Espectroscopia de prótons na doença de Alzheimer e no comprometimento cognitivo sem demência: estudo de uma amostra comunitária Proton spectroscopy in Alzheimer's disease and cognitive impairment not dementia: a community study

OBJETIVO: Descrever os achados da espectroscopia de prótons (¹H-ERM) na doença de Alzheimer (DA) e no comprometimento cognitivo sem demência (CIND) em uma amostra da comunidade. MÉTODO: Foram avaliados seis pacientes com DA, sete com CIND e sete controles normais, originários da comunidade. ¹H-ERM foi realizada com voxel de 8 cm³ nas regiões temporal direita, parietal esquerda e occipital medial e estudados os metabólitos: N-acetilaspartato (NAA), creatina (Cr), colina (Cho) e mio-inositol (mI). RESULTADOS: O NAA foi maior nos indivíduos controles do que nos DA e intermediário no CIND. Análise de função discriminante mostrou que as associações Cr parietal-Cr occipital e Cr parietal-Cho occipital identificaram corretamente 92,3% da amostra comparando Controle vs DA. Na comparação Controle vs CIND O mI temporal identificou corretamente 78,6% dos indivíduos. CONCLUSÃO: A espectroscopia pode contribuir para o diagnóstico e seguimento de indivíduos com comprometimento cognitivo; avaliações de pacientes da comunidade podem revelar achados diferentes quanto à distribuição dos metabólitos cerebrais.OBJECTIVE: To describe the proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (¹H-ERM) data in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Cognitive Impairment Not Dementia (CIND) in a community sample. METHOD: We investigated subjects with AD (n=6), CIND (n=7) and normal control (n=7). ¹H-ERM was performed with single voxel (8 cm³) placed in temporal, parietal e occipital regions and studied metabolites were: N-acetylaspartate (NAA), creatine (Cr), choline (Cho) and myo-inositol (mI). RESULTS: NAA concentration was higher in control subjects than AD and intermediated in CIND patients. Cho parietal plus occipital and Cr parietal plus Cho occipital classified correctly 92.3% of subjects Control vs AD. Temporal mI classified 78.6% of subjects between Control vs CIND. CONCLUSION: Spectroscopy can be used in the diagnosis and follow-up of individuals with cognitive impairment; evaluation of community subjects may show different patterns of brain metabolites distribution

Proton spectroscopy in Alzheimer`s disease and cognitive impairment no dementia: A community-based study

Objective: To describe the findings of proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (H-1-MRS) in Alzheimer`s disease (AD) and cognitive impairment, no dementia (CIND) elderly from a community-based sample. Methods: Thirteen patients with AD, 12 with CIND and 15 normal individuals were evaluated. The H-1-MRS was performed in the right temporal, left parietal and medial occipital regions studying the metabolites N-acetylaspartate (NAA), creatine (Cr), choline (Cho) and myoinositol (ml). The clinical diagnosis was based on standardized cognitive tests - MMSE and CAMDEX - and the results correlated with the H-1-MRS. Results: Parietal Cho was higher in control individuals and lower in CIND subjects. AD and control groups were better identified by temporal and parietal ml combined with the temporal NAA/Cr ratio. CIND was better identified by parietal Cho. Conclusion: The H-1-MRS findings confirmed the hypothesis that metabolic alterations are present since the first symptoms of cognitively impaired elderly subjects. These results suggest that combining MRS from different cerebral regions can help in the diagnosis and follow-up of community elderly individuals with memory complaints and AD. Copyright (C) 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel

The Bayer: Activities of Daily Living Scale (B-ADL) in the differentiation between mild to moderate dementia and normal aging A escala da Bayer: Atividades da Vida Diária (B-AVD) na diferenciação entre demência leve e moderada e o envelhecimento normal

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the applicability of the Bayer - Activities of Daily Living scale and its efficiency in differentiating individuals with mild to moderate dementia from normal elderly controls. METHOD: We selected 33 patients with diagnosis of mild to severe dementia, according to ICD-10 criteria, and 59 controls. All the subjects were evaluated with the Mini-Mental State Examination and the Clinical Dementia Rating Scale and the Bayer - Activities of Daily Living scale was applied to informants. RESULTS: The internal consistency of the Bayer - Activities of Daily Living was high (Cronbach's alpha = 0.981). Mean Mini-Mental State Examination and Bayer - Activities of Daily Living scores of demented patients and controls were significantly different (p < 0.001). Mean Mini-Mental State Examination and Bayer - Activities of Daily Living scores were significantly different between Clinical Dementia Rating Scale 0 (controls; n = 59) versus Clinical Dementia Rating Scale 1 (mild dementia; n = 15), Clinical Dementia Rating Scale 0 versus Clinical Dementia Rating Scale 2 (moderate dementia; n = 13), and for Clinical Dementia Rating Scale 1 versus Clinical Dementia Rating Scale 2 (p < 0.003). DISCUSSION: The Bayer - Activities of Daily Living scale and Mini-Mental State Examination differentiated elderly controls from patients with mild or moderate dementia, and patients with mild dementia from those with moderate dementia. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that the Bayer - Activities of Daily Living scale applied to an informant can help in the diagnosis and follow-up of Brazilian patients with mild to moderate dementia.<br>OBJETIVOS: Investigar a aplicabilidade da escala Bayer - Atividades de Vida Diária e sua eficiência em diferenciar indivíduos com demência leve a moderada de indivíduos normais. MÉTODO: Foram selecionados 33 pacientes com diagnóstico de demência leve a grave, de acordo com os critérios da CID-10, e 59 controles. Todos os indivíduos foram avaliados pelo Mini-Exame do Estado Mental e pela Escala de Avaliação Clínica de Demência e os informantes responderam à Bayer - Atividades de Vida Diária. RESULTADOS: A consistência interna da Bayer - Atividades de Vida Diária foi alta (Cronbach Alpha = 0,981). A pontuação média do Mini-Exame do Estado Mental e da Bayer - Atividades de Vida Diária foi significativamente diferente entre os pacientes com demência e o grupo controle (p < 0,001). Os valores do Mini-Exame do Estado Mental e da Bayer - Atividades de Vida Diária foram significativamente diferentes entre a Escala de Avaliação Clínica de Demência 0 (controles; n = 59) e a Escala de Avaliação Clínica de Demência 1 (demência leve; n = 15), a Escala de Avaliação Clínica de Demência 0 e a Escala de Avaliação Clínica de Demência 2 (demência moderada; n = 13) e entre a Escala de Avaliação Clínica de Demência 1 e a Escala de Avaliação Clínica de Demência 2 (p < 0,003). DISCUSSÃO: A Bayer - Atividades de Vida Diária e o Mini-Exame do Estado Mental diferenciaram controles idosos de pacientes com demência leve ou moderada, e pacientes com demência leve daqueles com demência moderada. CONCLUSÕES: Os resultados sugerem que a Bayer - Atividades de Vida Diária, aplicada aos cuidadores, é um instrumento que pode ajudar no diagnóstico e seguimento de pacientes brasileiros com demência leve a moderada

