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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Hypothyroidism and subclinical hyperthyroidism have both been associated with cognitive impairment and dementia.
Why it matters
In 1047 participants over 64 without severe cognitive impairment at baseline, higher log-transformed TSH levels were associated with lower MMSE performance at baseline, independent of several other factors. This links thyroid function to cognitive test performance, but it does not show that treating thyroid problems prevents or cures dementia.
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The present study confirms a poor prognosis after delirium in elderly patients.
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A comprehensive search of relevant databases, hand searching and cross referencing found 685 articles that were assessed for relevance to the review.
Why it matters
This systematic review found that psycho-educational, support, and multi-component interventions for caregivers showed small but significant improvements in caregiver depression and burden, but no significant impact on subjective well-being, self-efficacy, or health. It is about supporting caregivers, not about treating, curing, or preventing Alzheimer's disease itself.
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Essential hypertension has devastating effects on the brain, being the major cause of stroke and a leading cause of dementia.
Why it matters
This review states that essential hypertension is a leading cause of dementia and that hypertension-related alterations increase the brain's susceptibility to ischemic injury as well as Alzheimer's disease. It focuses on mechanisms by which hypertension disrupts cerebral blood vessels and reports no treatment, cure or prevention.
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To evaluate the impact hospice enrollment has on the terminal care of patients with dementia and describe the symptom burden these patients experience, caregivers of dementia decedents were assessed in a mortality follow-back survey.
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50/100
Abnormalities of the P600 or N400 in mild cognitive impairment are associated with an increased risk of subsequent conversion to Alzheimer disease (AD).
Why it matters
In this small longitudinal study, people with mild cognitive impairment who lacked the normal P600 or N400 brain-wave repetition effects were more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease within three years. These brain-wave measures may help identify who is at higher risk, but the study did not test any treatment.
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50/100
The main neurological causes of morbidity and mortality are stroke and dementia.
Why it matters
In a community-based Framingham Study group of North Americans of European descent, a middle-aged woman's lifetime risk of stroke was 1 in 5 and a man's was 1 in 6. The lifetime risk of stroke matched that of dementia and was equal to or greater than that of Alzheimer's disease (1 in 5 for women and 1 in 10 for men), and more than 1 in 3 people developed stroke or dementia. The authors argue that lifetime risk is the clearest way to communicate this burden, but these are population figures: predicting an individual's risk needs risk-stratified models.
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Transient neurological attacks (TNAs) are attacks with temporary ( Objective To study the incidence and prognosis of focal TNAs (or TIAs), nonfocal TNAs, and mixed TNAs.
Why it matters
This study tracked whether people who had temporary neurological attacks later developed stroke, heart disease, or dementia. It describes the incidence and prognosis of these attacks but does not test any treatment, cure, or prevention for Alzheimer's disease.
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MCI is frequent in elderly patients of GPs.
Why it matters
This study found that mild cognitive impairment was frequent among elderly general practice patients, with prevalence of 15.4% for the original concept and 25.2% for a modified concept, and rates increased with older age. It describes how common MCI is and does not test any treatment or prevention.
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Missing data is a common complication in data analysis.
Why it matters
This paper reviews the theory, implementation and software for multiple imputation, a statistical method for handling missing data. It is a methods review with no bearing on treating, curing or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
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A predictive model based on 5 risk factors has been successfully validated for prediction of delirium at discharge in hospitalized older patients.
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The regression models showed that older age, education levels, language spoken at home and in country of birth, socioeconomic status (SES), occupation, sex, and presence of a mood disorder made significant and unique contributions to performance on the MMSE.
Why it matters
This study found that factors such as age, education, language, socioeconomic status, occupation, sex and mood disorder affect Mini-Mental State Exam scores in older Australians. It is about how screening test scores should be interpreted, not about treating, curing or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
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Dementia is a leading cause of death in the USA.
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The MoCA is a useful brief screening tool for the detection of mild dementia or MCI in subjects scoring over 25 points on the MMSE.
Why it matters
In this memory clinic study, the Montreal Cognitive Assessment detected 83% of subjects with mild cognitive impairment and 94% of subjects with dementia, compared with 17% and 25% for the Mini-Mental State Examination. Specificity for the Mini-Mental State Examination was 100%, and specificity for the Montreal Cognitive Assessment was 50%.
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We developed and tested the validity of a brief scale to assess everyday functioning in persons with serious mental illness.
Why it matters
This study developed a brief scale of everyday functioning for people with serious mental illness such as schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. It is not a study of Alzheimer's disease treatment, and the Dementia Rating Scale is mentioned only as a comparison measure.
