Neuropsychiatric Symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease in Down Syndrome and Its Impact on Caregiver Distress.

Background: Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) are non-cognitive manifestations common to dementia and other medical conditions, with important consequences for the patient, caregivers, and society. Studies investigating NPS in individuals with Down syndrome (DS) and dementia are scarce.

Objective: Characterize NPS and caregiver distress among adults with DS using the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI).

Frontal-subcortical behaviors during Alzheimer's disease in individuals with Down syndrome.

There is evidence that frontal-subcortical circuits play an important role in the initial presentation of dementia in Down syndrome (DS), including changes in behavior, a decline in working memory and executive dysfunction. We evaluated 92 individuals with DS (≥30 years of age), divided into 3 groups by diagnosis-stable cognition, prodromal dementia, and Alzheimer's disease. Each individual was evaluated with an executive protocol developed for people with intellectual disabilities and was rated for behaviors related to frontal lobe dysfunction (disinhibition, executive dysfunction, and apathy) by an informant using the Frontal Systems Behavior Scale.

Cognitive screening test in primary care: cut points for low education.

Objective: To establish the diagnostic accuracy of the Brazilian version of the General Practitioner Assessment of Cognition (GPCOG-Br) compared to the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) in individuals with low educational level.

Methods: Ninety-three patients (≥ 60 years old) from Brazilian primary care units provided sociodemographic, cognitive, and functional data. Receiver operating characteristics, areas under the curve (AUC) and logistic regressions were conducted.

Psychotic symptoms in older people without dementia from a Brazilian community-based sample: A seven years' follow-up.

Background: Studies of the incidence of psychotic symptoms in elderly people at risk of dementia are scarce. This is a seven year follow up study aiming to determine the incidence of psychotic symptoms and their correlation with other clinical aspects, in particular the rate of development of cognitive impairment.

Methods: Cohort study of a community-based sample of elderly subjects.

Depression in Women with Recurrent Miscarriages - an Exploratory Study.

 To assess depression, domestic violence and the use of substances in women with recurrent miscarriages.  The Abuse Assessment Screen (AAS), the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and the Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) were used to assess violence, depression and the use of substances among women with recurrent miscarriages. The population corresponded to patients receiving prenatal care from June to August 2014.

Metamemory and aging: Psychometric properties of the Brazilian version of the Multifactorial Memory Questionnaire for elderly.

Unlabelled: Metamemory measures provide subjective memory information and are relevant to investigate memory ability in aging. However, there is a lack of metamemory instruments available in Brazil.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Brazilian version of the Multifactorial Memory Questionnaire (MMQ), which evaluates different dimensions of subjective memory functioning, such as Feelings, Abilities and Strategies used in everyday life.

Brazilian research on cognitive impairment and dementia from 1999 to 2013.

Unlabelled: The phenomenon of demographic transition in recent decades has increased the number of elderly people in Brazil, promoting an escalation in chronic-degenerative conditions, particularly dementia and cognitive related disorders.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the evolution of the Brazilian scientific publications on dementia and related conditions from 1999 to 2013.

Methods: Articles published during the analysis period were searched on three electronic databases: Scopus, Medline (via PubMed) and Lilacs (via BVS).

Cognitive screening for dementia in primary care: a systematic review.

Background: Identifying dementia in primary care could minimize the impact of a late intervention; however, it shows high rates of misdiagnosis. One of the reasons seems to be the lack of knowledge of adequate cognitive screening instruments. This is a systematic review of the available instruments for the primary care context.

Direct and indirect assessments of activities of daily living in behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia and Alzheimer disease.

Background: There is limited information about the functional profile of behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD).

Objective: To compare direct and indirect assessments of activities of daily living (ADLs) in bvFTD and Alzheimer disease (AD) and their relationship with cognitive performance.

Methods: In all, 20 patients with bvFTD, 30 patients with AD, and 34 normal controls (NCs), matched for age, education, and severity of dementia, completed the Direct Assessment of Functional Performance (DAFS-BR) and usual cognitive measures.

