Normative data beyond the total scores: a process score analysis of the Rey's 15 word test in healthy aging and Alzheimer's Disease.

Background: The Rey's 15 words test is currently the most frequently used task in Italy to detect memory deficits in AD. The current standardised version is however quite outdated and lacks some cognitive indexes which may highlight problems in recall or encoding processes. The aim of the study was to update the normative data of the test and to consider some variables which were not accounted for in the original study, that is, recognition, learning rate and forgetfulness.

The evaluation of capacity in dementia: ethical constraints and best practice. A systematic review.

The progressive ageing of a population leads to an increase in the number of people suffering from cognitive deterioration. This requires particular attention in terms of the necessity to assess these people's cognitive functions and their capacity to make decisions. The present systematic review analyses the clinical and ethical aspects of any assessment of capacity, with a specific focus on the capacity of the individual to give informed consent for medical treatment and also with regard to their testamentary capacity.

Correction to: Comprehension of written texts for the assessment of clinical competence and decision making in people with mild to moderate Alzheimer disease.

The above article was published online with missing author. The additional author is Michele Scandola.

Comprehension of written texts for the assessment of clinical competence and decision making in people with mild to moderate Alzheimer disease.

Background: Clinical competence is the term used to describe an individual's capacity to express a choice regarding their participation in clinical procedures or experimental studies. Understanding the information provided is a prerequisite but consent forms are often lengthy and complicated. Alzheimer's disease patients may be vulnerable in written comprehension, due to cognitive deficits, but unfortunately to date, a specific evaluation of this ability is not included in periodical assessments.

Leukocyte telomere length in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease patients.

Numerous studies have reported an association between shortened leukocyte telomere length (LTL) and increased risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD). In this study we investigated the relationship between LTL and AD development, including in the analysis patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), a clinical entity considered prodromal of AD. LTL (T/S ratio) was measured in patients with AD (n=61) or aMCI (n=46), and compared with LTL of age-matched controls (n=56).

Apolipoprotein E genotypes and plasma levels in mild cognitive impairment conversion to Alzheimer's disease: A follow-up study.

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is the transition stage between the normal aging process and dementia itself. The most common clinical phenotype is amnestic MCI (aMCI) [subtypes: single domain (sMCI) and multiple domains (mMCI)], which is considered prodromal to Alzheimer's disease (AD). The APOE (apolipoprotein E) e4 allele is the most important genetic risk factor for AD, but its association with MCI onset and conversion to AD is controversial.

Influence of family history of dementia in the development and progression of late-onset Alzheimer's disease.

Family history of dementia (FH) is a recognized risk factor for developing late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD). We asked whether having FH increases AD risk and influences disease severity (age at onset and cognitive impairment) in 420 AD patients and 109 controls with (FH+) or without (FH-). The relationships of APOE and other AD risk genes with FH were analyzed as well.

Behavioral and neural correlates of visual emotion discrimination and empathy in mild cognitive impairment.

Emotional and social cognitive deficits were investigated in a group of 24 individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and 24 healthy controls. Empathic and visual emotional responses were collected, analyzed and correlated to brain structural imaging data by means of: (i) a pictorial matching-to-sample task with facial and non-facial stimuli; (ii) self-reported questionnaires for cognitive and affective emotional components, and alexithymia; (iii) in-depth assessment of cognitive functions. Results indicated that visual processing of faces in MCI individuals did not benefit from fearful emotional content which in healthy controls facilitates stimulus' recognition (emotional enhancement effect).

A multimodal neuroimaging study of a case of crossed nonfluent/agrammatic primary progressive aphasia.

Crossed aphasia has been reported mainly as post-stroke aphasia resulting from brain damage ipsilateral to the dominant right hand. Here, we described a case of a crossed nonfluent/agrammatic primary progressive aphasia (nfvPPA), who developed a corticobasal syndrome (CBS). We collected clinical, cognitive, and neuroimaging data for four consecutive years from a 55-year-old right-handed lady (JV) presenting with speech disturbances.

Effectiveness of switching to the rivastigmine transdermal patch from oral cholinesterase inhibitors: a naturalistic prospective study in Alzheimer's disease.

Oral donepezil and rivastigmine are two commonly used cholinesterase inhibitors (ChEIs) used in Alzheimer's disease (AD). The rivastigmine transdermal patch formulation has high tolerability profile, allowing patients to achieve optimal therapeutic doses and providing potential advantages over oral ChEIs. This is a 6-month, multicentre, observational efficacy and tolerability study of switching from oral ChEIs to rivastigmine patch in AD patients who failed to show benefit from previous treatment.

Association study of two steroid biosynthesis genes (COMT and CYP17) with Alzheimer's disease in the Italian population.

The greater predisposition of women to Alzheimer's disease (AD), owing to the decrease in postmenopausal estrogen, may be influenced by polymorphic variation in genes regulating estrogen metabolism (e.g., COMT) and estrogen biosynthesis (e.

Transient epileptic amnesia mistaken for mild cognitive impairment? A high-density EEG study.

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) converts to Alzheimer's disease within a few years of diagnosis in up to 80% of patients. The identification among such a population of a rare form of epilepsy (transient epileptic amnesia [TEA]), characterized by mixed anterograde and retrograde amnesia with apparent preservation of other cognitive functions, excessively rapid decay of newly acquired memories, and loss of memories for salient personal events of the remote past, strongly affects prognosis and medical treatment. Our aim was to define the clinical utility of routine high-density electroencephalography (EEG) in patients with MCI for the detection of epilepsy, especially TEA.

