Preserved Extra-Foveal Processing of Object Semantics in Alzheimer's Disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients underperform on a range of tasks requiring semantic processing, but it is unclear whether this impairment is due to a generalised loss of semantic knowledge or to issues in accessing and selecting such information from memory. The objective of this eye-tracking visual search study was to determine whether semantic expectancy mechanisms known to support object recognition in healthy adults are preserved in AD patients. Furthermore, as AD patients are often reported to be impaired in accessing information in extra-foveal vision, we investigated whether that was also the case in our study.

Time of isolation, education and gender influence the psychological outcome during COVID-19 lockdown in caregivers of patients with dementia.

Purpose: The study evaluated the effects of the COVID-19 emergency lockdown on the psychological outcome in caregivers (children or spouses) of patients with dementia and the loss of the welfare services in these patients.

Methods: Zung's depression and anxiety assessment scales and the Perceived Stress Scale were administered by a telephone interview or a self-compilation directly on the online platform.

Results: The sample consisted of 239 participants (men = 124; women = 115) with a mean age of 54.

Mini-Mental State Examination: new normative values on subjects in Southern Italy.

Objective: The aims of the present study were: (a) to obtain new normative data of the Italian version of the Mini-Mental Examination State (MMSE) (Measso et al. in Dev Neuropsychol 9:77-85, 1993) by administering the tool to a sample of normal Italian individuals more representative of the current Italian population; (b) to compare the sensitivity of this tool in detecting patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease (AD according to NIA-AA), as compared to the those reported in previous normative Italian studies.

Methods: MMSE was administered to 314 normal subjects recruited among individuals (and/or their relatives) attending the Offices of General Practitioners (GP) or Memory Clinics in Campania (Italy) by convenience sampling.

Comparison of two prepill cortisol concentrations in dogs with hypercortisolism treated with trilostane.

Background: The ideal method for monitoring trilostane therapy in dogs with hypercortisolism is still open to debate. Recently, determination of the pre-trilostane (prepill) cortisol concentration has been proposed to be more repeatable than either post-trilostane or post-ACTH cortisol. The aim of this study was to compare two prepill cortisol concentrations in dogs with hypercortisolism during trilostane therapy.

The Italian version of the quick mild cognitive impairment (Qmci-I) screen: normative study on 307 healthy subjects.

Objective: To devise an Italian version of the quick mild cognitive impairment screen (Qmci) and to obtain normative data.

Methods: An Italian version of the Qmci screen (Qmci-I) was administered to 307 subjects free from cognitive impairment. The normative sample was divided into three age levels (50-59; 60-69 and 70-80 years) and four education levels (3-5; 6-8; 9-13; >13 years of school attendance).