| 1. |
- Berger, AK, et al.
(författare)
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Negligible effects of depression on verbal and spatial performance in Alzheimer's disease
- 2002
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Ingår i: Dementia and geriatric cognitive disorders. - : S. Karger AG. - 1420-8008 .- 1421-9824. ; 13:1, s. 1-7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We examined whether a diagnosis of depression affects verbal and visuospatial performance in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Using data from a population-based study, persons with AD and depression (AD/D), AD alone and a control group of normal older adults were compared in two tests of verbal ability (category and letter fluency) and two tests of visuospatial skill (block design and clock drawing). As expected, there were clear AD-related deficits across all cognitive tasks. More importantly, the AD and AD/D groups were indistinguishable on all task variables. The lack of effects of depression was discussed relative to the view that those symptoms of this disease which are especially detrimental to cognitive functioning (e.g. concentration difficulties, lack of interest, loss of energy) may already be present in AD as a result of the neurodegenerative process.
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| 2. |
- HILL, RD, et al.
(författare)
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Visuospatial performance in very old demented persons: an individual difference analysis
- 1995
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Ingår i: Dementia (Basel, Switzerland). - : S. Karger AG. - 1013-7424. ; 6:1, s. 49-54
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study examines selected demographic, psychometric, and biological measures as predictors of visuospatial performance in a sample of 98 persons with mild to moderate dementia. Visuospatial performance was measured using standardized neuropsychology instruments, namely: Poppelreuter''s figures, the clock test, and block design. Although multiple measures were initially correlated with performance on the selected visuospatial tests, the Mini-Mental State Examination was the exclusive predictor of Poppelreuter''s figures and the clock test scores. For block design, years of education also contributed to the prediction model, but only among mildly demented persons. These results suggest that disease severity plays a dominant role in the prediction of visuospatial performance in dementia, particularly in more advanced stages of the disease. The differential role of education in predicting block design performance in mild vs. moderate dementia was also highlighted.
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| 3. |
- Jonhagen, ME, et al.
(författare)
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Intracerebroventricular infusion of nerve growth factor in three patients with Alzheimer's disease
- 1998
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Ingår i: Dementia and geriatric cognitive disorders. - : S. Karger AG. - 1420-8008 .- 1421-9824. ; 9:5, s. 246-257
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Nerve growth factor (NGF) is important for the survival and maintenance of central cholinergic neurons, a signalling system impaired in Alzheimer’s disease. We have treated 3 patients with Alzheimer’s disease with a total of 6.6 mg NGF administered continuously into the lateral cerebral ventricle for 3 months in the first 2 patients and a total of 0.55 mg for 3 shorter periods in the third patient. The patients were extensively evaluated with clinical, neuropsychological, neurophysiological and neuroradiological techniques. Three months after the NGF treatment ended, a significant increase in nicotine binding was found in several brain areas in the first 2 patients and in the hippocampus in the third patient as studied by positron emission tomography. A clear cognitive amelioration could not be demonstrated, although a few neuropsychology tests showed slight improvements. The amount of slow-wave cortical activity as studied by electroencephalography was reduced in the first 2 patients. Two negative side effects occurred with NGF treatment: first, a dull, constant back pain was observed in all 3 patients, which in 1 patient was aggravated by axial loading resulting in sharp, shooting pain of short duration. When stopping the NGF infusion, the pain disappeared within a couple of days. Reducing the dose of NGF lessened the pain. Secondly, a marked weight reduction during the infusion with a clear weight gain after ending the infusion was seen in the first 2 patients. We conclude from this limited trial that, while long-term intracerebroventricular NGF administration may cause certain potentially beneficial effects, the intraventricular route of administration is also associated with negative side effects that appear to outweigh the positive effects of the present protocol. Alternative routes of administration, and/or lower doses of NGF, perhaps combined with low doses of other neurotrophic factors, may shift this balance in favor of positive effects.
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| 4. |
- Small, BJ, et al.
(författare)
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Predictors of longitudinal changes in memory, visuospatial, and verbal functioning in very old demented adults
- 1998
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Ingår i: Dementia and geriatric cognitive disorders. - : S. Karger AG. - 1420-8008 .- 1421-9824. ; 9:5, s. 258-266
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Longitudinal changes in memory, visuospatial and verbal functioning in a sample of demented persons were examined. The role of several demographic, psychometric, and biological indices in predicting the rate of cognitive deterioration was also investigated. The sample consisted of 31 very old (mean age at entry = 83.5 years, range = 75–95) persons with Alzheimer’s disease (n = 22) and vascular dementia (n = 9) from a community-based study. Subjects were tested on two occasions separated by approximately 2.5 years. Results indicated significant longitudinal decline in verbal fluency and visuospatial ability, but only on 1 of 3 measures of episodic memory. Results from regression analyses indicated that a variety of putatively important variables, including age, gender, education, digit span, as well as a number of biological (vitamin B<sub>12</sub>, TSH), dementia etiology, and psychometric (digit span) indicators, exhibited no relationship to rate of memory, visuospatial, or verbal decline. The results suggest that the rate of cognitive deterioration in dementia is highly variable, and this variability in change appears to include a variety of characteristics. A possible reason thereof may be that the role of individual-difference variables for cognitive functioning in dementia is overshadowed by the pathogenetic process itself.
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