Prevalence of cognitive and functional impairment in a community sample from Sao Paulo, Brazil

Aims: To present the prevalence of cognitive and functional impairment (CFI) in community-dwelling elderly subjects from the city of Sao Paulo. Methods: The population was aged 60 years and older (n = 1,563; 68.7% women and 31.3% men) and lived in different socioeconomic areas. The following instruments were administered to the elderly: the Mini Mental State Examination and the Fuld Object Memory Evaluation. The Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly and the Bayer-Activities of Daily Living scale were administered to an informant. Results: The prevalence of CFI (n = 250) was 16% (95% confidence interval, CI: 14.2-17.8%) or 15.8% (95% CI: 13.8-17.8%). In regression models, the increase in the odds ratio (OR) of CFI was associated with age, for elderly individuals aged 75 years or older, illiterates or with 1-4 years of schooling, and with a history of stroke and diabetes mellitus. On the other hand, for subjects with a tumor history, the OR of CFI was significantly reduced. Conclusion: CFI was high and increased at older ages and in subjects with low education. Potentially changeable factors were identified (stroke and diabetes), and the possible `protective effect` of tumor/cancer against CFI should be further investigated by longitudinal studies. Copyright (C) 2007 S. Karger AG, Basel

Performance of Brazilian long and short IQCODE on the screening of dementia in elderly people with low education

Background: Dementia screening in elderly people with low education can be difficult to implement. For these subjects, informant reports using the long (L) (26 items) and short (C) (16 items) versions of the Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly (IQCODE) can be useful. The objective of the present study was to investigate the performance of Brazilian versions of the IQCODE L, S and a new short version (SBr) (15 items) in comparison with the Mini-mental State Examination (MMSE) for dementia screening in elderly people with low education. Methods: Thirty-four patients with mild to moderate dementia, diagnosed according to ICD-10 criteria, and 57 controls were evaluated and divided into three groups based on their socioeconomic status and level of education. Patients were evaluated using the MMSE and the informants were interviewed using the IQCODE by interviewers blind to the clinical diagnosis. Results: Education was correlated with MMSE results (r = 0.280, p = 0.031), but not with the versions of the IQCODE. The performance of the instruments, evaluated by the ROC curves, was very similar, with good internal consistency (Cronbach`s alpha = 0.97). MMSE correctly classified 85.7% of the subjects while the three IQCODE versions (L, S and SBr) correctly classified 91.2% of the subjects. Conclusions: The long, short and the new short Brazilian IQCODE versions can be useful as a screening tool for mild and moderate patients with dementia in Brazil. The IQCODE is not biased by schooling, and it seems to be an adequate instrument for samples with low levels of education.FAPESP[01/059597

Estimate of Dementia Prevalence in a Community Sample from Sao Paulo, Brazil

Aims: To estimate dementia prevalence and describe the etiology of dementia in a community sample from the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Methods: A sample of subjects older than 60 years was screened for dementia in the first phase. During the second phase, the diagnostic workup included a structured interview, physical and neurological examination, laboratory exams, a brain scan, and DSM-IV criteria diagnosis. Results: Mean age was 71.5 years (n = 1,563) and 58.3% had up to 4 years of schooling (68.7% female). Dementia was diagnosed in 107 subjects with an observed prevalence of 6.8%. The estimate of dementia prevalence was 12.9%, considering design effect, nonresponse during the community phase, and positive and negative predictive values. Alzheimer`s disease was the most frequent cause of dementia (59.8%), followed by vascular dementia (15.9%). Older age and illiteracy were significantly associated with dementia. Conclusions: The estimate of dementia prevalence was higher than previously reported in Brazil, with Alzheimer`s disease and vascular dementia being the most frequent causes of dementia. Dementia prevalence in Brazil and in other Latin American countries should be addressed by additional studies to confirm these higher dementia rates which might have a sizable impact on countries` health services. Copyright (C) 2008 S. Karger AG, BaselFundacao de Apoio a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP)[01/05959-7