Brain clocks, which quantify discrepancies between brain age and chronological age, hold promise for understanding brain health and disease. However, the impact of diversity (including geographical, socioeconomic, sociodemographic, sex and neurodegeneration) on the brain-age gap is unknown. We analyzed datasets from 5,306 participants across 15 countries (7 Latin American and Caribbean countries (LAC) and 8 non-LAC countries).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Age is the most important risk factor for develop dementia, and the recommendation is that older adults are cognitively tested to detect impairment in the initial stage for adequate treatment. The demand for the care of these older adults is great, drawing attention to the need for rapid tests, with good accuracy and simple application to identify cognitive impairment.
Objective: To develop and validate the Brazilian Mini-Addenbrooke Cognitive Examination (M-ACE BR) as a short screening test for cognitive impairment in older adults.
Brain clocks, which quantify discrepancies between brain age and chronological age, hold promise for understanding brain health and disease. However, the impact of multimodal diversity (geographical, socioeconomic, sociodemographic, sex, neurodegeneration) on the brain age gap (BAG) is unknown. Here, we analyzed datasets from 5,306 participants across 15 countries (7 Latin American countries -LAC, 8 non-LAC).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTwo of every three persons living with dementia reside in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The projected increase in global dementia rates is expected to affect LMICs disproportionately. However, the majority of global dementia care costs occur in high-income countries (HICs), with dementia research predominantly focusing on HICs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLancet Reg Health Am
January 2023
Background: Global brain health initiatives call for improving methods for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) in underrepresented populations. However, diagnostic procedures in upper-middle-income countries (UMICs) and lower-middle income countries (LMICs), such as Latin American countries (LAC), face multiple challenges. These include the heterogeneity in diagnostic methods, lack of clinical harmonisation, and limited access to biomarkers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Gait and balance disturbance are challenging symptoms in advanced Parkinson's disease (PD). Anatomic and clinical data suggest that the fields of Forel may be a potential surgical target to treat these symptoms.
Objective: To test whether bilateral stimulation centered at the fields of Forel improves levodopa unresponsive freezing of gait (FOG), balance problems, postural instability, and falls in PD.
Background: Timely diagnosis of dementia is a global healthcare priority, particularly in low to middle income countries where rapid increases in older adult populations are expected.
Objective: To investigate global perspectives on the role of brief cognitive assessments (BCAs) in dementia diagnosis, strengths and limitations of existing measures, and future directions and needs.
Methods: This is a qualitative study of 18 dementia experts from different areas of the world.
Background: In the COVID-19 pandemic, older adults from vulnerable ethnoracial groups are at high risk of infection, hospitalization, and death. We aimed to explore the pandemic's impact on the well-being and cognition of older adults living in the United States (US), Argentina, Chile, Mexico, and Peru.
Methods: 1,608 (646 White, 852 Latino, 77 Black, 33 Asian; 72% female) individuals from the US and four Latin American countries aged ≥ 55 years completed an online survey regarding well-being and cognition during the pandemic between May and September 2020.
Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging
October 2020
In the last paragraph of the subsession "Recruitment of the study population and clinical Evaluation" (Material and methods session).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging
October 2020
Purpose: [F]FDG-PET and [C]PIB-PET are validated as neurodegeneration and amyloid biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease (AD). We used a PET staging system based on the 2018 NIA-AA research framework to compare the proportion of amyloid positivity (A+) and hypometabolism ((N)+) in cases of mild probable AD, amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), and healthy controls, incorporating an additional classification of abnormal [F]FDG-PET patterns and investigating the co-occurrence of such with A+, exploring [F]FDG-PET to generate hypotheses in cases presenting with clinical-biomarker "mismatches."
Methods: Elderly individuals (N = 108) clinically classified as controls (N = 27), aMCI (N = 43) or mild probable AD (N = 38) were included.
Inference comprehension is a complex ability that recruits distinct cognitive domains, such as language, memory, attention, and executive functions. Therefore, it might be sensitive to identify early deficits in subjects with MCI. To compare the performance of subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in an inference reading comprehension task, and to analyze the correlations between inferential comprehension and other cognitive functions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Stereotactic lesion in the Forel's field H (campotomy) was proposed in 1963 to treat Parkinson disease (PD) symptoms. Despite its rationale, very few data on this approach have emerged. Additionally, no study has assessed its effects on nonmotor symptoms, neuropsychological functions and quality of life.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlzheimers Dement (Amst)
September 2017
Introduction: The depiction of features in discourse production promotes accurate diagnosis and helps to establish the therapeutic intervention in cognitive impairment and dementia. We aimed to identify alterations in the macrolinguistic aspects of discourse using a new computational tool.