Effects of galantamine and galantamine combined with nimodipine on cognitive speed and quality of life in mixed dementia: a 24-week, randomized, placebo-controlled exploratory trial (the REMIX study).

Unlabelled: The effects of galantamine (GAL) on quality of life (QoL) and cognitive speed, as well its effects combined with nimodipine (NIM) in Alzheimer disease (AD) with cerebrovascular disease (mixed dementia), have not been explored.

Method: Double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter Brazilian trial, studying the effects of GAL/NIM vs. GAL/placebo (PLA) in mild to moderate mixed dementia.

Translation, cross-cultural adaptation and applicability of the Brazilian version of the Frontotemporal Dementia Rating Scale (FTD-FRS).

Background: Staging scales for dementia have been devised for grading Alzheimer's disease (AD) but do not include the specific symptoms of frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD).

Objective: To translate and adapt the Frontotemporal Dementia Rating Scale (FTD-FRS) to Brazilian Portuguese.

Methods: The cross-cultural adaptation process consisted of the following steps: translation, back-translation (prepared by independent translators), discussion with specialists, and development of a final version after minor adjustments.

Depressive symptoms and cognitive deficits in a cancer patient submitted to chemotherapy with 5-Fluoracil: a case report.

Cognitive deficits in cancer patients can be related to depression, anxiety, and the side effects of treatments such as fatigue. In this case report, we described an elderly patient with rectal adenocarcinoma, which presented depressive symptoms and memory complaints after treatment with 5-Fluoracil and Leucovorin. Depressive symptoms improved after two months but cognitive and functional impairment worsened suggesting the diagnosis of mild dementia.

Correlation between neuropsychiatric symptoms and caregiver burden in a population-based sample from São Paulo, Brazil: a preliminary report.

Unlabelled: Neuropsychiatric symptoms and caregiver burden are highly prevalent in older adults with Alzheimer's disease (AD).OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the correlation between neuropsychiatric symptoms and caregiver burden in a community-based sample from São Paulo, Brazil.

Methods: A total of 1,563 randomly-selected subjects were assessed by the Mini-Mental State Examination, Fuld Object Memory Evaluation, Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly and Bayer - Activities of Daily Living Scale.

Neurobiology of neuropsychiatric symptoms in Alzheimer's disease: A critical review with a focus on neuroimaging.

The objective of this critical review of the literature was to reveal the neural circuits involved in the occurrence of neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients through the association of these symptoms with neuroimaging findings. The search for articles was performed on PUBMED from January 2000 to May 2013, using the key words: Dementia AND BPSD; Dementia AND Neuropsychiatric Symptoms; and Dementia AND Psychosis, Delusions, Hallucinations, Agitation, Depression, Anxiety, Apathy, Euphoria, Disinhibition, Irritability, Aberrant Motor Behavior, Sleep or Eating Disorders. Forty-six articles were reviewed and important contributions, especially regarding the psychopathological concepts discussed, were also considered even if not included in this time period.

Functional profile of patients with behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) compared to patients with Alzheimer's disease and normal controls.

Unlabelled: There are few studies describing the functional changes in behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) and it is not clear which aspects of functionality are affected by the disease.

Objective: The aim of the present investigation was to characterize the functional profile of patients previously diagnosed with bvFTD.

Methods: The sample consisted of 31 patients diagnosed with bvFTD, who were compared to patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) (n=31) and to healthy control subjects (NC) (n=34), matched for schooling and age.

Peripheral oxidative stress biomarkers in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease.

Oxidative stress has been associated with normal aging and Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, little is known about oxidative stress in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) patients who present a high risk for developing AD. The aim of this study was to investigate plasma production of the lipid peroxidation marker, malonaldehyde (MDA) and to determine, in erythrocytes, the enzymatic antioxidant activity of catalase, glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione reductase (GR), and glutathione S-transferase (GST) in 33 individuals with MCI, 29 with mild probable AD and 26 healthy aged subjects.

Dementia post-radiotherapy: improvement with acetylcholinesterase inhibitor. A case report.

