Blood pressure in dementia, mild cognitive impairment, and subjective cognitive decline related to time of death

Background: Great effort has been put into developing simple and feasible tools capable to detect Alzheimer's disease (AD) in its early clinical stage. Spatial navigation impairment occurs very early in AD and is detectable even in the stage of mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Objective: The aim was to describe the frequency of self-reported spatial navigation complaints in patients with subjective cognitive decline (SCD), amnestic and non-amnestic MCI (aMCI, naMCI) and AD dementia and to assess whether a simple questionnaire based on these complaints may be used to detect early AD. Method: In total 184 subjects: patients with aMCI (n=61), naMCI (n=27), SCD (n=63), dementia due to AD (n=20) and normal controls (n=13) were recruited. The subjects underwent neuropsychological examination and were administered a questionnaire addressing spatial navigation complaints. Responses to the 15 items questionnaire were scaled into four categories (no, minor, moderate and major complaints). Results: 55% of patients with aMCI, 64% with naMCI, 68% with SCD and 72% with AD complained about their spatial navigation. 38-61% of these complaints were moderate or major. Only 33% normal controls expressed complaints and none was ranked as moderate or major. The SCD, aMCI and AD dementia patients were more likely to express complaints than normal controls (p's<0.050) after adjusting for age, education, sex, depressive symptoms (OR for SCD=4.00, aMCI=3.90, AD dementia=7.02) or anxiety (OR for SCD=3.59, aMCI=3.64, AD dementia=6.41). Conclusion: Spatial navigation complaints are a frequent symptom not only in AD, but also in SCD and aMCI and can potentially be detected by a simple and inexpensive questionnaire.

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Analyses of Visuospatial and Visuoperceptual Errors as Predictors of Dementia in Parkinson’s Disease Patients with Subjective Cognitive Decline and Mild Cognitive Impairment

Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society ◽

10.1017/s1355617720001216 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-11

Author(s):

Iván Galtier ◽

Antonieta Nieto ◽

María Mata ◽

Jesús N. Lorenzo ◽

José Barroso

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Parkinson’S Disease ◽

Parkinson's Disease ◽

Cognitive Impairment ◽

Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽

Cognitive Decline ◽

Poor Performance ◽

Subjective Cognitive Decline ◽

Independent Risk Factors

ABSTRACT Objective: Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in Parkinson’s disease (PD) are considered as the risk factors for dementia (PDD). Posterior cortically based functions, such as visuospatial and visuoperceptual (VS-VP) processing, have been described as predictors of PDD. However, no investigations have focused on the qualitative analysis of the Judgment of Line Orientation Test (JLOT) and the Facial Recognition Test (FRT) in PD-SCD and PD-MCI. The aim of this work was to study the VS-VP errors in JLOT and FRT. Moreover, these variables are considered as predictors of PDD. Method: Forty-two PD patients and 19 controls were evaluated with a neuropsychological protocol. Patients were classified as PD-SCD and PD-MCI. Analyses of errors were conducted following the procedure described by Ska, Poissant, and Joanette (1990). Follow-up assessment was conducted to a mean of 7.5 years after the baseline. Results: PD-MCI patients showed a poor performance in JLOT and FRT total score and made a greater proportion of severe intraquadrant (QO2) and interquadrant errors (IQO). PD-SCD showed a poor performance in FRT and made mild errors in JLOT. PD-MCI and QO2/IQO errors were independent risk factors for PDD during the follow-up. Moreover, the combination of both PD-MCI diagnosis and QO2/IQO errors was associated with a greater risk. Conclusions: PD-MCI patients presented a greater alteration in VS-VP processing observable by the presence of severe misjudgments. PD-SCD patients also showed mild difficulties in VS-SP functions. Finally, QO2/IQO errors in PD-MCI are a useful predictor of PDD, more than PD-MCI diagnosis alone.

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Assessing visuo-constructive functions in patients with subjective cognitive decline, mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease with the Vienna Visuo-Constructional Test 3.0 (VVT 3.0)

Neuropsychiatrie ◽

10.1007/s40211-021-00385-x ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Noel Valencia ◽

Johann Lehrner

Keyword(s):

Alzheimer’S Disease ◽

Alzheimer's Disease ◽

Cognitive Impairment ◽

Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽

Cognitive Decline ◽

Multinomial Logistic Regression ◽

Subjective Cognitive Decline ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Considerable Potential ◽

Multinomial Logistic Regression Analysis

Summary Background Visuo-Constructive functions have considerable potential for the early diagnosis and monitoring of disease progression in Alzheimer’s disease. Objectives Using the Vienna Visuo-Constructional Test 3.0 (VVT 3.0), we measured visuo-constructive functions in subjective cognitive decline (SCD), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and healthy controls to determine whether VVT performance can be used to distinguish these groups. Materials and methods Data of 671 participants was analyzed comparing scores across diagnostic groups and exploring associations with relevant clinical variables. Predictive validity was assessed using Receiver Operator Characteristic curves and multinomial logistic regression analysis. Results We found significant differences between AD and the other groups. Identification of cases suffering from visuo-constructive impairment was possible using VVT scores, but these did not permit classification into diagnostic subgroups. Conclusions In summary, VVT scores are useful indicators for visuo-constructive impairment but face challenges when attempting to discriminate between several diagnostic groups.

