Vortioxetine Treatment for Depression in Patients with Prodromal vs Mild Alzheimer's Disease: A Six-Month, Open-Label, Observational Study.

Background: Depressive symptoms are common in Alzheimer disease (AD) from the prodromal stage. The benefits of antidepressants have been investigated in patients with AD dementia with mixed results.

Objectives: This study aimed to compare the efficacy of vortioxetine in prodromal and mild-to-moderate AD patients with depression, and to assess the comparative effect on secondary measures, including behavioral disturbances, cognitive function, and activities of daily living.

Can Creativity and Cognitive Reserve Predict Psychological Well-Being in Older Adults? The Role of Divergent Thinking in Healthy Aging.

The maintenance of psychological well-being (PWB) in the older adult population is a pivotal goal for our rapidly aging society. PWB is a multicomponent construct that can be influenced by several factors in the lifespan. The beneficial role of divergent thinking (DT) and cognitive reserve (CR) in sustaining older subjects' PWB has been scarcely investigated so far.

Educational interventions to improve detection and management of cognitive decline in primary care-An Italian multicenter pragmatic study.

Introduction: Timely detection of cognitive decline in primary care is essential to promote an appropriate care pathway and enhance the benefits of interventions. We present the results of a study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of an educational intervention addressed to Italian family physicians (FPs) to improve timely detection and management of cognitive decline.

Materials And Methods: We conducted a pre-post study in six Italian health authorities (HAs) involving 254 FPs and 3,736 patients.

Aging and Psychological Well-Being: The Possible Role of Inhibition Skills.

(1) Background: Psychological well-being (PWB) is a multidimensional construct which is a key protective factor against chronic diseases in older adults. Numerous psychological and cognitive factors can influence older people's PWB. However, while most studies have explored the effect of general cognition, only a few investigated the role of specific cognitive functions such as the efficiency of executive functions.

"Real-world" eligibility for aducanumab depends on clinical setting and patients' journey.

See related editorial by Lundebjerg et al.

Divergent Thinking Abilities in Frontotemporal Dementia: A Mini-Review.

A large number of studies, including single case and case series studies, have shown that patients with different types of frontotemporal dementia (FTD) are characterized by the emergence of artistic abilities. This led to the hypothesis of enhanced creative thinking skills as a function of these pathological conditions. However, in the last years, it has been argued that these brain pathologies lead only to an augmented "drive to produce" rather than to the emergence of creativity.

P-Tau as prognostic marker in long term follow up for patients with shunted iNPH.

Diagnosis of idiopathic Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus (iNPH) relies solely on clinical and radiological criteria while, unlike other neurological diseases, the analysis of cerebrospinal fluid markers is not used in clinical practice. Nevertheless, the overlapping of neurodegenerative diseases affects the long-term shunt efficacy and this occurrence should be detected before surgery. Therefore, we performed this study in order to assess the correlation between pre-surgical levels of CSF Beta Amyloid protein, Total Tau protein and Phospho-Tau protein with long-term clinical outcome.

Clinical characteristics and outcomes of inpatients with neurologic disease and COVID-19 in Brescia, Lombardy, Italy.

Objective: To report clinical and laboratory characteristics, treatment, and clinical outcomes of patients admitted for neurologic diseases with and without coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Methods: In this retrospective, single-center cohort study, we included all adult inpatients with confirmed COVID-19 admitted to a neuro-COVID unit beginning February 21, 2020, who had been discharged or died by April 5, 2020. Demographic, clinical, treatment, and laboratory data were extracted from medical records and compared (false discovery rate corrected) to those of neurologic patients without COVID-19 admitted in the same period.

A Comparison of Divergent Thinking Abilities Between Healthy Elderly Subjects and MCI Patients: Preliminary Findings and Implications.

Objective: Divergent thinking (DT) has attracted research interest because of its potential role in early diagnosis and rehabilitation programs for patients affected by neurodegenerative diseases. Recently, DT has received even more attention because of its proven relationship with cognitive reserve (CR) and the possibility of a standardized assessment. However, few studies have investigated this ability in dementia patients, and even less is known about patients affected by Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI).

Diagnosis of Mild Cognitive Impairment Due to Alzheimer's Disease with Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation.

Background: Considering the increasing evidence that disease-modifying treatments for Alzheimer's disease (AD) must be administered early in the disease course, the development of diagnostic tools capable of accurately identifying AD at early disease stages has become a crucial target. In this view, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has become an effective tool to discriminate between different forms of neurodegenerative dementia.

Objective: To determine whether a TMS multi-paradigm approach can be used to correctly identify mild cognitive impairment (MCI) due to AD (AD MCI).

Serum Non-Ceruloplasmin Non-Albumin Copper Elevation in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Dementia due to Alzheimer's Disease: A Case Control Study.

Several studies showed high serum copper levels in Alzheimer's disease (AD). The present study applied a newly developed method to detect serum copper free from proteins (free-Cu). Forty-four patients affected by dementia due to AD, thirty-six patients affected by mild cognitive impairment (MCI) due to AD, and twenty-eight healthy controls underwent clinical, cognitive, and MRI assessment.

Discrimination of atypical parkinsonisms with transcranial magnetic stimulation.

Background: Differential diagnosis of atypical parkinsonian disorders, i.e. dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) or corticobasal syndrome (CBS) still remains problematic.

Free copper in serum: An analytical challenge and its possible applications.