Methods: Sixty individuals, aged 60 years and older, were distributed in three different groups: mild Alzheimer's disease (mAD), amnestic mild cognitive impairment, and healthy controls.
It has been hypothesized that dietary creatine could influence cognitive performance by increasing brain creatine in developing individuals. This double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, proof-of-principle study aimed to investigate the effects of creatine supplementation on cognitive function and brain creatine content in healthy youth. The sample comprised 67 healthy participants aged 10 to 12 years.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Parkinson disease (PD) psychosis is a condition associated with several negative outcomes. Despite its impact, there is a lack of validated diagnostic tools for this condition. In this study, we aim to verify the validity of the proposed NINDS criteria for PD psychosis and explore its possible applications in clinical practice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci
December 2016
The effect of psychotic symptoms in Parkinson's disease (PD) is variable among patients, and different methods to assess psychosis may yield conflicting results. A sample of 102 patients with a diagnosis of idiopathic PD underwent neurological, psychiatric, and neuropsychological assessment. Participants were divided into three groups: those who met DSM criteria for psychotic disorder, those who had psychotic symptoms but did not meet DSM criteria, and those without any psychotic symptoms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Aerobic training (AT) is a promising intervention for mild cognitive impairment (MCI).
Objective: To evaluate the effects of AT on cognition and regional brain glucose metabolism (rBGM) in MCI patients.
Methods: Subjects performed a twice-a-week, moderate intensity, AT program for 24 weeks.
Crystallized intelligence refers to one's knowledge base and can be measured by vocabulary tests. Fluid intelligence is related to nonverbal aspects of intelligence, depends very little on previously acquired knowledge, and can be measured by tests such as Block Design (BD) and Raven Colored Matrices (RCM). Premorbid intelligence quotient (IQ) refers to one's intellectual ability level previous to the onset of disorders like mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) and it is important to estimate disease severity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCurrently, computerized batteries are of great value in detecting cognitive impairment. This aim of this review was to compare the computerized neurocognitive batteries used in most studies with cognitive decline over the last 10 years. Using the search words computerized cognitive assessment with: dementia, mild cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer's disease, the CogState, CNS Vital Sings, COGDRAS and Mindstreams batteries were retrieved.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn developing countries, education levels vary dramatically, and the number of years of schooling does not always correlate with the true level of educational competency. This study was designed to verify the accuracy of the Short-Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (S-TOFHLA) in individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and mild Alzheimer's disease (AD), when compared with healthy controls (HCs), in order to assess its utility as a measure of functional literacy. One hundred forty-eight subjects were divided into three groups: HC (n = 61), MCI patients (n = 42), and AD patients (n = 45).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnlabelled: Diagnosis of Parkinson's disease dementia is a challenge in clinical settings. A comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation is time-consuming and expensive; brief instruments for cognitive evaluation must be easier to administer and provide a reliable classification.
Objective: To study the validity of the Brazilian version of Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination-Revised (ACE-R) for the cognitive assessment of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients with heterogeneous educational level.
It is not easy to differentiate patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) from subjective memory complainers (SMC). Assessments with screening cognitive tools are essential, particularly in primary care where most patients are seen. The objective of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of screening cognitive tests and to propose a score derived from screening tests.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlexia with agraphia is defined as an acquired impairment affecting reading and writing ability. It can be associated with aphasia, but can also occur as an isolated entity. This impairment has classically been associated with a left angular gyrus lesion In the present study, we describe a case involving a patient who developed alexia with agraphia and other cognitive deficits after a thalamic hemorrhage.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAcquired hepatocerebral degeneration is an underdiagnosed neurologic syndrome characterized by parkinsonism, ataxia or other movement disorders and by neuropsychiatric and cognitive symptoms. It occurs in patients with chronic liver disease, especially those who develop portosystemic shunting and is often unrecognized as a cause of cognitive decline. Recently, its pathogenesis has been associated with manganese accumulation in basal ganglia and some treatments proposed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF