Each study has a usefulness score out of 100 (rubric version 4.0). Tap a score to see what makes it up.
Highest usefulness score first. Studies without a score come last.
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Differences in white matter hyperintensities (WMH) associated with increasing cognitive impairment appear related to both extent and spatial location.
Why it matters
Total white matter hyperintensity volumes were associated with age, vascular risk factors, and diagnosis, with significant differences between cognitively normal and Alzheimer disease subjects in posterior periventricular regions and the splenium of the corpus callosum. MCI subjects had intermediate values at all regions.
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Atrophy of the hippocampus and amygdala on MRI in cognitively intact elderly people predicts dementia during a 6-year follow-up.
Why it matters
In 511 cognitively intact elderly people followed about 6 years, smaller hippocampal and amygdalar volumes were strongly associated with later dementia, with a hazard ratio of 3.0 per 1-SD decrease for the hippocampus. This supports these MRI measures as predictors of dementia risk, not as a way to prevent or treat it.
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Despite advances in the clinical characterization of FTD, little is known about its rate of progression.
Why it matters
This multicenter study compared survival and rates of cognitive and functional decline in 70 patients with autopsy-confirmed frontotemporal dementia and 70 with Alzheimer's disease. It is about comparing disease progression and does not test any treatment, so it says nothing about curing or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
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CERAD total scores were obtained by summing scores from the individual CERAD subtests (excluding the Mini-Mental State Examination [MMSE]) into a total composite (maximum score = 100).
Why it matters
This study developed a total or composite score for the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease neuropsychological battery. It is a measurement-development study, not a treatment, cure, or prevention study.
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56/100
This study presents a probabilistic framework that combines image registration, tissue classification, and bias correction into a single generative model.
Why it matters
This paper describes a single statistical model that combines aligning brain scans, sorting tissue types and correcting image intensity. It is an image-analysis method used to measure the brain in imaging research, not a study of a treatment for Alzheimer's.
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Dependency upon others to perform ADL was the main factor affecting HRQoL.
Why it matters
In this cross-sectional study of 244 patients with dementia, those dependent on others for activities of daily living had much lower health-related quality of life than those who were independent. It identifies daily living ability as a main factor affecting quality of life but does not test any treatment, cure, or prevention.
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Patients with MCI had a predominant memory impairment with relative sparing of other cognitive domains and were intermediate between clinically normal individuals and patients with AD on cognitive and functional ratings.
Why it matters
Among 769 people with amnestic mild cognitive impairment entering a vitamin E/donepezil trial, average scores on a standard cognitive test (ADAS-Cog) fell between those of 107 healthy older controls and people with very mild or mild Alzheimer's disease, and their problems were mainly with memory. People with MCI also sat in between on hippocampal (memory-region) volume and on how often they carried the APOE ε4 gene variant. These are group averages from one point in time at specialist centres; the paper does not report whether either treatment worked, how many people later developed Alzheimer's, or how accurately any single person can be classified.
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Despite general agreement about the boundaries of Alzheimer disease (AD), establishing a maximum limit for Alzheimer-type pathology in cognitively intact individuals might aid in defining more precisely the point at which Alzheimer pathology becomes clinically relevant.
Why it matters
Brains from 39 people aged 74–95 who were cognitively normal near death mostly showed little tangle or neuritic-plaque damage: 87% had a Braak stage below IV and 95% had fewer than moderate neuritic plaques, although 49% had moderate or frequent diffuse plaques. How many counted as "Alzheimer's" depended heavily on the criteria used — none met NIA-Reagan "high likelihood", 7 met CERAD "possible AD" and 19 met Khachaturian criteria. It is a small autopsy series with no dementia comparison group, so it describes what normal ageing brains can contain rather than setting a diagnostic cut-off, and it tests no treatment.
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The study confirms previous "guestimates" of the number of younger people affected by dementia in UK.
Why it matters
In three London boroughs (population 567,500), this 2003 survey found 185 people whose dementia began before age 65. That works out to 54.0 per 100,000 people aged 30–64 and 98.1 per 100,000 aged 45–64, with the rate roughly doubling every 5 years from age 35. Extrapolated to the UK, the authors estimated about 18,319 people under 65 with dementia (range 15,296–21,758), a figure they intended for planning services. Cases were counted only if professionals reported them, and the study tests no treatment or prevention.
