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.
-
Delirium is frequent among older ICU patients.
-
Drivers with dementia are poorer drivers than cognitively normal drivers, but studies have not consistently demonstrated higher crash rates.
-
Atherosclerosis has been implicated in the development of dementia and its major subtypes, Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia.
Why it matters
This study investigated whether atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, is linked to dementia and its subtypes over long follow-up in 6,647 participants. It examined a possible risk factor for dementia, which could inform prevention efforts, but no treatment was tested.
-
Effects of caregiving on physical health have received less theoretical and empirical attention than effects on psychological health.
Why it matters
Pooling 176 studies, this meta-analysis found that caregivers' depressive symptoms, and the care recipient's behaviour problems, were more closely tied to caregivers' own physical health than how impaired the person was or how much care was given; older age, lower socioeconomic status and less informal support were also linked to poorer health. The links were strongest for dementia caregivers, older caregivers and men. These are associations, not proof of cause, and the study tests no treatment for Alzheimer's disease or for caregivers.
-
Without validated cutoff scores, it is impossible to employ tests in a standardized fashion in front-line clinical settings.
-
Previous studies in humans have shown the presence of an age-related reduction of hippocampal (HC) volume, as well as the presence of reduced HC volume in psychiatric populations suffering from schizophrenia, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder.
-
There is type 1b evidence for gingko biloba in producing a modest benefit of cognitive function; cholinesterase inhibitors for the treatment of people with Lewy body disease (particularly neuropsychiatric symptoms); cholinesterase inhibitors and memantine in treatment cognitive impairment associated with vascular dementia; and the effect of metal collating agents (although these should not be prescribed until more data on safety and efficacy are available).
-
A team applying comprehensive geriatric assessment and rehabilitation, including prevention, detection, and treatment of fall risk factors, can successfully prevent inpatient falls and injuries, even in patients with dementia.
Why it matters
In this randomized trial, a multidisciplinary program after femoral neck fracture reduced inpatient falls and fall-related injuries, including among patients with dementia. It is about preventing falls and injuries, not about treating, curing, or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
-
64/100
Two (1.5%) persons met NIA-Reagan criteria for high likelihood AD, and 48 (35.8%) met criteria for intermediate likelihood; 29 (21.6%) had cerebral infarctions, and 18 (13.4%) had Lewy bodies.
Why it matters
This study found that Alzheimer's disease pathology can be present in the brains of older people who had no dementia or mild cognitive impairment, and was related to subtle changes in episodic memory. It does not test a treatment or cure, but shows that brain changes may exist before symptoms appear.
-
This series of meta-analyses examined structural abnormalities of the hippocampus and other brain regions in persons with PTSD compared to trauma-exposed and non-exposed control groups.
-
Because most interventions have domain-specific outcomes, clinicians must tailor interventions according to the specific needs of the individual caregivers.
Why it matters
Pooling 127 intervention studies, this meta-analysis found significant but small average effects on caregiver burden, depression and well-being, with only multicomponent interventions reducing the risk of institutionalization. These are caregiver-focused interventions, not treatments that cure or prevent the disease.
-
During follow-up 319 participants developed dementia (221 had AD).
Why it matters
In this cohort of older people without dementia, lower scores on a performance-based physical function test were associated with a higher risk of later developing dementia and Alzheimer disease. It shows an association only and does not show that improving physical function would prevent dementia.
-
64/100
Mild cognitive impairment is a syndrome defined as cognitive decline greater than expected for an individual's age and education level but that does not interfere notably with activities of daily life.
Why it matters
This 2006 Lancet review describes mild cognitive impairment as cognitive decline greater than expected for a person's age and education that does not notably interfere with daily life, affecting 3% to 19% of over-65s in population studies. It reports that some people stay stable or return to normal, but more than half progress to dementia within five years, and that the amnestic subtype carries a high risk of Alzheimer's disease. The authors suggest that identifying MCI could allow secondary prevention by controlling risk factors such as systolic hypertension, a proposal rather than a tested result.
