| 1. |
- Wallin, Anders, 1950, et al.
(författare)
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Donepezil in Alzheimer's disease : What to expect after 3 years of treatment in a routine clinical setting
- 2007
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Ingår i: Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders. - Basel : S. Karger AG. - 1420-8008 .- 1421-9824. ; 23:3, s. 150-160
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background/Aims: Clinical short-term trails have shown positive effects of donepezil treatment in patients with Alzheimer's disease. The outcome of continuous long-term treatment in the routine clinical settings remains to be investigated. Methods: The Swedish Alzheimer Treatment Study (SATS) is a descriptive, prospective, longitudinal, multicentre study. Four hundred and thirty-five outpatients with the clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, received treatment with donepezil. Patients were assessed with Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-cognitive subscale (ADAS-cog), global rating (CIBIC) and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) at baseline and every 6 months for a total period of 3 years. Results: The mean MMSE change from baseline was positive for more than 6 months and in subgroups of patients for 12 months. After 3 years of treatment the mean change from baseline in MMSE-score was 3.8 points (95% CI, 3.0-4.7) and the ADAS-cog rise was 8.2 points (95% CI, 6.4-10.1). This is better than expected in untreated historical cohorts, and better than the ADAS-cog rise calculated by the Stern equation (15.6 points, 95% CI, 14.5-16.6). After 3 years with 38% of the patients remaining, 30% of the them were unchanged or improved in the global assessment. Conclusion: Three-year donepezil treatment showed a positive global and cognitive outcome in the routine clinical setting. Copyright © 2007 S. Karger AG.
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| 2. |
- Lindgren, Emma, et al.
(författare)
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Differences in Dementia Care Between Swedish-Born and Foreign-Born from Countries with Different Country Level Socioeconomic Position : A Nationwide Register-Based Study
- 2021
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Ingår i: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. - : IOS Press. - 1387-2877 .- 1875-8908. ; 84:3, s. 1363-1371
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: With a growing elderly population worldwide, the prevalence of dementia is rapidly increasing. Studies from high income countries have shown that belonging to a minority ethnic group increases the risk of health disadvantages. Objective: The aim of the present registry-based study was to identify potential differences in diagnostics, treatment, and care of individuals with dementia focusing on foreign-born in Sweden and the impact of country level socioeconomic position (SEP). Methods: The study was based on a large dataset from the Swedish Dementia Registry (SveDem) and the Swedish Tax Agency's population registry. Data on demographic variables, cognitive tests, clinical assessments, medication, diagnosis, and interventions initiated at diagnosis were collected. Country level SEP was determined by country of birth as classified by World Bank Country and Lending groups. Results: Of 57,982 patients with dementia registered in SveDem, 7,171 (12.4%) were foreign-born. The foreign-born were significantly younger at diagnosis (p < 0.001), had a lower MMSE score (p < 0.001), lower odds of receiving a specific dementia diagnosis (p < 0.001), lower use of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (p < 0.001), and overall a higher use of neuroleptics compared with the Swedish-born group. The lower SEP, the greater differences to Swedish-born were seen in many of the examined variables. Conclusion: There were significant differences in dementia diagnostics, treatment, and care between foreign-born and Swedish-born, a lower SEP indicating greater differences. Further research should focus on various socioeconomic aspects and health care outcomes for a more profound analysis of equity in dementia care.
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| 3. |
- Wattmo, Carina, et al.
