The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry
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Am J Geriatr Psychiatry · Feb 2013
PET scanning of brain tau in retired national football league players: preliminary findings.
Mild traumatic brain injury due to contact sports may cause chronic behavioral, mood, and cognitive disturbances associated with pathological deposition of tau protein found at brain autopsy. To explore whether brain tau deposits can be detected in living retired players, we used positron emission tomography (PET) scans after intravenous injections of 2-(1-{6-[(2-[F-18]fluoroethyl)(methyl)amino]-2-naphthyl}ethylidene)malononitrile (FDDNP). ⋯ The small sample size and lack of autopsy confirmation warrant larger, more definitive studies, but if future research confirms these initial findings, FDDNP-PET may offer a means for premorbid identification of neurodegeneration in contact-sports athletes.
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Am J Geriatr Psychiatry · Jan 2013
The use of formal and informal care in early onset dementia: results from the NeedYD study.
Early onset dementia (EOD) poses specific challenges and issues for both the patient and (in)formal care. This study explores the use of (in)formal care prior to institutionalization, and its association with patient and caregiver characteristics. ⋯ In EOD, it appears that family members provide most of the care. However, other social roles still have to be fulfilled. Especially in spousal caregivers of younger patients in advanced disease stages, there is a double burden of work and care responsibilities. This finding also indicates that even within the EOD group there might be important age-related differences. The relatively higher amount of formal care use during advanced disease stages suggests a postponement in the use of formal care.
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Am J Geriatr Psychiatry · Dec 2012
Multicenter StudyDepressive symptoms in oldest-old women: risk of mild cognitive impairment and dementia.
Increasing evidence suggests that depression is a risk factor for cognitive impairment, but it is unclear if this is true among the oldest old. We determined whether elevated depressive symptoms predicted 5-year incident mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia, and neuropsychological test performance among oldest-old women. ⋯ Elevated depressive symptoms are an important risk factor for cognitive disorders and lower cognitive performance among women living to their ninth and tenth decades.
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Am J Geriatr Psychiatry · Nov 2012
Identification of and beliefs about depressive symptoms and preferred treatment approaches among community-living older African Americans.
To examine older African American's recognition of and beliefs about depressive symptoms, preferred symptom management strategies, and factors associated with willingness to use mental health treatments. Differences between the depressed and nondepressed and men and women were examined. ⋯ Overall, this older African American sample had positive attitudes and beliefs and endorsed traditional treatment modalities suggesting that beliefs alone are unlikely barriers to underutilization of mental health services. Because different factors were associated with willingness to seek physician help and use medications and factors differed for depressed/nondepressed and by sex, interventions should be tailored.
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Am J Geriatr Psychiatry · Nov 2012
Relationships between behavioral syndromes and cognitive domains in Alzheimer disease: the impact of mood and psychosis.
Behavioral disturbances occur in nearly all Alzheimer disease (AD) patients together with an array of cognitive impairments. Prior investigations have failed to demonstrate specific associations between them, suggesting an independent, rather than shared, pathophysiology. The objective of this study was to reexamine this issue using an extensive cognitive battery together with a sensitive neurobehavioral and functional rating scale to correlate behavioral syndromes and cognitive domains across the spectrum of impairment in dementia. ⋯ Mood symptoms appear to impact diverse cognitive realms and to compromise functional performance. Among neuropsychological indices, the unique relationship between working memory and psychosis suggests a possible common underlying neurobiology.