Impact of a national dementia research consortium: The Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging (CCNA).

The Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging (CCNA) was created by the Canadian federal government through its health research funding agency, the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR), in 2014, as a response to the G7 initiative to fight dementia. Two five-year funding cycles (2014-2019; 2019-2024) have occurred following peer review, and a third cycle (Phase 3) has just begun. A unique construct was mandated, consisting of 20 national teams in Phase I and 19 teams in Phase II (with research topics spanning from basic to clinical science to health resource systems) along with cross-cutting programs to support them.

The Oral and Fecal Microbiota in a Canadian Cohort of Alzheimer's Disease.

Background: Despite decades of research, our understanding of Alzheimer's disease (AD) etiology remains incomplete. In recent years, appreciation has grown for potential roles for the microbiota in shaping neurological health.

Objective: This study aimed to examine associations between the microbiota and AD in a human cross-sectional cohort.

Vascular Contributions to Neurodegeneration: Protocol of the COMPASS-ND Study.

Objective: To describe the neuroimaging and other methods for assessing vascular contributions to neurodegeneration in the Comprehensive Assessment of Neurodegeneration and Dementia (COMPASS-ND) study, a Canadian multi-center, prospective longitudinal cohort study, including reliability and feasibility in the first 200 participants.

Methods: COMPASS-ND includes persons with Alzheimer's disease (AD; n = 150), Parkinson's disease (PD) and Lewy body dementias (LBDs) (200), mixed dementia (200), mild cognitive impairment (MCI; 400), subcortical ischemic vascular MCI (V-MCI; 200), subjective cognitive impairment (SCI; 300), and cognitively intact elderly controls (660). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was acquired according to the validated Canadian Dementia Imaging Protocol and visually reviewed by either of two experienced readers blinded to clinical characteristics.

The Comprehensive Assessment of Neurodegeneration and Dementia: Canadian Cohort Study.

Background: The Comprehensive Assessment of Neurodegeneration and Dementia (COMPASS-ND) cohort study of the Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging (CCNA) is a national initiative to catalyze research on dementia, set up to support the research agendas of CCNA teams. This cross-country longitudinal cohort of 2310 deeply phenotyped subjects with various forms of dementia and mild memory loss or concerns, along with cognitively intact elderly subjects, will test hypotheses generated by these teams.

Methods: The COMPASS-ND protocol, initial grant proposal for funding, fifth semi-annual CCNA Progress Report submitted to the Canadian Institutes of Health Research December 2017, and other documents supplemented by modifications made and lessons learned after implementation were used by the authors to create the description of the study provided here.

National Neuroinformatics Framework for Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging (CCNA).

The Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR) launched the "International Collaborative Research Strategy for Alzheimer's Disease" as a signature initiative, focusing on Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and related neurodegenerative disorders (NDDs). The Canadian Consortium for Neurodegeneration and Aging (CCNA) was subsequently established to coordinate and strengthen Canadian research on AD and NDDs. To facilitate this research, CCNA uses LORIS, a modular data management system that integrates acquisition, storage, curation, and dissemination across multiple modalities.

Effects of anosognosia on perceived stress and cortisol levels in Alzheimer's disease.

Anosognosia, or unawareness of one's own cognitive deficits, may cause issues when measuring perceived stress and cortisol levels in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). The goal of this study was to examine the effects of anosognosia on perceived stress and salivary cortisol levels in normal elderly (NE) adults, MCI individuals, newly diagnosed AD patients, and long-lasting AD patients, suspected to show more anosognosia. An anosognosia index for perceived stress was computed by subtracting the score on the Perceived Stress Scale measured in the participants and their relative.

Autobiographical memory in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease: a comparison between the Levine and Kopelman interview methodologies.

Previous studies have produced inconsistent results concerning the two components of autobiographical memory--personal semantic memory and episodic memory. Results in subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia of Alzheimer's type (DAT) have varied concerning the existence of a temporal gradient in retrograde amnesia. These results have important theoretical implications regarding multiple trace theory versus standard consolidation models of long-term memory (LTM).