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The presence of neurologic gait abnormalities in elderly persons without dementia at base line is a significant predictor of the risk of development of dementia, especially non-Alzheimer's dementia.
Why it matters
In this prospective study of 422 people over 75, those with neurologic gait abnormalities had a higher risk of non-Alzheimer's dementia but not of Alzheimer's dementia. Gait abnormality may serve as a predictive sign for some dementias, but the study tested no treatment or prevention.
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56/100
The six-item screener is a brief and reliable instrument for identifying subjects with cognitive impairment and its diagnostic properties are comparable to the full MMSE.
Why it matters
Researchers built a six-question memory and thinking screen from the longer MMSE and tested it in 344 older Black adults in Indianapolis and 651 people referred to a dementia clinic. Counting three or more errors as a positive screen, it picked up 88.7% of people with dementia, with 88.0% specificity, against 95.2% and 86.7% for the full MMSE. The authors call it "comparable to the full MMSE" and quick to score. It is a screen that flags people for a full assessment; it does not diagnose dementia and offers no treatment or prevention.
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We studied compliance with antihypertensive treatment in elderly patients with cognitive impairment.
Why it matters
This study examined whether cognitive impairment in elderly people was associated with not taking antihypertensive drugs as prescribed. It does not show that improving cognitive function improves medication compliance or that treating blood pressure prevents dementia, and it is an observational cohort study.
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An international group of clinical and basic scientists participated in the Frontotemporal Dementia and Pick's Disease Criteria Conference at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md, on July 7, 2000, to reassess clinical and neuropathological criteria for the diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia (FTD).
Why it matters
At a 2000 NIH conference, an international group of clinical and basic scientists reassessed how frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is diagnosed. Earlier criteria had been "primarily designed for research purposes," so they proposed guidelines to help neurologists, psychiatrists and neuropsychologists recognise FTD and refer patients to a diagnostic center. This is an expert consensus report with no patient data, it dates from 2001, and it concerns a dementia other than Alzheimer's; it offers no treatment.
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Delirium occurred in 239 (9%) of 2721 observations or 131 (16%) of 797 patients.
Why it matters
This study compared nurse and researcher ratings of delirium in 797 patients aged 70 and older and found that nurses identified delirium in only 19% of observations and 31% of patients. It does not test any treatment, cure or prevention for Alzheimer's disease, though it found that dementia was one risk factor for underrecognition by nurses.
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Diagnostic criteria for dementia have improved since the 1994 practice parameter.
Why it matters
This 2001 American Academy of Neurology guideline reviewed studies from 1985–1999 to update its 1994 advice on diagnosing dementia in older people. It recommended using the DSM-III-R definition of dementia and the NINCDS-ADRDA or DSM-III-R criteria for Alzheimer's disease, a CT or MRI scan in the first evaluation, and screening for depression, B12 deficiency and hypothyroidism. It did not recommend routine genetic markers, any other imaging, or routine syphilis screening. It said more research was needed on imaging, biomarkers and genetic testing, so later guidelines should be checked for current practice.
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56/100
Memory complaints in elderly people should no longer be considered merely as an innocent age-related phenomenon or a symptom of depression.
Why it matters
This review found that memory complaints predict dementia after at least two years of follow-up, especially in people with mild cognitive impairment. It is about predicting dementia, not about treating, curing, or preventing it.
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Of 173 patients followed for at least 1 year, 50 became demented according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, revised 3rd edition (DSM III-R) criteria (mean follow-up, 3.6 +/- 2. 2 years).
Why it matters
In people with Parkinson's disease who did not have dementia at the start, certain motor problems (speech and axial impairment) were linked to later developing dementia, while other motor problems (tremor, rigidity, bradykinesia) were not. This may help identify which Parkinson's patients are at higher risk of dementia, but it does not show how to prevent or treat it.
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This paper describes the steps involved in voxel-based morphometry (VBM), a technique that involves a voxel-wise comparison of the local concentration of gray matter between two groups of subjects.
Why it matters
Describes the methods of voxel-based morphometry.
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56/100
Incidence rates of all dementias and of AD increased with age; men and those with lesser education had higher rates of possible/incipient dementia (CDR = 0.5) in this community.
