BrainBlog

Elfgren C, Gustafson L, Vestberg S, & Passant U. Subjective memory complaints, neuropsychological performance and psychiatric variables in memory clinic attendees: A 3-year follow-up study. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics. 2010 Mar 6. [Epub ahead of print] Department of Geriatric Psychiatry, Clinical Sciences, Lund University Hospital, SE-221 85 Lund, Sweden. The aims were to evaluate the cognitive performance and clinical diagnosis in patients ( PMID: 20211500 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

A press release from the NIH earlier today: NIA and McKnight Brain Research Foundation Join Forces to Support Cognitive Aging Research The Research Partnership in Cognitive Aging is a newly launched public-private effort to support current and emerging research on age-related changes in the brain and cognition. Jointly funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the McKnight Brain Research Foundation , through the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH), this effort is expected to award an estimated $20 million in research grants over the next five years. The research partnership is aimed at expanding understanding of how we think, learn and remember with age and at developing interventions to maintain cognitive health as we grow older. Read the full release

Tinetti ME, McAvay GJ, Fried TR, Allore HG, Salmon JC, Foody JM, Bianco L, Ginter S, & Fraenkel L. Health outcome priorities among competing cardiovascular, fall injury, and medication-related symptom outcomes. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. 2008 Aug; 56(8): 1409-1416. Epub 2008 Jul 24. Department of Internal Medicine and Epidemiology, New Haven, Connecticut 06504, USA. OBJECTIVES: To determine the priority that older adults with coexisting hypertension and fall risk give to optimizing cardiovascular outcomes versus fall- and medication symptom-related outcomes. DESIGN: Interview. SETTING: Community. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred twenty-three cognitively intact persons aged 70 and older with hypertension and fall risk. MEASUREMENTS: Discrete choice task was used to elicit the relative importance placed on reducing the risk of three outcomes: cardiovascular events, serious fall injuries, and medication symptoms. Risk estimates with and without antihypertensive medication...

From the website, MedGadget: : A Wheelchair with Ears and Brain http://www.medgadget.com/archives/2008/09/a_wheelchair_with_ears_and_brain.html

Karas G, Sluimer J, Goekoop R, van der Flier W, Rombouts S, Vrenken H, Scheltens P, Fox N, & Barkhof F. Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment: Structural MR Imaging Findings Predictive of Conversion to Alzheimer Disease. American Journal of Neuroradiology. 2008 Feb 22 [Epub ahead of print]. Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Image Analysis Center, Alzheimer Center, and Department of Clinical Neurology, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Dementia Research Group, Department of Clinical Neurology, Institute of Neurology, London, UK; Department of Physics and Medical Technology, Alzheimer Center, VU University Medical Center and Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, the Netherlands; Department of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands; and Department of Radiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands. BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is considered by many to be a prodromal phase of Alzheime...

Börjesson-Hanson A, Gustafson D, & Skoog I. Five-year mortality in relation to dementia and cognitive function in 95-year-olds. Neurology. 2007 Nov 27; 69(22): 2069-2075. Neuropsychiatric Epidemiology Unit, Psychiatry Section, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy at Göteborg University, Sweden. BACKGROUND: Dementia is a known predictor of mortality, but most studies include small numbers of participants above age 90. The influence of dementia or cognition on mortality in this age group is therefore uncertain. OBJECTIVE: To examine 5-year mortality in relation to dementia and cognitive performance at age 95. METHODS: A population sample of 338 individuals examined at age 95 was followed to age 100. Dementia was diagnosed according to DSM-III-R criteria. Cognitive function was measured using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Information on severe physical disorders was obtained from the Swedish Hospital Discharge Register, and date of death from the...

An nice feature article in today's New York Times : Scientists Want to Find Alzheimer’s Before a Mind Fails By DENISE GRADY The New York Times Published: December 26, 2007 [ ... Read the full article ... ]

The New York Times continues its coverage of cognitive agility with a column today by Jane Brody discussing different cognitive and physical ways to promote a fit mind: Mental Reserves Keep Brains Agile by Jane E. Brody The New York Times 11 December 2007 [ ... Read the full column ... ]

Tomorrow's Sunday New York Times Magazine is its annual new ideas of the past year issue. Among the many shiny ideas presented is telephone screening for dementia: Alzheimer’s Telephone Screening By RON FEEMSTER The New York Times Published: December 9, 2007 This year, researchers completed work on a 50-question telephone quiz to help them identify Alzheimer’s patients long before they exhibit typical symptoms. Such a quiz may soon become part of regular medical care. This new tool measures what the researchers call “cognitive vital signs” like short-term memory loss, which is the most important early sign of Alzheimer’s, and detects declines in everyday abilities like using a telephone, preparing meals or managing finances. The quiz also picks up behavioral warning signs including apathy, irritability and depression. “If somebody is failing these cognitive tests, they already have the characteristics of the disease,” says Jeffrey Cummings, director of the Alzheimer Disease Center...

A short piece in today's Washington Post about the potential problems and potential benefits of broad screenings for dementia of Alzheimer's disease in the general population of aging persons: To Screen, or Not to Screen Experts Debate Mass Testing For Alzheimer's Disease By Alicia Ault Special to The Washington Post Tuesday, December 4, 2007; Page HE01 [ ... Read the full article ... ]

From the Radio Iowa website: Task force seeks public input on Alzheimer's disease Monday, November 26, 2007, 8:46 AM By Pat Curtis "A task force in Iowa that's looking for ways to improve services to Alzheimer's patients is asking for your help. John McCalley, director of the Iowa Department of Elder Affairs , says all Iowans are invited to take an on-line survey. He says the survey is mainly designed for Alzheimer's patients and their family members or care givers. McCalley, who also chairs the 17-member Alzheimer's disease Task Force, says the state's current services to dementia patients are somewhat uncoordinated. He says funding is provided to Area Agencies on Aging across the state, but those services face limited funding, especially in rural areas. An estimated 65,000 Iowans have Alzheimer's disease and that number is expected to grow as Iowa's population ages. McCalley says the survey only takes 5 to 10 minutes to complete. He says the ques...