Mild cognitive impairment subcategories depend on the source of norms.

The diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) entails evidence of objective cognitive loss using neuropsychological measures. In this study, we examined whether the presence and degree of objective cognitive impairment varied according to the use of published versus local norms. We also varied the cutoff scores at which impairment was recognized and examined whether this altered inclusion in MCI subcategories.

Multilingualism (but not always bilingualism) delays the onset of Alzheimer disease: evidence from a bilingual community.

A recent paper by Bialystok et al in Neuropsychologia (vol. 45, pgs. 459 to 464) suggested that early bilingualism produced a statistically significant 4.

Can an 18-point clock-drawing scoring system predict dementia in elderly individuals with mild cognitive impairment?

The purpose of this study was to develop a clock-drawing scoring system better suited to detecting possible early markers of dementia in individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). We modified the scoring system of Freedman et al. (1994), in which the major components are integrity of the circle, placement and size of the hands, and placement and sequence of the numbers.

A predictive depression pattern in mild cognitive impairment.

Objective: To evaluate the prognostic utility of the presence, persistence, and patterns of depression in subjects with amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI).

Method: Sixty amnestic MCI patients were assessed cognitively and for presence of depression using the 30 item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). They were followed annually for an average period of 4.

Cognitive predictors of donepezil therapy response in Alzheimer disease.

Objectives: To examine whether the presence of domain-specific cognitive impairments would predict a response to donepezil medication in patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer disease (AD).

Methods: The protocol was an open-label study of 30 AD subjects (mean age 74 years; education 11 years; Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE) 23 of 30) beginning a 6-month course of treatment with donepezil. Global response to treatment was determined using a combination algorithm based on changes over 6 months in the ADAS-cog, MMSE and CIBIC.

The nature of lexico-semantic processing deficits in mild cognitive impairment.

Lexico-semantic impairments in Alzheimer disease (AD) have been attributed to abnormalities in both intentional and automatic access to semantic memory. However, the order in which these impairments appear during the course of the disease is unclear. We sought to answer this question by documenting lexico-semantic impairments in 61 subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a pre-AD stage, and by comparing them to those of 39 AD and 60 normal elderly (NE) subjects.

The Montreal Cognitive Assessment, MoCA: a brief screening tool for mild cognitive impairment.

Objectives: To develop a 10-minute cognitive screening tool (Montreal Cognitive Assessment, MoCA) to assist first-line physicians in detection of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a clinical state that often progresses to dementia.

Design: Validation study.

Setting: A community clinic and an academic center.

Validity of the Mindstreams computerized cognitive battery for mild cognitive impairment.

The NeuroTrax Mindstreams computerized cognitive assessment system was designed for widespread clinical and research use in detecting mild cognitive impairment (MCI). However, the capability of Mindstreams tests to discriminate the elderly with MCI from those who are cognitively healthy has yet to be evaluated. Moreover, the comparability between these tests and traditional neuropsychological tests in detecting MCI has not been examined.

Validity of a novel computerized cognitive battery for mild cognitive impairment.

Background: The NeuroTrax Mindstreams computerized cognitive assessment system was designed for widespread clinical and research use in detecting mild cognitive impairment (MCI). However, the capability of Mindstreams tests to discriminate elderly with MCI from those who are cognitively healthy has yet to be evaluated. Moreover, the comparability between these tests and traditional neuropsychological tests in detecting MCI has not been examined.

Word-reading thresholds in Alzheimer disease and mild memory loss: a pilot study.

Purpose: To determine whether subjects with early Alzheimer Disease (AD) or Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) would demonstrate significant abnormalities on tests of word reading threshold (WRT), spatial contrast sensitivity (SCS), and color discrimination (CD).

Methods: Prospective cohort study of 13 AD subjects, 13 subjects with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), and 12 healthy elderly normal controls (ENC). CD was determined using the Farnsworth D-15 method.