AD. Analysis of neutrophils’ functional state in patients with AD is the objective of the present study. A reliable decrease of neutrophils’ phagocytic activity was established in group of patients with AD in comparison with control group (p < 0,05) (PI = 1.16 [0.64; 2.68] and PI = 2.34 [2.06; 2.85], respectively). A reliable increase of leukocytic elastase (LE) enzymatic activity (p < 0.05) was discovered in neutrophil lysate in AD group compared to control (LE = 0.43 [0.29; 0.77] and 0.29 [0.26; 0.38], respectively) at the same time. Comparison of PI and LE indicators in neutrophils’ lysate of AD group showed negative correlation between these parameters (r = 0.49, p < 0.05), which means that phagocytosis reduction during AD is accompanied by simultaneous LE activity increase in lysate of these cells.The obtained results allow to draw a conclusion that neutrophils’ phagocytic activity decreases during AD. Thus, discovered changes in neutrophils’ functional state can be considered as a potential peripheral AD marker.

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Music intervention affects the quality of life on Alzheimer’s disease: a meta-analysis

10.21203/rs.3.rs-1039196/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Xin Yu

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Alzheimer’S Disease ◽

Alzheimer's Disease ◽

Short Form ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

World Health ◽

Cochrane Library ◽

Control Group ◽

Music Intervention

Abstract BackgroundMusic intervention has been found to be beneficial for neurological diseases, especially in slowing down the progression of clinical symptom in patients. However, it remains unclear to what extend can music intervention may affect patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Questions remain on whether music intervention can improve the quality of life (QOL) of AD patients, who are usually with poor QOL owning to the burden of disease.MethodsA search that compared the effectiveness of music intervention to improve the QOL of AD patients were carried out. PubMed, Cochrane library clinical trial database, and WANFANG database were searched to collect data from randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Two independent researchers extracted data from the selected eligible articles by using collection form and RevMan5.3 statistical software and applied for the meta-analysis.ResultsWe included six RCTs in our meta-analysis. The results showed that compared to the control group, music intervention can significantly increase the score of the QOL-AD scale (MD=5.10, 95%CI: 2.95-7.24, P<0.001) and The World Health Organization QOL Rating Scale Short Form score (MD=5.76, 95%CI: 1.59-9.92, P=0.007). ConclusionsResults suggested that music intervention could improve the QOL for the elderly patients with AD. Our findings indicated that music intervention might be considered as a non-pharmaceutical therapy for patients with AD in the future.

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