(författare)
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Cerebro-spinal fluid biomarker levels: phosphorylated tau (T) and total tau (N) as markers for rate of progression in Alzheimer's disease
- 2020
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Ingår i: BMC Neurology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2377. ; 20:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background We investigated the potential associations between cerebro-spinal fluid (CSF) levels of phosphorylated tau (P-tau) and total tau (T-tau) with short-term response to cholinesterase inhibitor (ChEI) treatment, longitudinal outcome and progression rates in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Methods This prospective, observational study included 129 participants clinically diagnosed with mild-to-moderate AD, who underwent a lumbar puncture. The CSF biomarkers amyloid-beta(1-42) (A beta(42)), P-tau and T-tau were analysed with xMAP technology. Cognitive, global, instrumental and basic activities of daily living (ADL) capacities at the start of ChEI therapy and semi-annually over 3 years were evaluated. Results All patients had abnormal A beta(42) (A+). Fifty-eight individuals (45%) exhibited normal P-tau and T-tau (A+ T- (N)-), 12 (9%) abnormal P-tau/normal T-tau (A+ T+ (N)-), 17 (13%) normal P-tau/abnormal T-tau (A+ T- (N)+) and 42 (33%) abnormal P-tau and T-tau (A+ T+ (N)+). The participants with A+ T+ (N)+ were younger than A+ T- (N)+ at the estimated onset of AD and the initiation of ChEIs. The proportion of 6-month responders to ChEI and deterioration/year after start of treatment did not differ between the AT(N) profiles in any scales. A higher percentage of globally improved/unchanged patients was exhibited in the A+ T- (N)- group after 12, 30 and 36 months of ChEI therapy but not at other assessments. In apolipoprotein E (APOE) epsilon 4-carriers, linear relationships were found between greater cognitive decline/year and higher tau; Mini-Mental State Examination score - T-tau (r(s) = - 0.257, p = 0.014) and Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-cognitive subscale - P-tau (r(s) = - 0.242, p = 0.022). A correlation between faster progression in instrumental ADL (IADL) and higher T-tau was also detected (r(s) = - 0.232, p = 0.028). These associations were not demonstrated in non-epsilon 4-carriers. Conclusions Younger age and faster global deterioration were observed in AD patients with pathologic tau and neurodegeneration, whereas more rapid cognitive and IADL decline were related to higher P-tau or T-tau in APOE epsilon 4-carriers only. The results might indicate an association between more pronounced tau pathology/neuronal injury and the APOE epsilon 4-allele leading to a worse prognosis. Our findings showed that the AT(N) biomarker profiles have limited utility to predict AD progression rates and, thus, measure change and interpreting outcomes from clinical trials of future therapies.
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| 4. |
- Wallin, Åsa, et al.
(författare)
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Five-year outcome of cholinergic treatment of Alzheimer's disease: Early response predicts prolonged time until nursing home placement, but does not alter life expectancy
- 2004
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Ingår i: Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders. - : S. Karger AG. - 1420-8008 .- 1421-9824. ; 18:2, s. 197-206
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Fifty consecutive outpatients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) received treatment with the cholinesterase inhibitor tacrine in an open longitudinal study. Assessments using Mini-Mental State Examination, Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale – cognitive subscale, and a global rating were made at baseline and at 6, 12, 24, 36, 48 and 60 months. Three outcome groups were characterized: responders, unchanged and deteriorated. Additional outcome measures were time until nursing home placement, and mortality rate. At 6 months –75%, at 12 months –42%, at 24 months –20%, and after that 10% of the patients still on medication had improved or remained stable. The mortality rate did not differ between the outcome groups. Response to tacrine treatment at 6 or 12 months was found to predict a prolonged time until nursing home placement. No predictors for a positive treatment response could be identified at baseline.
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| 5. |
- Zahirovic, Iris, et al.
(författare)
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Psychotropic and anti-dementia treatment in elderly persons with clinical signs of dementia with Lewy bodies : A cross-sectional study in 40 nursing homes in Sweden
- 2018
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Ingår i: BMC Geriatrics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2318. ; 18:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Elderly persons with a dementia diagnosis often suffer from different neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) such as delusions, hallucinations, depression, anxiety, irritability and agitation. Currently, the medical treatment for NPS consists mostly of psychotropic medication such as hypnotics/sedatives, anxiolytics and antipsychotics. In elderly persons with dementia, usage of antipsychotics is less appropriate because of the risk of side effects such as parkinsonism, rapid cognitive decline, cerebrovascular events and finally mortality. Furthermore, elderly persons with dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) are often hypersensitive to antipsychotics with numerous serious adverse events such as somnolence, sedation, extra-pyramidal symptoms, delirium and increased mortality. The aim of this study was to investigate the usage of psychotropics with a focus on antipsychotics and anti-dementia medication (according to the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification System) in elderly persons with clinical signs of DLB living in dementia nursing homes (NHs) in Sweden. Methods: Between 2012 and 2013, we applied a specially designed questionnaire that covered the clinical DLB features according to the consensus criteria of DLB. We also collected computerized medical lists from the Swedish National Medication Dispensing System from the same period. All dementia NHs (n = 40) in Malmö, the third largest city in Sweden, were covered. Of 650 eligible residents, 610 (94%) were included with 576 medical lists. The mean age was 86 years and 76% were women. Results: Treatment with antipsychotics was seen in 22% of residents, hypnotics/sedatives in 41%, antidepressants in 50% and anxiolytics in 58%. We also found an increasing usage of antipsychotics from 25% to 43% in residents with the increasing number of DLB features. Anti-dementia medications were found in 45% of the elderly with a dementia diagnosis. However, residents with two or more DLB features had less anti-dementia medication (37%) than the rest of the dementia-diagnosed NH residents (62-69%). Conclusions: Residents with 2-4 DLB clinical features in Swedish NHs receive an unfavourable medical treatment with high antipsychotic usage and insufficient anti-dementia medication. These findings show the importance of identifying elderly persons with DLB features more effectively and improving the collaboration with nursing care to provide better medical prescription.
