Age-dependent differences in attentional processes in ADHD and disruptive behavior disorder.

The aim of this study was to analyze age-dependent differences in attentional performance in subjects aged 8-16 years with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with or without disruptive behavior disorders (DBD). Age effects were investigated in three different groups (ADHD [N = 118], ADHD + DBD [N = 105], and controls [N = 105]) on a sustained attention and a Go-No-Go paradigm. Attentional competencies increased with age and children in the two clinical groups performed worse than control children on both tasks.

Factor structure and measurement invariance of the cognitive failures questionnaire across the adult life span.

The Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ) is designed to assess a person's proneness to committing cognitive slips and errors in the completion of everyday tasks. Although the CFQ is a widely used instrument, its factor structure remains an issue of scientific debate. The present study used data of a representative sample (N = 1,303, 24-83 years of age) from the Maastricht Aging Study (MAAS) to test and compare factor solutions for the CFQ previously reported in the literature by means of confirmatory factor analysis of ordered categorical variables.

Association between apolipoprotein E4 and cognitive decline in elderly adults.

Objective: To determine the influence of apolipoprotein E on cognitive decline in a cohort of elderly men and women.

Design: Prospective study.

Setting: Scotland, Ireland, and the Netherlands.

The influence of neuropsychological functioning on neuropsychiatric problems in dementia.

Although much is known about the relationship between neuropsychiatric problems and the severity of cognitive impairments, relatively little is known about the association with specific cognitive impairments. The aim of this study was to determine whether specific cognitive impairments are predictive of neuropsychiatric problems. One hundred twenty-six patients were evaluated every 6 months for 2 years.

The influence of risperidone on attentional functions in children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and co-morbid disruptive behavior disorder.

This study aims to examine the influence of risperidone on various attentional functions, including intensity and selectivity aspects of attention plus inhibitory control in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with co-morbid Disruptive Behavior Disorders (DBD) and normal IQ. Children with ADHD and DBD, aged 8-15 years, were treated with risperidone (mean daily dose: 1.5 mg; n = 23) and examined with three attentional paradigms before and after a 4-week treatment period.

Ten-year risk of dementia in subjects with mild cognitive impairment.

Objective: To investigate the 10-year risk of dementia in subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) ages 40 to 85 years.

Methods: We selected subjects from a memory clinic if they met one of the following definitions of MCI: cognitive complaints (n = 181), aging-associated cognitive decline (AACD) (n = 163), mild functional impairment (n = 86), or amnestic MCI (n = 64). Subjects were reassessed after 2, 5, and 10 years.

Functional MRI of task switching in children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI).

The objective of this study was to examine executive functioning in children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI) using functional MRI. Six children with SLI and seven control children participated in this study and received a task-switching paradigm. No specific deficit in executive control was observed at the behavioral level in children with SLI.

Homocysteine in relation to cognitive performance in pathological and non-pathological conditions.

Elevated serum homocysteine has been associated with increased risk of Alzheimer's disease. Furthermore, elevated homocysteine levels are related to cognitive dysfunction in the elderly. The aim of the present study was to explore the disease specificity of the relation between serum total homocysteine levels and cognitive function.

The influence of sertraline on attention and verbal memory in children and adolescents with anxiety disorders.

This study investigated the cognitive side effects of a 6-week course of sertraline treatment on verbal memory and attention in children and adolescents. Children with various anxiety disorders (social phobia, generalized and separation anxiety disorder; n = 28), between 8 and 17 years of age, received a standardized, computerized neuropsychological assessment before treatment and another 6 weeks after treatment onset with sertraline (daily dose range between 25 and 100 mg). The patient group was compared to healthy controls (n = 28), who were matched for age and IQ and were also tested twice over a 6-week period.

Cerebral small-vessel disease and decline in information processing speed, executive function and memory.

Cerebral small-vessel disease is common in older people and may contribute to the development of dementia. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the relationship between measures of cerebral small-vessel disease on MRI and the rate of decline in specific cognitive domains in participants from the prospective, population-based Rotterdam Scan Study. Participants were 60-90 years of age and free from dementia at baseline in 1995-1996.

