Motor cortex excitability in Alzheimer's disease: a transcranial magnetic stimulation follow-up study.

Transient cognitive and behavioral stabilization of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the main goal of acetylcholinesterase inhibitor (AChEI) therapy. Response to treatment is variable and it is usually assessed clinically via neuropsychological scales. Functional neuroimaging could ideally permit the objective evaluation of the topographic correlates of therapy on brain functioning, but is expensive and little available on a large scale.

Hyperhomocysteinemia, intima-media thickness and C677T MTHFR gene polymorphism: a correlation study in patients with cognitive impairment.

Objective: Intima-media thickness (IMT) seems associated with risk of Alzheimer disease (AD). Homocysteine (hcy) is a risk factor for vascular diseases and dementia. This study aimed at investigating the possible relationship among IMT, plasma hcy and C677T methylentetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) polymorphism in relation to cognitive status.

Environmental noise-exposed workers: event-related potentials, neuropsychological and mood assessment.

Prolonged environmental noise exposure can induce pathogenic effects on various physical and psychosocial responses. The first aim of this study was to investigate whether long-term occupational noise exposure could affect neurophysiological, neuropsychological and emotional statuses, with particular respect to attention and working memory. The second aim was to evaluate the effects on the tactile P300 of a specific stressor (background traffic noise) vs a non-specific stress inductor (Stroop test).

[Exposure to traffic noise and effects on attention].

This study was aimed to evaluate if workers exposed to environmental stressors, including the urban traffic noise, might show significant differences compared to a control group in neuro-psychological and emotional profile as well as neurophysiological functions. In particular if these differences could be evidenced by the application of the "oddball paradigm" for event related potential P300 component. The study consisted of the following examinations: (1) exposed workers vs.

Conversion from mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer's disease is predicted by sources and coherence of brain electroencephalography rhythms.

Objective. Can quantitative electroencephalography (EEG) predict the conversion from mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to Alzheimer's disease (AD)? Methods. Sixty-nine subjects fulfilling criteria for MCI were enrolled; cortical connectivity (spectral coherence) and (low resolution brain electromagnetic tomography) sources of EEG rhythms (delta=2-4 Hz; theta=4-8 Hz; alpha 1=8-10.

Use of an Italian version of the telephone interview for cognitive status in Alzheimer's disease.

Objectives: Validation of an Italian version of the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (I-TICS).

Methods: Telephone administration of the I-TICS within 6 weeks of face-to-face testing with the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), in Probable Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients and healthy controls. Two hundred and seven consecutive outpatients with cognitive impairment were recruited from Dementia Clinic of University Campus BioMedico.

Alpha rhythms in mild dements during visual delayed choice reaction time tasks: a MEG study.

Can simple delayed response tasks affect latency and amplitude of magnetoencephalographic midline alpha rhythms (6-12 Hz) in early dementia? We recruited 15 mild Alzheimer's disease (AD) and 10 vascular dementia (VaD) patients (paired mini mental state exam of 17-24). The control groups comprised 18 young and 22 elderly normal subjects. In the first task, a simple "cue" stimulus (one bit) was memorized along a brief delay period (3.

Elevation of serum copper levels in Alzheimer's disease.

Objective: To determine whether serum trace metals and oxidative species are related to abnormal cognition in AD.

Methods: The authors studied serum peroxides, copper, iron, transferrin, and antioxidant capacity in 79 patients with AD (mean age 74.3 years; 25 men, 54 women) and in 76 cognitively normal individuals (mean age 70.

Cognitive impairment in elderly ED patients: need for multidimensional assessment for better management after discharge.

We describe the prevalence of cognitive impairment in a population aged 65 and older requiring urgent medical services and to propose global evaluation, involving cognitive, functional and social aspects, during the emergency department (ED) visit to define an individualized care protocol. A total of 150 patients aged 65 and older attended at the ED were screened for cognitive impairment using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Patients with an MMSE score lower or equal to 23 were included in the second step of the study, namely evaluation involving neuropsychological instruments to assess cognitive and functional status and a questionnaire exploring socioeconomic conditions and type of support need.