-
The direct visualization of retinal vessels provides a unique opportunity to study cerebral small vessel disease, because these vessels share many features.
-
There is evidence from a population-based study of an inverse relationship between monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) energy intake and age-related cognitive decline (ARCD), while high polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) intake was positively associated with cognitive impairment in elderly subjects.
-
The dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) Consortium has revised criteria for the clinical and pathologic diagnosis of DLB incorporating new information about the core clinical features and suggesting improved methods to assess them.
Why it matters
This 2005 consensus report from the DLB Consortium revised the criteria for diagnosing dementia with Lewy bodies, giving more weight to REM sleep behavior disorder, severe neuroleptic sensitivity and reduced dopamine transporter activity on brain imaging, and it weighs both Lewy-related and Alzheimer-type brain changes when judging how likely a DLB diagnosis is. On treatment, it says evidence on specific interventions is limited; the data it cites suggest only a partial motor response to levodopa, severe sensitivity to typical and atypical antipsychotics in approximately 50%, and improvements in attention, visual hallucinations and sleep with cholinesterase inhibitors.
-
The AD8 is a brief, sensitive measure that reliably differentiates between nondemented and demented individuals.
Why it matters
This study developed a brief informant interview, the AD8, to detect very mild dementia. It is a screening tool and does not provide information on treating, curing, or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
-
Whilst palliative care is appropriate for elderly patients with chronic, non-malignant disease, few of these patients access such care compared with cancer patients.
-
Despite the increased interest in palliative care for patients with dementia there is currently little evidence on which to base such an approach.
-
This review shows that occupational therapy interventions for community dwelling elderly people results in positive outcomes.
-
Although the effect of major depressive disorder on amygdala volume remains to be conclusively established, inclusion of the amygdala with the hippocampus appears to have decreased the likelihood of detecting volumetric differences in either structure.
-
We investigated the nature of the relationship between depression and vascular diseases by reviewing epidemiological, clinical, neuroimaging and neuropathology studies which have reported on the relationship of depression to coronary artery disease, stroke disease, alterations in blood pressure, vascular dementia, diabetes mellitus and cholesterol levels and by reviewing potential mechanisms by which depression could be associated with vascular diseases.
-
Contrary to early case-control studies that suggested smoking protects against Alzheimer disease (AD), recent prospective studies have shown that elderly who smoke may be at increased risk for dementia.
Why it matters
In a multicenter cohort of 17,610 people aged 65 and over, this study examined prospectively whether smoking affected cognition in those without dementia. It reports on smoking as a risk factor, not on treating, curing or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
-
In cell culture experiments, flupirtine maleate (FLU), a triaminopyridine compound, was able to protect neuronal cells from apoptotic cell death induced by prion protein fragments and beta-amyloid peptides.
Why it matters
This double-blind study gave flupirtine or placebo to 28 patients with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, not Alzheimer's disease. It does not test a treatment for Alzheimer's disease and provides no information on treating, curing, or preventing it.
-
Classification resulted in 227 persons with prevalent dementia at entry into the study and 480 incident cases during follow-up.
Why it matters
This cohort study estimated the incidence and prevalence of dementia, Alzheimer's disease, and vascular dementia in older adults. It found that those with the APOE epsilon4 allele had a higher incidence rate at age 80, and that rates differed substantially by educational attainment, though this was only significant for whites.
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.
- Digital life storybooks for people with dementia living in care homes: an evaluation
- Availability and Primary Health Care Orientation of Dementia-Related Services in Rural Saskatchewan, Canada
- Risk factors for severity of COVID-19: a rapid review to inform vaccine prioritisation in Canada
- Midlife cardiovascular fitness and dementia: A 44-year longitudinal population study in women
- Sketching a Space of Brain States
- Should we include dementia diagnosis or cognitive impairment to predict home care cost? : an observational study using real-world data
- Living well with dementia: a qualitative interview study on family caregivers’ call for more person- and family-centered dementia support
- Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: the PRISMA statement
- Adverse drug reactions in special populations - the elderly
- Trajectory of Cardiogenic Dementia: A New Perspective