Neuropsychiatric symptoms and executive function impairments in Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia: The role of subcortical circuits.

Dement Neuropsychol

Universidade de Vassouras Medical School VassourasRJ Brazil Universidade de Vassouras (UV), Medical School, Vassouras, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.

Published: January 2019

Unlabelled: Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) in dementia are prevalent, under-recognized and little studied regarding their pathophysiological aspects. The pathophysiological mechanism, as well as the possible role of vascular lesions in the genesis of these symptoms, are still matters of debate.

Objective: to describe and compare the prevalence and severity of NPS in subjects with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and vascular dementia (VaD).

Methods: a cross-sectional study involving 82 outpatients, divided into two groups (AD × VaD), was conducted. Patients were submitted to the Cambridge Cognitive Test (CAMCOG), the Clock Drawing Test (CLOX 1 and 2), the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) and the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) scale. Neuroimaging was scored using the de Leon and Fazekas scales.

Results: 90.8% of the patients had at least one neuropsychiatric symptom. There were statistical differences on the CLOX test and in the apathy symptoms between AD and VaD groups. Apathy and disinhibition proved more prevalent in patients with higher vascular load.

Conclusion: apathy and impaired executive function may reflect vascular damage in subcortical circuits in dementia patients.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6753905PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1980-57642018dn13-030005DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

neuropsychiatric symptoms
8
executive function
8
alzheimer's disease
8
disease vascular
8
vascular dementia
8
subcortical circuits
8
vascular
5
dementia
5
neuropsychiatric
4
symptoms executive
4

Similar Publications

Diagnosing Late-Onset Tay-Sachs Through Next Generation Sequencing and Functional Enzyme Testing: From Genes to Enzymes.

Neurol Genet

December 2024

From the School of Medicine (A.R.T., J.R.), The University of Queensland; Department of Neurology (W.R., P.A.M., R.D.H., L.V.), Royal Brisbane & Women's Hospital; The University of Queensland (P.A.M., R.D.H., L.V.), UQ Centre for Clinical Research; and Genetic Health Queensland (J.R.), Royal Brisbane & Women's Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

Tay-Sachs disease is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive neurologic impairment due to pathogenic variants in the gene that codes for the alpha subunit of β-hexosaminidase. We report 2 cases of adult-onset progressive weakness, ataxia, and neuropsychiatric symptoms in a 30-year-old man and 37-year-old woman. Both patients had compound heterozygosity in the gene with 4 distinct variants.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objectives: Wernicke encephalopathy (WE) is an acute neuropsychiatric disorder caused by thiamine deficiency. The classical triad of symptoms for WE include mental status changes, ataxia, and ophthalmoplegia. In contrast, more uncommon symptoms include hallucinations.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Identifying genetic differences between bipolar disorder and major depression through multiple genome-wide association analyses.

Br J Psychiatry

January 2025

Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, USA; Department of Human Genetics, University of California Los Angeles, USA; and Department of Computational Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, USA.

Background: Accurate diagnosis of bipolar disorder (BPD) is difficult in clinical practice, with an average delay between symptom onset and diagnosis of about 7 years. A depressive episode often precedes the first manic episode, making it difficult to distinguish BPD from unipolar major depressive disorder (MDD).

Aims: We use genome-wide association analyses (GWAS) to identify differential genetic factors and to develop predictors based on polygenic risk scores (PRS) that may aid early differential diagnosis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Improving care experiences for premenstrual symptoms and disorders in the United Kingdom (UK): a mixed-methods approach.

BMC Health Serv Res

January 2025

Cambridge Centre for Neuropsychiatric Research, Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.

Background: Poor care experiences are reported for premenstrual disorders, which may result in negative outcomes such as distress, reduced healthcare engagement, and delays to diagnosis. This research aimed to explore healthcare experiences for premenstrual symptoms in the United Kingdom and identify areas for potential improvements based on participant responses.

Method: An online survey was delivered, with participants recruited via social media.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Cognitive networks impairments are common in neuropsychiatric disorders like Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), bipolar disorder (BD), and schizophrenia (SZ). While previous research has focused on specific brain regions, the role of the procedural memory as a type of long-term memory to examine cognitive networks impairments in these disorders remains unclear. This study investigates alterations in resting-state functional connectivity (rs-FC) within the procedural memory network to explore brain function associated with cognitive networks in patients with these disorders.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!