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| 6. |
- Gustavsson, Anders, et al.
(författare)
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Disease progression and costs of care in Alzheimer's disease patients treated with donepezil: a longitudinal naturalistic cohort.
- 2012
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Ingår i: European Journal of Health Economics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1618-7601 .- 1618-7598. ; 13:5, s. 561-568
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND/AIMS: Improved data and methods are needed for modeling disease progression in Alzheimer's disease (AD) for economic evaluation of treatments. The aim is to estimate prediction models for long-term AD progression and subsequently economic outcomes. METHODS: Three-year follow-up data on 435 patients treated with the cholinesterase inhibitor donepezil in clinical practise were analyzed. Regression models were estimated for long-term prediction of decline in cognitive function (ADAS-cog) and activities in daily living (ADL) ability, risk of institutionalization and costs of care. RESULTS: The cognitive deterioration was estimated at between 1.6 and 4 ADAS-cog points per every 6 months, increasing with disease severity. Cognitive function was an important predictor of ADL-ability, which itself was the most important predictor of the risk of institutionalization and costs of care. Combining all models in a cross-validation process generated accurate predictions of costs of care at each 6 months follow-up. CONCLUSION: The proposed methods for representing AD progression and economic outcomes can be used in micro-simulation models for the economic evaluation of new treatments.
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| 7. |
- Minthon, Lennart, et al.
(författare)
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Long-term rivastigmine treatment in a routine clinical setting.
- 2009
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Ingår i: Acta Neurologica Scandinavica. - : Wiley Blackwell. - 0001-6314 .- 1600-0404. ; 119:3, s. 180-185
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to observe the effects of long-term rivastigmine treatment in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD) in a routine clinical setting. METHODS: This was a prospective, open-label, observational, multicentre, non-randomized study. Outcome measures included the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Clinician's Interview-Based Impression of Change (CIBIC) and the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale - cognitive subscale (ADAS-cog). RESULTS: Of 217 patients initiated into rivastigmine treatment, 62% (n = 135) remained on treatment for 24 months. Most patients droped out due to nursing home placement or side effects. Eighty per cent and 67% of completers exhibited a symptomatic attenuation of cognitive decline (< or = 4-point deterioration) as assessed by using the MMSE and ADAS-cog respectively. Forty-four per cent showed an unchanged/improved CIBIC rating. CONCLUSIONS: Over 60% of patients remained on treatment for 2 years in this routine clinical setting. In patients who remained on treatment, rivastigmine appeared to stabilize their condition and prevented or delayed symptomatic decline.
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| 8. |
- Palmqvist, Sebastian, et al.
