scholarly journals Memory Test Performance on Analogous Verbal and Nonverbal Memory Tests in Patients with Frontotemporal Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deanna Baldock ◽  
Justin B. Miller ◽  
Gabriel C. Leger ◽  
Sarah Jane Banks

Background: Patients with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) typically have initial deficits in language or changes in personality, while the defining characteristic of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is memory impairment. Neuropsychological findings in the two diseases tend to differ, but can be confounded by verbal impairment in FTD impacting performance on memory tests in these patients. Methods: Twenty-seven patients with FTD and 102 patients with AD underwent a neuropsychological assessment before diagnosis. By utilizing analogous versions of a verbal and nonverbal memory test, we demonstrated differences in these two modalities between AD and FTD. Discussion: Better differentiation between AD and FTD is found in a nonverbal memory test, possibly because it eliminates the confounding variable of language deficits found in patients with FTD. These results highlight the importance of nonverbal learning tests with multiple learning trials in diagnostic testing.

Cortex ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 341-355 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Karlsson ◽  
Arne Börjesson ◽  
Rolf Adolfsson ◽  
Lars-Göran Nilsson

1996 ◽  
Vol 2 (6) ◽  
pp. 505-510 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy Ann Pachana ◽  
Kyle Brauer Boone ◽  
Bruce L. Miller ◽  
Jeffrey L. Cummings ◽  
Nancy Berman

AbstractNeuropsychological changes distinguishing mild Alzheimer's disease (AD) from frontotemporal dementia (FTD) have been described, but empirical verification of differential cognitive characteristics is lacking. Archival neuropsychological data on 15 FTD patients, 16 AD patients, and 16 controls were compared. Controls outperformed both patient groups on measures of verbal and nonverbal memory, executive ability, and constructional skill, with AD patients showing more widespread memory decline. No differences were found between the 3 groups in confrontation naming, recognition memory, or basic attention. Patient groups differed only in nonverbal memory, with FTD patients performing significantly better than AD patients. However, patient groups also differed in pattern of performance across executive and memory domains. Specifically, AD patients exhibited significantly greater impairment on memory than executive tasks, whereas the opposite pattern characterized ther FTD group. These findings suggest that examination of relative rankings of scores across cognitive domains, in addition to interpretation of individual neuropsychological scores, may be useful in differential diagnosis of FTD versus AD. (JINS, 1996, 2, 505–510.)


2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph P. Barsuglia ◽  
Michelle J. Mather ◽  
Hemali V. Panchal ◽  
Aditi Joshi ◽  
Elvira Jimenez ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 78 (2) ◽  
pp. 537-541
Author(s):  
Jordi A. Matias-Guiu ◽  
Vanesa Pytel ◽  
Jorge Matías-Guiu

We aimed to evaluate the frequency and mortality of COVID-19 in patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). We conducted an observational case series. We enrolled 204 patients, 15.2% of whom were diagnosed with COVID-19, and 41.9% of patients with the infection died. Patients with AD were older than patients with FTD (80.36±8.77 versus 72.00±8.35 years old) and had a higher prevalence of arterial hypertension (55.8% versus 26.3%). COVID-19 occurred in 7.3% of patients living at home, but 72.0% of those living at care homes. Living in care facilities and diagnosis of AD were independently associated with a higher probability of death. We found that living in care homes is the most relevant factor for an increased risk of COVID-19 infection and death, with AD patients exhibiting a higher risk than those with FTD.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adeline Su Lyn Ng ◽  
Juan Wang ◽  
Kwun Kei Ng ◽  
Joanna Su Xian Chong ◽  
Xing Qian ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) cause distinct atrophy and functional disruptions within two major intrinsic brain networks, namely the default network and the salience network, respectively. It remains unclear if inter-network relationships and whole-brain network topology are also altered and underpin cognitive and social–emotional functional deficits. Methods In total, 111 participants (50 AD, 14 bvFTD, and 47 age- and gender-matched healthy controls) underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and neuropsychological assessments. Functional connectivity was derived among 144 brain regions of interest. Graph theoretical analysis was applied to characterize network integration, segregation, and module distinctiveness (degree centrality, nodal efficiency, within-module degree, and participation coefficient) in AD, bvFTD, and healthy participants. Group differences in graph theoretical measures and empirically derived network community structures, as well as the associations between these indices and cognitive performance and neuropsychiatric symptoms, were subject to general linear models, with age, gender, education, motion, and scanner type controlled. Results Our results suggested that AD had lower integration in the default and control networks, while bvFTD exhibited disrupted integration in the salience network. Interestingly, AD and bvFTD had the highest and lowest degree of integration in the thalamus, respectively. Such divergence in topological aberration was recapitulated in network segregation and module distinctiveness loss, with AD showing poorer modular structure between the default and control networks, and bvFTD having more fragmented modules in the salience network and subcortical regions. Importantly, aberrations in network topology were related to worse attention deficits and greater severity in neuropsychiatric symptoms across syndromes. Conclusions Our findings underscore the reciprocal relationships between the default, control, and salience networks that may account for the cognitive decline and neuropsychiatric symptoms in dementia.


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