The course of neuropsychiatric symptoms in dementia. Part II: relationships among behavioural sub-syndromes and the influence of clinical variables.

Background: Although several studies have mentioned associations between neuropsychiatric symptoms, there have been no prospective studies determining interrelations among behavioural sub-syndromes.

Objectives: To investigate the influence of several clinical variables on the course of neuropsychiatric symptoms, and to determine interrelationships between the behavioural sub-syndromes.

Methods: One hundred and ninety-nine patients with dementia were assessed every six months for two-years, using the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) to evaluate neuropsychiatric symptoms.

Do caregiver management strategies influence patient behaviour in dementia?

Objectives: Little is known about the effectiveness of caregiver management strategies on the functioning of the demented patient. However, identification of specific caregiver strategies may provide useful information on the management and manifestation of behavioural problems in dementia.

Methods: Ninety-nine patients with dementia and their informal caregivers were followed up for one year.

Cross-national comparison and validation of the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale: results from the European Harmonization Project for Instruments in Dementia (EURO-HARPID).

Background: The Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale (ADAS) is often used in international multicenter trials. Use across countries presupposes correct translation and adaptation of the scale, and maintenance of its psychometric properties.

Objectives: To compare the various translations of the ADAS used in Western Europe, to design internationally harmonized translations and to validate these.

Cross-national comparisons of the Cambridge Cognitive Examination-revised: the CAMCOG-R: results from the European Harmonization Project for Instruments in Dementia.

Background: Transnational and psychometrically appropriate versions of instruments used in the diagnosis of dementia are essential for comparing information between different countries. The Cambridge Examination for Mental Disorders of the Elderly incorporates a brief neuropsychological test battery, Cambridge Cognitive Examination (recently revised version), which provides objective data on performance across a number of cognitive domains.

Objective: To harmonise the Cambridge Cognitive Examination between seven European countries.

Behavioural disturbances in dementia patients and quality of the marital relationship.

Objectives: To investigate the relationship between behavioural problems in patients with dementia and changes in the marital relationship.

Methods: Fifty-three spouse caregivers of patients with dementia participated in the study. Questionnaires and interviews were used to examine caregiver perception of changes in the quality of their relationship.

Course of minimal dementia and predictors of outcome.

Background: Previous studies have indicated that not all subjects who meet the CAMDEX criteria of 'minimal dementia' progress to dementia. In the present study, predictors of outcome in minimally demented subjects were tested.

Methods: Forty-five subjects with minimal dementia who were participating in a population-based study were followed-up for on average 2.

Periventricular cerebral white matter lesions predict rate of cognitive decline.

The prospect of declining cognitive functions is a major fear for many elderly persons. Cerebral white matter lesions, as commonly found with magnetic resonance imaging, have been associated with cognitive dysfunction in cross-sectional studies. Only a few longitudinal studies using small cohorts confirmed these findings.

Postoperative cognitive dysfunction versus complaints: a discrepancy in long-term findings.

This review describes the discrepancy in findings between postoperative cognitive performance and postoperative cognitive complaints long time after an operation under general anesthesia. Shortly (from 6 hr to 1 week) after an operation a decline in cognitive performance is reported in most studies. However, long time (from 3 weeks to 1-2 years) after an operation this is rarely found although some patients are still reporting cognitive complaints.

Diagnostic accuracy of the Preclinical AD Scale (PAS) in cognitively mildly impaired subjects.

The Preclinical AD Scale (PAS) is a newly developed scale for the diagnosis of preclinical Alzheimer's disease (AD). The PAS combines six markers of preclinical AD, namely age, MMSE score, functional impairment, cognitive test performance, medial temporal lobe atrophy, and the apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype. The aim of the study was to investigate whether the PAS can accurately identify subjects with preclinical AD who become demented during a 2 or 5 year follow-up from among subjects with mild cognitive impairment for other reasons.