(författare)
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Comparison of Brief Cognitive Tests and CSF Biomarkers in Predicting Alzheimer's Disease in Mild Cognitive Impairment: Six-Year Follow-Up Study
- 2012
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Ingår i: Plos One. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 7:6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Introduction: Early identification of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is needed both for clinical trials and in clinical practice. In this study, we compared brief cognitive tests and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers in predicting conversion from mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to AD. Methods: At a memory clinic, 133 patients with MCI were followed until development of dementia or until they had been stable over a mean period of 5.9 years (range 3.2-8.8 years). The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the clock drawing test, total tau, tau phosphorylated at Thr(181) (P-tau) and amyloid-beta(1-42) (A beta(42)) were assessed at baseline. Results: During clinical follow-up, 47% remained cognitively stable and 53% developed dementia, with an incidence of 13.8%/year. In the group that developed dementia the prevalence of AD was 73.2%, vascular dementia 14.1%, dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) 5.6%, progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) 4.2%, semantic dementia 1.4% and dementia due to brain tumour 1.4%. When predicting subsequent development of AD among patients with MCI, the cognitive tests classified 81% of the cases correctly (AUC, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.77-0.90) and CSF biomarkers 83% (AUC, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.82-0.94). The combination of cognitive tests and CSF (AUC, 0.93; 95% CI 0.87 to 0.96) was significantly better than the cognitive tests (p = 0.01) and the CSF biomarkers (p = 0.04) alone when predicting AD. Conclusions: The MMSE and the clock drawing test were as accurate as CSF biomarkers in predicting future development of AD in patients with MCI. Combining both instruments provided significantly greater accuracy than cognitive tests or CSF biomarkers alone in predicting AD.
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| 9. |
- Wattmo, Carina, et al.
(författare)
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Dose and plasma concentration of galantamine in Alzheimer's disease - clinical application.
- 2013
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Ingår i: Alzheimer's research & therapy. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1758-9193. ; 5:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- ABSTRACT: INTRODUCTION: Patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) are currently treated with cholinesterase inhibitors, such as galantamine, without actual knowledge of its concentration in plasma. Our objective was to analyse potential relationships between galantamine concentration, galantamine dose, socio-demographic characteristics, body weight, body mass index (BMI), and treatment response. METHODS: Eighty-four patients with AD recruited from the Memory Clinic, Malmö, Sweden, and treated with galantamine were included in the study. Efficacy measures, including cognition (Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale - cognitive subscale (ADAS-cog)) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), were evaluated at baseline, 2 months after treatment initiation (MMSE only) and semi-annually over 3 years. At these assessments, blood samples were obtained for the analysis of the galantamine concentration, and body weight, BMI, drug dose and time from drug intake were recorded. RESULTS: All patients had a measurable concentration of galantamine at all assessments. The mean plasma concentration of the drug exhibited a positive linear association with dose (r = 0.513, P < 0.001). The dose did not differ between sexes. Negative linear associations between the galantamine plasma concentration and BMI (r = -0.454, P = 0.001) or body weight (r = -0.310, P = 0.034) were found exclusively in the male group. When mixed-effects models were used, the dose of galantamine (P < 0.001), time from drug intake (P < 0.001), and BMI (P = 0.021) or weight (P = 0.002) were factors that predicted the concentration, whereas sex, age, and cognitive and functional changes were not. CONCLUSIONS: High compliance to galantamine treatment was found among all patients in this naturalistic AD study. The impact of BMI or body weight on the plasma concentration of galantamine was important only among males. No relationship was observed between concentration and short-term treatment response or progression rate in terms of cognitive and functional abilities.
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| 10. |
- Wattmo, Carina, et al.
(författare)
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Long-term Outcome and Prediction Models of Activities of Daily Living in Alzheimer Disease With Cholinesterase Inhibitor Treatment.
- 2011
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Ingår i: Alzheimer Disease and Associated Disorders. - 1546-4156. ; 25:1, s. 63-72
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In untreated patients with Alzheimer disease (AD) the functional ability is gradually lost. What happens to the patients after continuous long-term cholinesterase inhibitor (ChEI) treatment is less investigated. The objective of this study was to describe the longitudinal functional outcome and analyze factors affecting the outcome in ChEI-treated patients. In an open, 3-year, nonrandomized, prospective, multicenter study in a routine clinical setting, 790 patients were treated with either donepezil, rivastigmine, or galantamine. At baseline and every 6 months, they were assessed with several rating scales including Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL), Physical Self-Maintenance Scale (PSMS), and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). A faster functional decline was associated with lower cognitive ability at baseline, older age, and the interaction of higher education and longer time in the study. The patients residing with a spouse or relative showed slower deterioration in IADL score. A higher mean dose of ChEI, regardless of drug agent, was also related to slower instrumental ADL decline. Prediction models for longitudinal functional outcome were provided. AD severity at baseline is a key factor in obtaining reliable clinical prognoses of the long-term ADL ability. The dosage of ChEI treatment could possibly lead to a different functional outcome.
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