Mild cognitive impairment in patients with moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis.

Background: Psoriasis is frequently associated with cardiometabolic comorbidities and depression that are risk factors for cognitive impairment.

Objective: To investigate cognitive performance in psoriatic patients.

Method: Cognitive performances were assessed by neuropsychological tests in 41 patients with psoriasis and 37 controls.

Sex and ESR1 genotype may influence the response to treatment with donepezil and rivastigmine in patients with Alzheimer's disease.

Background: Many factors could be responsible for the different response to treatment with the cholinesterase inhibitors (ChEIs) donepezil and rivastigmine in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. Sex and the variants of the estrogen receptor α (ESR1) gene are reported to modulate AD susceptibility or the course of the disease. The aim of the present study was to verify whether patient's sex and ESR1 genotype could influence the response to ChEI treatment, as there is evidence that estrogens affect cholinergic system functioning.

Off-label thrombolysis versus full adherence to the current European Alteplase license: impact on early clinical outcomes after acute ischemic stroke.

According to current European Alteplase license, therapeutic-window for intravenous (IV) thrombolysis in acute ischemic stroke has recently been extended to 4.5 h after symptoms onset. However, due to numerous contraindications, the portion of patients eligible for treatment still remains limited.

How contemporary human reproductive behaviors influence the role of fertility-related genes: the example of the p53 gene.

Studies on human fertility genes have identified numerous risk/protective alleles involved in the occurrence of reproductive system diseases causing infertility or subfertility. Investigations we carried out in populations at natural fertility seem to suggest that the clinical relevance that some fertility genes are now acquiring depends on their interaction with contemporary reproductive behaviors (birth control, delayed childbearing, and spacing birth order, among others). In recent years, a new physiological role in human fertility regulation has emerged for the tumor- suppressor p53 gene (P53), and the P53 Arg72Pro polymorphism has been associated with recurrent implantation failure in humans.

Influence of variation in the follicle-stimulating hormone receptor gene (FSHR) and age at menopause on the development of Alzheimer's disease in women.

Background: The higher prevalence of sporadic Alzheimer's disease (AD) in women may be explained by their longer life expectancy, but also by biological gender-specific factors such as a woman's past fertility.

Methods: We investigated the relationship between fertility and susceptibility to AD in women by studying two polymorphisms at codons 307 and 680 of the follicle-stimulating hormone receptor gene (FSHR) involved in determining human fertility. The role of age at menopause (AM) as a gender-specific AD susceptibility determinant was also examined.

Association study between P53 and P73 gene polymorphisms and the sporadic late-onset form of Alzheimer's disease.

An important pathological aspect of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the apoptosis of neuronal and glial cells. Two members of the same protein family that regulates many genes involved in apoptosis are P53 and the heterologue P73. One single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the gene encoding P53 (Arg72Pro, RS1042522), one dinucleotide polymorphism (G4C14-to-A4T14, RS 2273953, RS1801173) in the gene encoding P73, and two further SNPs in the same gene (-386 G/A, RS3765728; exon 5 T/C, RS1801174) were studied to determine whether DNA variations could influence the occurrence of the disease in a sample of Italian subjects with the sporadic late-onset form of AD.

Genetic variation of CYP19 (aromatase) gene influences age at onset of Alzheimer's disease in women.

Background/aims: There is evidence for a higher prevalence of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in women, but whether this is due to their longer life expectancy or to biological gender-specific risk factors is unclear. One likely contributing factor is the reduced estrogen neuroprotective action following menopause. In this context, an AD risk gene could be CYP19, encoding aromatase, an enzyme involved in estrogen biosynthesis.

Variability of AChE, BChE, and ChAT genes in the late-onset form of Alzheimer's disease and relationships with response to treatment with Donepezil and Rivastigmine.

Several factors are believed to give rise to the late onset sporadic form of Alzheimer's disease (LOAD). We have studied the variation at the genes of three enzymes of the cholinergic system: acetylcholinesterase, butyrylcholinesterase, and choline acetyltransferase. The single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) examined were: AChE rs2571598, BChE rs1355534, BChE rs1803274, and ChAT rs2177369.

C-338A polymorphism of the endothelin-converting enzyme (ECE-1) gene and the susceptibility to sporadic late-onset Alzheimer's disease and coronary artery disease.

The human endothelin-converting enzyme (ECE) is involved in beta-amyloid synthesis and regulation of the endothelin-1 (ET-1) vasoconstricting peptide. We investigated the distribution of the C-338A polymorphism of the ECE-1b gene in sporadic late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD) and in coronary artery disease (CAD) to verify its role in the onset of these two complex diseases. Two cohorts of 458 Italian Caucasian LOAD patients and 165 CAD patients were examined for the C-338A polymorphism and compared with respective control samples (260 and 106 subjects, respectively) .

Combined effect of apolipoprotein e genotype and past fertility on age at onset of Alzheimer's disease in women.

Background: Various risk factors influence the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Apolipoprotein E (APOE) e*4 allele has a major role in AD susceptibility and its presence reduces age at AD onset. APOE is also thought to influence human reproduction, and common APOE genotypes seem to be associated with differential fertility.