Why it matters
This ten-year study in a rural US community found that among 199 new dementia cases, 153 had probable or possible Alzheimer's disease. It reports incidence rates by age, sex and education but does not test any treatment or prevention.
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The study formed part of the Rotterdam Study, a prospective, population-based cohort study on the frequency, etiology, and prognosis of chronic diseases.
Why it matters
This study examined whether APOE genotype is associated with Parkinson's disease with or without dementia in a population-based cohort. It does not show that testing or changing APOE can prevent or treat dementia, and it is about risk associations only.
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The Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) is a validated clinical instrument for evaluating psychopathology in dementia.
Why it matters
This study validated a brief questionnaire form of the Neuropsychiatric Inventory for assessing behavioral symptoms in Alzheimer's patients. It is a reliable assessment tool for clinical practice, not a treatment, so it does not directly affect curing or preventing the disease.
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We studied the association of mid-life blood pressure to late age dementia, specifically Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia.
Why it matters
In 3,703 Japanese-American men first examined in the Honolulu Heart Program in 1965–1971 and checked for dementia in 1991, those who had never taken blood-pressure medication and had high midlife blood pressure had higher odds of dementia: 3.8 to 4.3 times for diastolic pressure of 90 mm Hg or more (versus 80–89), and 4.8 times for systolic pressure of 160 mm Hg or more (versus 110–139), with wide confidence intervals. The authors report the same pattern for Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia. Among men who had been treated, blood pressure was not linked to dementia; this observational study does not show that treatment caused that difference.
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The cortical anatomy of 6 patients with semantic dementia (the temporal lobe variant of frontotemporal dementia) was contrasted with that of a group of age-matched normal subjects by using voxel-based morphometry, a technique that identifies changes in gray matter volume on a voxel-by-voxel basis.
Why it matters
In this imaging study of 6 patients with semantic dementia, atrophy was found in the left anterior temporal lobe and other regions, and the degree of semantic memory impairment correlated with left anterior temporal lobe atrophy. This helps understand the brain basis of semantic memory but does not test any treatment, cure, or prevention.
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The commonly used criteria for diagnosis can differ by a factor of 10 in the number of subjects classified as having dementia.
Why it matters
When researchers applied six common diagnostic rulebooks (three DSM editions, two ICD editions and CAMDEX) to the same 1,879 people aged 65 and older in the Canadian Study of Health and Aging, the share labelled as having dementia ranged from 3.1% (ICD-10) to 29.1% (DSM-III), and only 20 people met all six definitions. The authors say a roughly tenfold difference matters for research, treatment and older people's rights to drive, make a will and manage money. The study does not say which definition is correct.
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A high intake of saturated fat and cholesterol and a low intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids have been related to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
Why it matters
In the Rotterdam Study, researchers recorded what 5,386 people aged 55 or older without dementia ate, using a single food-frequency questionnaire, and then checked them for dementia after an average of 2.1 years. They wanted to know whether fat intake, which earlier research had tied to heart disease, is also associated with developing dementia. The summary stored here describes the question and methods but not the results, and as an observational study it can show only associations, not that any diet causes or prevents dementia.
From across this topic
10 of the 7,967 studies in this topic, picked by a fixed rule (a hash of each study's address), not by score or date; each page of this list shows a different 10. The same 10 appear here every time.
- Association of the Mediterranean Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) Diet With the Risk of Dementia
- LOWER COMMUNITY LIVABILITY IS ASSOCIATED WITH HIGHER DEMENTIA PREVALENCE AMONG WOMEN IN SOUTH CAROLINA COUNTIES
- Clinical Neurology and Epidemiology of the Major Neurodegenerative Diseases
- Cost-utility analysis of the DREAMS START intervention for people living with dementia and their carers: a within-trial economic evaluation
- Social determinants of health in total knee arthroplasty : are social factors associated with increased 30-day post-discharge cost of care and length of stay?
- Fat intake at midlife and risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease: a population-based study
- Health and aging in elderly farmers: the AMI cohort
- Parkinsonism and frontotemporal dementia: the clinical overlap
- Bridging gaps in dementia care across southeastern Europe: Regional challenges, cross-border innovation, and implementation barriers
- Setting a public health research agenda for Down syndrome: summary of a meeting sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Down Syndrome Society