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Selenium is a trace element associated with antioxidant activity and is considered to be a protective agent against free radicals through enhanced enzyme activity.
Why it matters
This cross-sectional study found that lower selenium levels were associated with lower cognitive scores in rural elderly Chinese. It is observational and does not show that selenium supplementation prevents or treats Alzheimer's disease.
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Subjects were 233 older Catholic clergy in the Religious Orders Study, who underwent detailed annual evaluations, including neuropsychological testing, and brain autopsy at time of death (mean age 86 years, 45% men).
Why it matters
In this autopsy study of 233 older clergy, diabetes was linked to cerebral infarction but not to Alzheimer disease pathology. This suggests diabetes may contribute to dementia through vascular damage rather than through the plaques and tangles of Alzheimer's disease.
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In these high-risk patients, antidepressant drug treatment does not seem to be related to suicide attempts and death in adults but might be related in children and adolescents.
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MCI involves more substantial cognitive and memory decline than normal aging and represents a significant risk factor for the development of dementia.
Why it matters
This review discusses mild cognitive impairment and the risk of progression to Alzheimer's disease, noting that amnestic mild cognitive impairment carries the greatest risk. It mentions a three-year trial in which donepezil was associated with a lower rate of progression during the first 12 months compared with placebo.
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Crotty M, Whitehead CH, Wundke R, et al .
Why it matters
This randomised controlled trial found that moving elderly inpatients waiting for a long-term care bed to a transitional care facility reduced hospital stay but increased time to transfer to long-term care. Patients with dementia and behavioural problems were included if no additional nursing staff would be required.
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Rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep behaviour disorder (RBD) is characterised by loss of muscular atonia and prominent motor behaviours during REM sleep.
Why it matters
REM sleep behaviour disorder means a person acts out dreams physically instead of lying still during sleep, which this review notes "can cause sleep disruption and severe injuries for the patient or bed partner." The review describes it as strongly associated with multiple-system atrophy, Parkinson's disease, dementia with Lewy bodies and progressive supranuclear palsy, often appearing "several years" before their other symptoms, so it "might be a stage" in their development. It is an association-only review: it gives no risk figures, does not mention Alzheimer's disease, and does not test any treatment.
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Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) was proposed as a nosological entity referring to elderly people with mild cognitive deficit but no dementia.
Why it matters
This report proposes a three-stage diagnostic procedure for mild cognitive impairment to help identify people at high risk of progression to dementia and guide early management. It is a diagnostic framework and reports no treatment, cure or prevention.
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50/100
The impact of cognitive impairment on activities of daily living (ADL) is being used as a major criterion for differentiating between mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia.
Why it matters
In 45 older patients, this study examined whether complex daily living activities are impaired in mild cognitive impairment and whether such impairment helps diagnose it. It is about diagnosis and daily function, not about treating, curing or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
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These data suggest that quality of life in dementia is complex, and that simple proxy substitutions of discrete measures such as cognition or function are likely to miss important factors.
Why it matters
In this cross-sectional study of 101 people with dementia, lower quality of life was significantly correlated with higher levels of behavioural and psychological disturbance, younger age of the person with dementia, and poorer carer mental health. Quality of life was not significantly associated with cognition or carer age.
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Cognitive impairment and late-life depression are associated with increased risk for subsequent dementia; however, investigations of these phenomena appear to be proceeding along separate tracks.
Why it matters
This conference report discusses how depression, mild cognitive impairment and cognitive decline are associated with increased risk for subsequent dementia and how research on these topics might be better integrated. It reports no treatment, cure or prevention for Alzheimer's disease.
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.
- Omega-3 fatty acids and risk of dementia: the Canadian Study of Health and Aging
- Episodes of lucidity in people with severe dementia as narrated by formal carers
- Determinants of Treatment Willingness and Willingness-to-Pay for Lecanemab in China
- The Association Between Possible Sarcopenia and Delirium Onset in Older Patients With Acute Stroke
- Neuroplastic effects of combined computerized physical and cognitive training in elderly individuals at risk for dementia: an eLORETA controlled study on resting states
- Association of Poor Sleep Burden in Middle Age and Older Adults With Risk for Delirium During Hospitalization
- The Mediterranean diet is not related to cognitive change in a large prospective investigation: the PATH Through Life study
- The cost-effectiveness of a behavior intervention with caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's disease
- Combined physical and cognitive training for older adults with and without cognitive impairment: A systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
- Blood pressure from mid- to late life and risk of incident dementia