American journal of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias
-
Am J Alzheimers Dis Other Demen · Sep 2011
Rivastigmine in Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease dementia: an ADAS-cog factor analysis.
Rivastigmine treatment is associated with significant improvements on the cognitive subscale of the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale (ADAS-cog) in patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD). Both AD and PDD are purported to have different profiles of cognitive impairment, which may respond differentially to rivastigmine treatment. This was a retrospective analysis of 3 randomized, double-blind, rivastigmine trial databases (Investigation of transDermal Exelon in ALzheimer's disease [IDEAL; AD], EXelon in PaRkinson's disEaSe dementia Study [EXPRESS; PDD], and Alzheimer's Disease with ENA 713 [ADENA; AD]). ⋯ Treatment effect sizes were numerically greater in PDD compared with AD. Rivastigmine treatment is associated with improvement in memory and language in AD and PDD. The numerically greater response in PDD is consistent with greater cholinergic deficits in this disease state.
-
Am J Alzheimers Dis Other Demen · Sep 2011
Brain glutamate levels are decreased in Alzheimer's disease: a magnetic resonance spectroscopy study.
Glutamate (Glu) is the most abundant excitatory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system (CNS) and is involved in the pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in which there is an increased excitotoxicity. Biochemical composition of living tissues including the levels of Glu was analyzed by magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). Previous reports point to decreased levels of Glu in AD. ⋯ The differences were significant in the analysis of variance (ANOVA) test model corrected for age. In the post hoc analysis, the most remarkable differences were seen between patients with AD and the rest (patients with MCI and the controls). In AD, the levels of Glu and NAA are decreased in comparison with MCI and normality, which reflects loss of neurons.
-
Am J Alzheimers Dis Other Demen · Mar 2011
ReviewReview: delirium in the elderly: a comprehensive review.
Delirium is a common neuropsychiatric syndrome in the elderly characterized by concurrent impairments in cognition and behaviors. The etiologies for delirium are often multifactorial and are due to underlying medical illnesses and/or due to medication effect. ⋯ Available evidence indicates that early detection, reduction of risk factors, and better management of this condition can decrease its morbidity rates. In this review, we discuss the etiology, neurobiology, diagnosis, prevention, and treatments for this potentially lethal condition in the elderly.
-
Am J Alzheimers Dis Other Demen · Dec 2010
Hospice care for persons with dementia: The growth of access in US nursing homes.
Persons with dementia often die in nursing homes (NHs); however, concerns exist about their low use of Medicare hospice. ⋯ Over 40% of US NH decedents have mild-to-moderately severe or advanced dementia. For these NH decedents, access to and duration of Medicare hospice has increased. However, there is considerable variation in hospice use across US states.