Multiple category verbal fluency in mild cognitive impairment and correlation with CSF biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease.

Background: Verbal fluency (VF) tasks are widely used in neuropsychological evaluations, as a measure of executive/semantic dysfunction. The revised criteria for Alzheimer's disease (AD) diagnosis (National Institute on Aging and the Alzheimer Association, 2011) incorporating biomarkers has increased the interest in finding algorithms that combine neuropsychological and biomarkers features to better predict conversion from mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to AD. Our aim was to compare the most frequently used VF categories to determine which best discriminated cognitively healthy elderly from MCI patients, and whether cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers levels (Aβ42, P-tau, T-tau, and Aβ42/P-tau) correlated with patient's performance in MCI.

Effects of a multidisciplinary cognitive rehabilitation program for patients with mild Alzheimer's disease.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of a multidisciplinary rehabilitation program on cognition, quality of life, and neuropsychiatry symptoms in patients with mild Alzheimer's disease.

Method: The present study was a single-blind, controlled study that was conducted at a university-based day-hospital memory facility. The study included 25 Alzheimer's patients and their caregivers and involved a 12-week stimulation and psychoeducational program.

Verbal fluency in the detection of mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease among Brazilian Portuguese speakers: the influence of education.

Background: Verbal fluency (VF) tasks are simple and efficient clinical tools to detect executive dysfunction and lexico-semantic impairment. VF tasks are widely used in patients with suspected dementia, but their accuracy for detection of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is still under investigation. Schooling in particular may influence the subject's performance.