Copper (Cu), as an essential metal, plays a crucial role in biochemical reactions and in physiological regulations. Cu in plasma is mostly bound to proteins; about 65-90% of Cu is tightly binds with caeruloplasmin and the rest of Cu is loosely binds with albumin and transcuprein. A small but significant relatively "free" fraction, probably complexed with amino acids, is present at around 5% of the total concentration.

The Italian Version of the Five-Word Test: A Simple Diagnostic Test for Dementia due to Alzheimer's Disease in Routine Clinical Practice.

Background: The five-word test (FWT) is a neuropsychological tool (derived from the Grober and Buschke paradigm), measuring hippocampal memory trace consolidation. The study aimed to validate the test for the Italian language and to verify its ability to discriminate patients affected by mild cognitive impairment and dementia due to Alzheimer's disease from healthy matches.

Methods: 217 subjects (127 controls, 47 MCI due to AD, and 43 AD) underwent neuropsychological evaluation.

Non-amnestic mild cognitive impairment and sleep complaints: a bidirectional relationship?

Background: Prior studies documented that several sleep disorders may coexist in patients affected by Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer disease (AD), and have a strong bidirectional relationship with cognitive decline.

Aim: To assess the self-reported sleep quality and daytime sleepiness among subjects affected by MCI and AD at early-stage and healthy controls, and to verify if sleep disturbances might be an indicator of specific cognitive deficits.

Methods: 139 patients (102 MCI, 37 AD) underwent comprehensive neuropsychological, functional, and behavioral assessment, which also included Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI).

Transcranial magnetic stimulation distinguishes Alzheimer disease from frontotemporal dementia.

Objective: To determine whether a transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) multiparadigm approach can be used to distinguish Alzheimer disease (AD) from frontotemporal dementia (FTD).

Methods: Paired-pulse TMS was used to investigate short-interval intracortical inhibition (SICI) and facilitation (ICF), long-interval intracortical inhibition, and short-latency afferent inhibition (SAI) to measure the activity of different intracortical circuits in patients with AD, patients with FTD, and healthy controls (HC). The primary outcome measures were sensitivity and specificity of TMS measures, derived from receiver operating curve analysis.

Social networks and health status in the elderly: the 'ANZIANI IN-RETE' population-based study.

Background: Certain features of the social environment could maintain and even improve not only psychological well-being, but also health and cognition of the elderly.

Aims: We tested the association between social network characteristics and the number of chronic diseases in the elderly.

Methods: A randomized sample of the elderly population of Brescia, Italy, was evaluated (N = 200, age ≥65 years).

Assessment of the Incremental Diagnostic Value of Florbetapir F 18 Imaging in Patients With Cognitive Impairment: The Incremental Diagnostic Value of Amyloid PET With [18F]-Florbetapir (INDIA-FBP) Study.

Importance: Cerebral amyloidosis is a key abnormality in Alzheimer disease (AD) and can be detected in vivo with positron emission tomography (PET) ligands. Although amyloid PET has clearly demonstrated analytical validity, its clinical utility is debated.

Objective: To evaluate the incremental diagnostic value of amyloid PET with florbetapir F 18 in addition to the routine clinical diagnostic assessment of patients evaluated for cognitive impairment.

Dementia after Three Months and One Year from Stroke: New Onset or Previous Cognitive Impairment?

Objective: Stroke is an important risk factor for dementia, but the exact mechanism involved in cognitive decline remains unclear.

Methods: Patients were divided into 2 groups: poststroke dementia group (PSD) and poststroke nondementia group (PSND). Variables and neuroradiological hallmarks were compared between 2 groups at 3 months (114 subjects) and 1 year (105 subjects) after stroke.

Spatial navigation in elderly healthy subjects, amnestic and non amnestic MCI patients.

Introduction: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is considered an early stage of cognitive impairment. Therefore, it is important to identify early cognitive markers of MCI conversion to dementia and topographical disorientation (TD) may help differentiate normal aging from MCI and prodromal Alzheimer's disease (AD). Our aim was to propose a new instrument in elderly healthy subjects and MCI patients of amnestic (aMCI) and non-amnestic (naMCI) type.

Diagnosis disclosure and advance care planning in Alzheimer disease: opinions of a sample of Italian citizens.

Background And Aims: In current Alzheimer disease (AD) research there is growing asymmetry between the modest benefits of the currently available treatments, in contrast to the possibility to diagnose AD early in its natural history. This complex situation brings along a number of important ethical issues about diagnosis disclosure and end-of-life decisions that need to be addressed. The principal aim of the study was to investigate the attitudes towards disclosure of a diagnosis of AD and disposition towards completion of advance care planning, in a sample of Italian citizens.

Prestroke dementia: characteristics and clinical features in consecutive series of patients.

Background/aim: The prestroke level of cognitive function should be taken into account in order to predict the impact of stroke on the subsequent risk of dementia. The aim of the present study was to investigate the presence and correlates of prestroke dementia (PSD) as well as to identify its clinical features.

Methods: Premorbid clinical and cognitive features of 158 consecutively recruited patients with a diagnosis of acute cerebrovascular pathology were assessed by interviewing the caregivers using multidimensional assessment.

Cognitive dysfunction and age-related macular degeneration.

Several previous studies showed that age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) share common risk factors and histopathology changes, and there is epidemiological evidence linking AMD to cognitive impairment. We tested this theory in 51 patients with late-stage AMD and 24 controls by analyzing their neuropsychological profiles. In this study, data showed that patients affected by late-stage AMD have a worse global cognitive function than those of the controls and, in particular, show worse performances in memory tasks.