Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD
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Observational Study
Pain Assessment in Elderly with Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia.
Pain is under-detected and undertreated in people with dementia. The present study investigates the prevalence of pain in people with dementia hospitalized in nursing homes that are members of National Association of Third Age Residences (ANASTE) Calabria, and evaluates the association among pain, mood, and behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD). ⋯ This study confirms that self-report alone is not sufficient to assess pain in elderly people with dementia; the observational tool is a necessary and suitable way of assessing pain in patients with cognitive impairment. If not adequately treated, chronic pain can cause depression, agitation, and aggression in patients with dementia.
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While longitudinal studies have investigated the relationships between mild cognitive impairment (MCI) subtypes and dementia subtypes, the results have been contradictory. In addition, some research shows that depression accompanied by MCI might increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD). ⋯ MCI subtyping could be useful in finding a prodrome for dementia and in particular for AD. The differing impacts of depressive symptoms on the development of AD suggest that the relationship between depressive symptoms and cognitive impairment could differ in aMCI and naMCI patients.
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We investigated the influence of body mass index (BMI) status at baseline and changes in BMI over a follow-up period on the development of dementia in amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) patients. ⋯ Our findings suggested that underweight at baseline was associated with a higher risk of progression to pADD, while obesity at baseline predicted a lower risk. Furthermore, significant changes in BMI during the follow-up period reflected an increased risk of progression to pADD, regardless of BMI status at baseline.
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Comparative Study
Screening for Mild Cognitive Impairment: Comparison of "MCI Specific" Screening Instruments.
Sensitive and specific instruments are required to screen for cognitive impairment (CI) in busy clinical practice. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is widely validated but few studies compare it to tests designed specifically to detect mild cognitive impairment (MCI). ⋯ Although both tests distinguish MCI from dementia, the Qmci is particularly accurate in separating MCI from normal cognition and has shorter administration times, suggesting it is more useful in busy hospital clinics. This study reaffirms the high sensitivity of the MoCA but suggests a lower cut-off (<24) in this setting.
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This study examined whether history of traumatic brain injury (TBI) is associated with increased risk and earlier onset of mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Subjects with MCI (n = 3,187) and normal cognition (n = 3,244) were obtained from the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center database. TBI was categorized based on lifetime reported TBI with loss of consciousness (LOC) without chronic deficit. ⋯ This association, however, was largely attenuated (OR = 1.14; 95% CI = 0.94-1.37; p = 0.18) after adjustment for reported history of depression. MCI was diagnosed a mean of 2.3 years earlier (p < 0.001) in the TBI+ group, and although TBI+ subjects had an estimated mean of decline 1.7 years earlier, clinician-estimated age of onset failed to differ (p = 0.13) when gender and psychiatric factors were controlled. This is the first report of a possible role for TBI as a risk factor in MCI, but its association may be related to other factors such as gender and depression and requires further investigation.