[Alzheimer's disease and the organization of visits to cultural sites].

In the framework of a policy to open up cultural sites within the city to the specific disability of Alzheimer's disease, the Resource and Research Memory Centre at Nice general hospital in partnership with Nice's city hall, has developed a cultural programme. The aim of this project is to assess the therapeutic aspects of this programme and notably the perception of the disease by the family carers.

Actigraphic motor activity in mild cognitive impairment patients carrying out short functional activity tasks: comparison between mild cognitive impairment with and without depressive symptoms.

Background: Individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) may exhibit changes in motor activity in conducting their activities of daily living. Depression, one of the most frequent neuropsychiatric symptoms, might affect motor activity in MCI.

Objective: To assess motor activity in MCI subjects carrying out short functional activity tasks using ambulatory actigraphy.

Lack of Association Between COMT Polymorphisms and Apathy in Alzheimer's Disease.

We tested the hypothesis that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) are associated with apathy in individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD). We analyzed a cohort of 105 Caucasian individuals with AD (age = 79.3 ± 7.

Review of Alzheimer's disease scales: is there a need for a new multi-domain scale for therapy evaluation in medical practice?

Introduction: The present review of Alzheimer's disease (AD) rating scales aims to outline the need for a new rating scale to be used in routine clinical practice for long-term medical care of AD patients. An ideal scale would be: 1) practical, easy and quick to administer for an experienced clinician; 2) validated for AD; 3) multi-domain: covering the AD-relevant areas of cognition, activities of daily living, behavior, communication/social interaction, and quality of life; 4) applicable to all AD severity stages; 5) able to monitor disease progression; and 6) sensitive to measure therapy effects.

Methods: The National Library of Medicines' MEDLINE database was searched for the years 1981 to September 2008, using a set of keywords aiming to select instruments which cover at least some of the requirements for an ideal practical AD scale for therapy evaluation.