Dementia e Neuropsychologia最新文献

Aging is generally associated with a decline in cognition when compared to adulthood. The changes most seen are in attention, perception, working memory, short-term memory, free recall, and processing speed. Certain changes in the Judgment of Line Orientation (JLO) test may be present in elderly people.

Objective: The objective of this study was to describe the difference among age, sex, schooling, Mini-Mental State (MMS), and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) when compared to the JLO test in elderly people. The second is to assess the clinical use of the JLO test in elderly people's cognitive decline in Northeast Brazil.

Methods: A cross-sectional, randomized study was carried out on 280 elderly people, between 60 and 89 years old, and the mean age was 69.4 (±6.8 years SD); 73.9% of the females lived in Olinda City, State of Pernambuco, Brazil. Age was stratified every 5 years between 60 and 89 years old, and schooling was divided into four subgroups between illiterate and more than 8 years of schooling. Each participant was submitted to an analysis of age, sex, schooling, risk factors, MMS, modified MMSE, and a JLO test.

Results: There was no statistical difference between the sexes. However, there was a statistical difference when compared to the JLO test and age (p<0.012), schooling (p<0.001), MMS (p<0.001), and modified MMSE (p<0.001).

Conclusion: We observed that with a cutoff point of 18 points, the JLO test is indicated to assess visuospatial and visuoperceptive changes in elderly people in Northeast Brazil.

Population aging brings about numerous challenges, particularly concerning cognitive health. In this context, socioeconomic factors such as education have received special attention due to their role in brain health.

Objective: The aim of this study was to describe the performance of executive functions, mental health variables, and quality of life among healthy older adults in relation to their level of education.

Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted with participants aged 60 or older. The assessment protocol included Addenbrooke's cognitive examination and FAS, trail-making tests A and B, Control, Autonomy, Self-Realization, and Pleasure Scale (CASP-19), as well as the depression, anxiety, and stress scale.

Results: Significant differences were found in the performance of executive functions among older adults with higher levels of education. However, mental health and quality of life variables were only related to participants' age.

Conclusion: The study showed that mental health and quality of life are not influenced by participants' level of education but are instead strongly correlated with age.

Novel therapies for Alzheimer's disease, particularly anti-amyloid drugs like lecanemab and donanemab, have shown modest clinical benefits but also significant risks. The present paper highlights the challenges of access to diagnosis, cost-effectiveness, safety, and the need for more representation of diverse populations in clinical trials. Recommendations include careful patient selection, risk-benefit analysis, and the importance of proven amyloid pathology for treatment. Future work involves further research on anti-amyloid therapies in Brazil and the development of more effective treatments for Alzheimer's disease.

Transient global amnesia (TGA) is a rare, temporary, sudden-onset disturbance in anterograde episodic memory with unclear pathophysiology. Previous brain volumetric analysis in TGA patients showed varied results.

Objective: To explore brain morphometry, hypothesizing that patients with TGA exhibit structural alterations.

Methods: A case-control study was performed involving TGA subjects (n=50) and matched healthy controls (n=50). Both groups underwent a 3D-T1 weighted structural MRI on a 3T scanner, and voxel-based morphometry (VBM), region-based morphometry (RBM), and surface-based morphometry (SBM) were analyzed.

Results: After performing the VBM, RBM, and SBM analyses, no consistent and statistically significant differences were found after applying multiple corrections.

Conclusion: Despite previous studies showing volumetric changes in TGA patients, our results differ from this. The discrepancy could be due to sample size and timing of MRI scans. While our findings do not explain TGA pathophysiology, they support a network dysfunction as a possible mechanism and discards a structural alteration as a predisposing factor for TGA.

In recent years, the diagnostic accuracy of Alzheimer's disease has been enhanced by the development of different types of biomarkers that indicate the presence of neuropathological processes. In addition to improving patient selection for clinical trials, biomarkers can assess the effects of new treatments on pathological processes. However, there is concern about the indiscriminate and poorly supported use of biomarkers, especially in asymptomatic individuals or those with subjective cognitive decline. Difficulties interpreting these tests, high costs, and unequal access make this scenario even more challenging in healthcare. This article presents the recommendations from the Scientific Department of Cognitive Neurology and Aging of the Brazilian Academy of Neurology (Departamento Científico de Neurologia Cognitiva e Envelhecimento da Academia Brasileira de Neurologia) regarding the rational use and interpretation of Alzheimer's disease biomarkers in clinical practice. The clinical diagnosis of cognitive-behavioral syndrome is recommended as the initial step to guide the request for biomarkers.

Human history has been linked to numerous risks to survival, with pandemics being a constant in human life. People suffering from dementia experienced greater difficulties accessing healthcare and treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objective: To identify how the COVID-19 pandemic influenced care for people with dementia or cognitive impairment.

Methods: This research work is a systematic review conducted with a literature search in four databases such as Web of Science, Scopus, EBSCOHost, Cochrane Library, and ProQuest, following the methodological proposals of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guide.

Results: The bibliographic research in the different databases offered a total of 561 records, of which 23 were chosen to elaborate the results. The main results were the increasing cognitive impairment and psychosocial consequences of social distancing during the pandemic, including sadness, helplessness, and abandonment in patients or feelings of burnout and overload in caregivers and health professionals.

Conclusion: The COVID-19 placed patients with dementia in the background. During the pandemic, attention was focused primarily on emergencies and not so much on the monitoring of chronic diseases, which also caused psycho-emotional and social worsening.