Imaging in Alzheimer's disease

Neuroimaging in the early differential diagnosis of dementia has gained considerable interest over the last decade. From being used for exclusive purposes only, neuroimaging is now in the forefront of aiding in the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD), frontotemporal dementia, vascular dementia, and and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). With the exception of dopamine transporter single photon-emission computed tomography imaging in DLB, imaging has not yet been incorporated into the diagnostic criteria for the various dementia syndromes, but that will soon change. The recently formulated research criteria for early AD recently formulated by Dubois et al explicitly mention magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography for AD, and are an example of a new diagnostic process developing. In this review, the various imaging techniques will be highlighted, with an emphasis on their ability to diagnose Alzheimer's disease and separate it from other entities

Designing a design process for the Veemgebouw:from the points of view of the Eindhoven council and credo project developer

Municipal councils consider the image projected by its public buildings of paramount importance to the city. Such buildings can include listed and protected buildings that have to undergo changes of purpose, such as the Veemgebouw in the Park Strijp, Eindhoven. For this case study the earlier Eindhoven Town Hall renovation project was used as a point of reference to gain insight in the way the municipality approaches building projects. Two bottlenecks that occurred in the design process of the Town Hall were taken as learning experiences - (1) changes in decision-making and (2) budget overrun.Changing decision-making within the Council slowed the progress of the design process and was an unpredictable factor that had an effect on both the Council and the architect. Changing political decisions also led to the architect working with unclear assignment and lacking a proper brief at the beginning of the design process. Instead, in this period the architect should have worked on a time basis and according the SR. However, engaging the architect on a time basis makes it difficult for the Council to control the design consts especially of there is likely to be an unstable decision-making process.Using an alternative two stage tendering procedure can increase efficiency and avoid long bureaucratic procedures caused by having a large number of bidders. In the first stage, instead of using the specific criteria of price, other relevant and straightforward criteria can be used such as experience in similar projects and ISO quality standard accreditation to narrow down the number of bidders. In the second stage of the tender, more specific criteria can then be used to select the winner from the remaining bidders. Besides saving time analysing and selecting bids, by using this method, the Council could more easily select the type of bidder the prefer. Finally in this study, we analysed En-en Architects, the architect of Eindhoven Town Hall, to define the type of criteria required for the architect of the Veemgebouw. The essential criteria were characterised as reliability, expertise and professionalism and this lead to a preference for a large, service-oriented firm with a matrix type organisation

Teaching Microscopy: A Changing Paradigm

IMPACT. 1: Integrate the technical expertise and research capabilities at the Center for Electron Microscopy and Analysis (CEMAS) with the curriculum at Metro High school. -- 2. Ability to provide a revolutionary learning experience in a newly designed digital theater with remote access to several million dollars worth of microscopy equipment. -- 3. No one else is able to offer a similar program because our facility at CEMAS is uniquely positioned to provide excellent on-site microscopy experiences as well as the teaching/research expertise.OSU PARTNERS: College of Engineering; Materials Science and Engineering; Center for Electron Microscopy and AnalysisCOMMUNITY PARTNERS: Metro High SchoolPRIMARY CONTACT: Isabel Boona ([email protected]); Frank Scheltens ([email protected])This program will be one of the first collaborations between a multidisciplinary microscopy facility and a local high school. The intent is to introduce high school students to the concept of microscopy based materials examination through the development of teaching modules that can be incorporated into a curriculum as part of an existing course or as stand-alone senior level projects. The program will make use of CEMAS developed digital theater and remote instrument access capabilities

Teaching Microscopy: A Changing Paradigm

IMPACT. 1: Integrate the technical expertise and research capabilities at the Center for Electron Microscopy and Analysis (CEMAS) with the curriculum at Metro High school. -- 2. Ability to provide a revolutionary learning experience in a newly designed digital theater with remote access to several million dollars worth of microscopy equipment. -- 3. No one else is able to offer a similar program because our facility at CEMAS is uniquely positioned to provide excellent on-site microscopy experiences as well as the teaching/research expertise.OSU PARTNERS: College of Engineering; Materials Science and Engineering; Center for Electron Microscopy and AnalysisCOMMUNITY PARTNERS: Metro High SchoolPRIMARY CONTACT: Isabel Boona ([email protected]); Frank Scheltens ([email protected])This program will be one of the first collaborations between a multidisciplinary microscopy facility and a local high school. The intent is to introduce high school students to the concept of microscopy based materials examination through the development of teaching modules that can be incorporated into a curriculum as part of an existing course or as stand-alone senior level projects. The program will make use of CEMAS developed digital theater and remote instrument access capabilities

Retrograde amnesia for semantic information in Alzheimer's disease

Patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease and normal controls were tested on a retrograde amnesia test with semantic content (Neologism and Vocabulary Test, or NVT), consisting of neologisms to be defined. Patients showed a decrement as compared to normal controls, pointing to retrograde amnesia within semantic memory. No evidence for a gradient within this amnesia was found, although one was present on an autobiographic test of retrograde amnesia that had a wider time scale. Several explanations for these results are presented, including one that suggests that extended retrograde amnesia and semantic memory deficits are in fact one and the same defici

Vascular Care in Patients With Alzheimer Disease With Cerebrovascular Lesions Slows Progression of White Matter Lesions on MRI The Evaluation of Vascular Care in Alzheimer's Disease (EVA) Study

Background and Purpose-White matter lesions (WMLs) and cerebral infarcts are common findings in Alzheimer disease and may contribute to dementia severity. WMLs and lacunar infarcts may provide a potential target for intervention strategies. This study assessed whether multicomponent vascular care in patients with Alzheimer disease with cerebrovascular lesions slows progression of WMLs and prevents occurrence of new infarcts. Methods-A randomized controlled clinical trial, including 123 subjects, compared vascular care with standard care in patients with Alzheimer disease with cerebrovascular lesions on MRI. Progression of WMLs, lacunes, medial temporal lobe atrophy, and global cortical atrophy were semiquantitatively scored after 2-year follow-up. Results-Sixty-five subjects (36 vascular care, 29 standard care) had a baseline and a follow-up MRI and in 58 subjects, a follow-up scan could not be obtained due to advanced dementia or death. Subjects in the vascular care group had less progression of WMLs as measured with the WML change score (1.4 versus 2.3, P = 0.03). There was no difference in the number of new lacunes or change in global cortical atrophy or medial temporal lobe atrophy between the 2 groups. Conclusions-Vascular care in patients with Alzheimer disease with cerebrovascular lesions slows progression of WMLs. Treatment aimed at vascular risk factors in patients with early Alzheimer disease may be beneficial, possibly in an even earlier stage of the disease. (Stroke. 2010;41:554-556.