Alzheimer's, Dementia & Mental Health
Performance Tests Used to Predict Future Development
of Mild Cognitive Impairment
Predicted the development of mild cognitive
impairment a year later with an accuracy of 80 to 100%
June 28, 2010 – Several recent scientific studies
have claimed new techniques for studying physical changes in senior
citizens that predict the development of Alzheimer’s disease. Now,
researchers claim success with performance testing to make an early
prediction of mild cognitive impairment that often leads to AD.
|
|
Related Stories |
|
|
|
Changes in Brain White Matter of Senior Citizens an
Early Sign of Alzheimer’s Disease
High-risk group of seniors showed decreased integrity
in white matter tracts that inter-connect gray matter regions involved
in memory function - June 28, 2010
Plaque of
Alzheimer's Disease First Appears in Retinas; Optical Imaging May Lead
to Diagnosis
Noninvasive optical imaging detects retinal plaques in live
laboratory mice, suggesting the possibility of early noninvasive diagnosis
June 24, 2010
Science Finding Alzheimer’s Hard to Treat; Best
Strategy May Be Prevention
 Institute on Aging clinical trial seeks volunteers
to help find the disease at very beginning in senior citizens
Amsterdam, June 14, 2010
New Study Says Caffeine Slows Alzheimer's, Other
Dementias, Restores Cognitive Function
 Positive impact of caffeine on cognition and memory
performance, other benefits of caffeine in special supplement to the
Journal of Alzheimer's Disease - May 17, 2010
Memory May
Not Be First Thing to Go for Those Heading for Alzheimer’s Disease
Some of the earliest signs of preclinical AD may occur on
tests of visuospatial and speeded psychomotor skills
 Oct.
13, 2009
Senior Citizens with Problem Processing Sounds More
Likely to Have Dementia
Central auditory processing tests were significantly
lower in the group with dementia
July 22, 2008
Blood Test Coming Very Close to Predicting
Alzheimer’s Risk
Tests reaching above 90 percent in accuracy
Oct. 15, 2007
Mild Cognitive Impairment in Senior Citizens Linked
to Higher Uric Acid
Clinical studies may probe reducing uric acid
(urate) with
drugs to help older people avoid mild cognitive deficits
January 2, 2007
Read the latest news on
Alzheimer's, Dementia & Mental Health |
|
Mild cognitive impairment is often seen as a
transition stage between the cognitive decline of normal aging and the
more serious problems of Alzheimer's disease. But what leads to mild
cognitive impairment?
Researchers at Rush University Medical Center have
found that lower, though not necessarily impaired, performance on tests
measuring story learning or retention and processing speed in motor
tasks dependent on visual control, as well as symptoms of depression,
predicted subsequent cognitive decline in a normal population.
None of the factors alone predicted the onset of
mild cognitive impairment a year later. Rather, poor learning had to be
accompanied by either slower visuomotor (body motor processes linked to
vision) processing speed or depressive symptoms to be significantly
related to later problems in cognition.
Using an advanced statistical methodology that
analyzed multiple variables at once, the researchers also found that
neither gender nor the apolipoprotein E genotype—long believed to be
risk factors for mild cognitive impairment—had any substantial influence
on later impairment.
The study is published in the July issue of the
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society.
|
Self-Administered Test to Screen for Early Dementia,
Alzheimer's Available Online
 Ohio State Neurologist says it takes less than 15
minutes to complete, is a reliable tool for evaluating cognitive
abilities
March 31, 2010 – Senior citizens are besieged by
cancer, heart disease and associated chronic diseases, but what most of
them fear most is Alzheimer’s disease or any loss of their mental
abilities. Now a neurologist at Ohio State says he has developed a
simple, self-test to screen for early dementia that he is making
available online.
Read
more...
|
"For a long time, researchers believed that memory
alone was the only important factor in mild cognitive impairment," said
Dr. S. Duke Han, assistant professor of neuropsychology in the
Department of Behavioral Sciences at Rush and lead author on the study.
"Our study is one of the first to suggest the
importance of other factors in predicting this possible pre-Alzheimer's
condition."
The 94 individuals who participated in the study
underwent a battery of standard cognitive and psychosocial tests to
assess mood, attention, visuospatial abilities, language facility,
memory and intelligence.
These included the Trail-Making Test, which
measures motor speed, visual attention, and cognitive flexibility; the
Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, which measures the ability to problem
solve; a delayed recall test; the American National Adult Reading Test;
and the Geriatric Depression Scale. Information was collected on age,
education, gender and genotype.
Lower performance on tests measuring learning, when
paired with either slower speed on the Trail-Making Test or a lower
score on the depression scale, predicted the development of mild
cognitive impairment a year later with an accuracy of 80 to 100 percent
in the test sample.
The study was supported by grants from the National
Institute on Aging and the Alzheimer's Association.
About Source:
Rush University Medical Center is a 676-bed
academic medical center that includes Rush Children's Hospital, the
Johnston R. Bowman Health Center (a 61-bed rehabilitation facility), and
Rush University. Rush is a not-for-profit health care, education and
research enterprise. Rush University is home to one of the first medical
colleges in the Midwest and includes one of the nation's top-ranked
nursing colleges, as well as graduate programs in allied health, health
systems management and biomedical research.