Cognitive decline associated with radiotherapy is a progressive complication that affects many patients submitted to this form of treatment. The lack of an effective treatment drives research for new treatment options to improve the quality of life of patients with this disorder. We report the case of a 64 year-old man who developed a severe dementia of the frontal subcortical type, which was associated with subcortical frontal lesions and appeared as a late complication of radiotherapy used to treat a pituitary tumor.

Assessment of memory complainers in São Paulo, Brazil: Three-year results of a memory clinic.

Unlabelled: Memory clinics were established in the USA and European countries as services to attend patients who complain of cognitive deficits, referred by primary care doctors, specialists and other hospitals.

Objective: We aimed to describe the clinical and cognitive profile of consecutively evaluated subjects during the initial three years of service of a memory clinic from a university hospital.

Methods: Subjects were submitted to a clinical work-up for dementia, which included laboratory exams, cranial computerized tomography, cognitive tests, and a comprehensive neuropsychological battery.

Profile of caregivers of Alzheimer's disease patients attended at a reference center for cognitive disorders.

Unlabelled: This is a study on burden of caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's disease attended at a Reference Center for Cognitive Disorders.

Objective: To evaluate the profile and burden on caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's disease attended at a Reference Center for Cognitive Disorders.

Methods: We collected demographic information and data on the relationship with the patient from caregivers, and measured burden with the Zarit scale.

Systematic review of dementia prevalence 1994 to 2000.

Unlabelled: Ageing has occurred in all regions of the world, with impact on neuropsychiatric disorders, particularly dementia. However, previous meta-analysis and reviews have shown high variability in world dementia prevalence rates.

Objective: The aim of this study was to perform a wide-ranging review of the dementia prevalence studies published in recent years.

[Cognitive changes update among elderly with depressive syndrome].

Objective: Depression and cognitive deficits are amongst the main mental health problems in the elderly. Frequently both conditions happen together and cause serious consequences like reduction in the quality of life, functional deficits, increase in the use of health services, and increase in morbidity and mortality. Recognizing the main cognitive alterations caused by depression syndrome is very important to confirm the diagnosis, plan the treatment, and establish parameters about the prognostic of these patients.

Neuropsychiatric symptoms in Alzheimer disease and cognitively impaired, nondemented elderly from a community-based sample in Brazil: prevalence and relationship with dementia severity.

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to describe the prevalence of neuropsychiatric symptoms of dementia in Alzheimer disease (AD) and cognitively impaired nondemented (CIND) subjects from a community-based Brazilian sample and to correlate these symptoms with severity of cognitive deficits.

Method: A total of 1,563 randomly selected subjects were evaluated with the following screening tests: Mini-Mental Status Examination, Fuld Object Memory Evaluation, Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly, and Activities of Daily Living-International Scale. Screen positives were submitted to a workup for dementia, physical and neurologic examination, cranial computed tomography or cerebral magnetic resonance imaging, the Cambridge Examination for Mental Disorders, Clinical Dementia Rating Scale (CDR), and the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI).

[Diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease in Brazil: cognitive and functional evaluation. Recommendations of the Scientific Department of Cognitive Neurology and Aging of the Brazilian Academy of Neurology].

The educational and cultural heterogeneity of the Brazilian population leads to peculiar characteristics regarding the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). This consensus had the objective of recommending evidence-based guidelines for the clinical diagnosis of AD in Brazil. Studies on the diagnosis of AD published in Brazil were systematically evaluated in a thorough research of PUBMED and LILACS databases.

[Diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease in Brazil: diagnostic criteria and auxiliary tests. Recommendations of the Scientific Department of Cognitive Neurology and Aging of the Brazilian Academy of Neurology].

This panel had the objective of recommending evidence-based guidelines for the clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in Brazil. Guidelines from other countries and papers on the diagnosis of AD in Brazil were systematically evaluated in a thorough research of PUBMED and LILACS databases. The panel concluded that dementia diagnosis should be based on the DSM criteria and AD diagnosis, on the McKhann et al.