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The Effect of CAG Repeats within the Non-Pathological Range in the HTT Gene on Cognitive Functions in Patients with Subjective Cognitive Decline and Mild Cognitive Impairment

Diagnostics ◽

10.3390/diagnostics11061051 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (6) ◽

pp. 1051

Author(s):

Valentina Bessi ◽

Salvatore Mazzeo ◽

Silvia Bagnoli ◽

Giulia Giacomucci ◽

Assunta Ingannato ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Impairment ◽

Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽

Cognitive Decline ◽

Spatial Ability ◽

Cognitive Status ◽

Cag Repeat ◽

Cag Repeats ◽

Subjective Cognitive Decline ◽

Visual Spatial ◽

Premorbid Intelligence

The Huntingtin gene (HTT) is within a class of genes containing a key region of CAG repeats. When expanded beyond 39 repeats, Huntington disease (HD) develops. Individuals with less than 35 repeats are not associated with HD. Increasing evidence has suggested that CAG repeats play a role in modulating brain development and brain function. However, very few studies have investigated the effect of CAG repeats in the non-pathological range on cognitive performances in non-demented individuals. In this study, we aimed to test how CAG repeats’ length influences neuropsychological scores in patients with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). We included 75 patients (46 SCD and 29 MCI). All patients underwent an extensive neuropsychological battery and analysis of HTT alleles to quantify the number of CAG repeats. Results: CAG repeat number was positively correlated with scores of tests assessing for executive function, visual–spatial ability, and memory in SCD patients, while in MCI patients, it was inversely correlated with scores of visual–spatial ability and premorbid intelligence. When we performed a multiple regression analysis, we found that these relationships still remained, also when adjusting for possible confounding factors. Interestingly, logarithmic models better described the associations between CAG repeats and neuropsychological scores. CAG repeats in the HTT gene within the non-pathological range influenced neuropsychological performances depending on global cognitive status. The logarithmic model suggested that the positive effect of CAG repeats in SCD patients decreases as the number of repeats grows.

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Discriminant Validity of the WAIS-R Digit Symbol Substitution Test in Subjective Cognitive Decline, Mild Cognitive Impairment (Amnestic Subtype) and Alzheimer’s Disease Dementia (ADD) in Greece

Brain Sciences ◽

10.3390/brainsci11070881 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (7) ◽

pp. 881

Author(s):

Marianna Tsatali ◽

Eleni Poptsi ◽

Despina Moraitou ◽

Christina Agogiatou ◽

Evaggelia Bakoglidou ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Alzheimer’S Disease ◽

Cognitive Impairment ◽

Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽

Cognitive Decline ◽

Subjective Cognitive Decline ◽

Digit Symbol Substitution Test ◽

Digit Symbol ◽

Digit Symbol Substitution ◽

Symbol Substitution ◽

Alzheimer’S Disease Dementia

Objective: The aim of the current study was to estimate the discriminant potential and validity of the Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST) of the WAIS-R in the Greek elderly population meeting criteria for subjective cognitive decline (SCD), mild cognitive impairment (aMCI; amnestic subtype), or Alzheimer’s disease dementia (ADD). Method: Four hundred eighty-eight community-dwelling older adults, visitors of the Day Center of Alzheimer Hellas, participated in the study. Two hundred forty-three of them met the criteria for ADD, one hundred eighty-two for aMCI and sixty-three for SCD. Results: Path analysis indicated that the DSST score is affected by age group, educational level, and diagnostic category, but is not affected by gender. The ROC curve analysis showed that the DSST sum score could perfectly differentiate SCD from ADD patients, whereas test’s discriminant potential between aMCI and dementia ADD’s subtype was satisfactory. However, DSST was unable to separate the SCD from the aMCI group. Conclusion: It appears that the DSST is unable to separate the SCD from aMCI population. Therefore, the test in question may be insensitive to incipient cognitive decline. On the contrary, the discriminant potential of the DSST as regards SCD and ADD is excellent, while discrimination between aMCI and ADD is good.

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Network analysis of impulse dyscontrol in mild cognitive impairment and subjective cognitive decline

International Psychogeriatrics ◽

10.1017/s1041610220004123 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-10

Author(s):

T. Saari ◽

E. E. Smith ◽

Z. Ismail

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Impairment ◽

Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽

Observational Study ◽

Cognitive Decline ◽

Prospective Observational Study ◽

Subjective Cognitive Decline ◽

Behavioral Impairment ◽

Conditional Dependence ◽

With Memory ◽

Central Symptom

ABSTRACT Objectives: To investigate conditional dependence relationships of impulse dyscontrol symptoms in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and subjective cognitive decline (SCD). Design: A prospective, observational study. Participants: Two hundred and thirty-five patients with MCI (n = 159) or SCD (n = 76) from the Prospective Study for Persons with Memory Symptoms dataset. Measurements: Items of the Mild Behavioral Impairment Checklist impulse dyscontrol subscale. Results: Stubbornness/rigidity, agitation/aggressiveness, and argumentativeness were frequent and the most central symptoms in the network. Impulsivity, the fourth most central symptom in the network, served as the bridge between these common symptoms and less central and rare symptoms. Conclusions: Impulse dyscontrol in at-risk states for dementia is characterized by closely connected symptoms of irritability, agitation, and rigidity. Compulsions and difficulties in regulating rewarding behaviors are relatively isolated symptoms.

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Alexithymia in people with subjective cognitive decline, mild cognitive impairment, and mild Alzheimer’s disease

Aging Clinical and Experimental Research ◽

10.1007/s40520-017-0725-8 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 29 (6) ◽

pp. 1105-1111 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Mehmet Yuruyen ◽

Fundan Engin Akcan ◽

Gizem Cetiner Batun ◽

Gozde Gultekin ◽

Mesut Toprak ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Alzheimer’S Disease ◽

Alzheimer's Disease ◽

Cognitive Impairment ◽

Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽

Cognitive Decline ◽

Subjective Cognitive Decline

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