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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These results should be confirmed with a randomized clinical trial of a centrally active ACE inhibitor in the prevention of cognitive decline and dementia.
Why it matters
In this cohort of 1054 older adults with treated hypertension, use of all ACE inhibitors was not associated with risk of dementia, though centrally active ACE inhibitors were linked to less cognitive decline. The study reports associations and does not show that these drugs treat, cure, or prevent Alzheimer's disease.
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Frontotemporal lobar degeneration is currently associated with three syndromic variants.
Why it matters
This study identified 20 patients with predominant right temporal lobe atrophy and characterized their clinical profile, comparing them with patients with left-sided temporal atrophy. It describes the clinical features of this condition and does not test any treatment, cure, or prevention for Alzheimer's disease.
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Adherence rates for a number of antihypertensive and dementia drugs are lower for minorities compared with whites.
Why it matters
Among veterans with both hypertension and dementia, African Americans were less likely than whites to receive certain antihypertensive and dementia medications, and adherence rates for a number of these drugs were lower for minorities compared with whites. This describes disparities in medication use, not whether any treatment cures or prevents dementia.
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The effectiveness and safety of yokukansan (TJ-54), a traditional Japanese medicine (kampo) for the treatment of the behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD), were evaluated in 106 patients diagnosed as having Alzheimer's disease (AD) (including mixed-type dementia) or dementia with Lewy bodies.
Why it matters
This randomized cross-over study tested yokukansan (TJ-54), a traditional Japanese medicine, for behavioural and psychological symptoms in 106 patients with Alzheimer's disease or dementia with Lewy bodies. It targets symptoms rather than the disease itself, so it does not show a cure or prevention for Alzheimer's disease.
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Dementia has reached epidemic proportions, with an estimated 4.6 million new cases worldwide each year.
Why it matters
This review reports that many cross-sectional and prospective studies show associations between cognitive deficit or dementia and homocysteine and/or B vitamins, and that raised plasma total homocysteine is a strong prognostic marker of future cognitive decline. It states that a definite causal pathway has yet to be shown, so it does not establish that B vitamins prevent or treat dementia.
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Men and women have different risk profiles for both MCI and progression to dementia.
Why it matters
In this community-based study, 42% of participants were classified as having mild cognitive impairment at baseline, and risk factors for progression to dementia differed between men and women. The findings describe gender-specific risk profiles for mild cognitive impairment and progression to dementia, not a treatment or cure.
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Participants with the fewest teeth had the highest risk of prevalence and incidence of dementia.
Why it matters
In 144 participants of the Nun Study, having few teeth was linked to a higher prevalence and incidence of dementia. The authors say that having no teeth or very few teeth may predict dementia late in life, but this does not show that tooth loss causes dementia or that dental treatment prevents it.
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Coping style may be more associated with anxiety than depression while other covariates (burden and poor physical health) are similar to those for caregiver depression.
Why it matters
This review of 33 studies found that clinically significant anxiety affects about a quarter of caregivers for people with dementia, more than in matched controls. It is about caregiver mental health, not about treating, curing or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
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The LTR of stroke in middle-aged adults is 1 in 6 or more, which is equal to or greater than the LTR of AD.
Why it matters
This study estimated that the lifetime risk of stroke in middle-aged adults is about 1 in 6 or more, similar to or greater than the lifetime risk of Alzheimer's disease, and that blood pressure is a significant determinant of stroke risk. It is about stroke risk and does not test any treatment, cure, or prevention for Alzheimer's disease.
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To explore neural correlates of cognitive decline in aging, we used longitudinal behavioral data to identify two groups of older adults (n = 40) that differed with regard to whether their performance on tests of episodic memory remained stable or declined over a decade.
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Most prognostic studies on Parkinson disease have been hospital based or have applied register-based case-finding methods.
Why it matters
This study evaluated whether Parkinson disease is associated with an increased risk of dementia and death in a population cohort. It concerns Parkinson disease, not Alzheimer's disease, and being observational it cannot show how to prevent dementia.
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This is a clinicopathologic study of a prospective, clinic-based cohort of patients with frontotemporal dementia (FTD)/Pick complex, who were followed to autopsy.
Why it matters
This autopsy study described the varied brain pathologies found in people who had frontotemporal dementia during life. It describes the disease's underlying biology and does not test any treatment or cure.
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Cerebral white matter lesions are frequently observed on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans in elderly people and are associated with stroke and dementia.
Why it matters
In 1,805 dementia-free people aged 65 to 75 from 10 European community studies, blood pressure measured both at the time of a brain MRI and 5 to 20 years earlier was associated with severe white matter lesions, a brain-scan finding the authors note is linked to stroke and dementia. People with poorly controlled hypertension had the highest risk, but falling as well as rising diastolic pressure was linked to more lesions near the brain's ventricles, so the authors caution that successful treatment "may reduce this risk" while lowering diastolic pressure could carry its own risk. The study measured brain lesions, not dementia, and it shows associations, not cause and effect.
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Diabetes mellitus increases the risk of dementia, and VaD in particular, in very old people.
Why it matters
In 1,301 dementia-free Stockholm residents aged 75+, followed for 6 years, people with diabetes had a higher risk of dementia overall (HR 1.5) and of vascular dementia especially (HR 2.6), but the link with Alzheimer disease was weaker and not statistically clear (HR 1.3, 95% CI 0.9–2.1). Risk was highest when diabetes occurred together with severe systolic hypertension (≥180 mm Hg), and diabetes plus heart disease raised vascular-dementia risk. This is an observational study, so it shows association, not that diabetes causes dementia.
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The results of this review support, but do not conclusively establish, the association between BPSD and PSC.
Why it matters
Pooling 30 cross-sectional and 12 longitudinal studies, this review found moderate associations between behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia and caregiver burden, distress and depression. It addresses caregiving impact only and offers no treatment or prevention for Alzheimer's disease.
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59/100
The 6-item RUDAS is portable and tests multiple cognitive domains.
Why it matters
This study developed and tested the RUDAS, a 6-item cognitive assessment scale designed to detect dementia fairly across cultures. It concerns a screening and assessment tool, not treating, curing, or preventing dementia.
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This study provides longitudinal evidence for a decline in driving performance over time, primarily in early-stage DAT, and supports the need not only for driving assessments, but also for reevaluation of individuals with very mild and mild DAT.
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Cochrane Reviews have recently started including the quantity I(2) to help readers assess the consistency of the results of studies in meta-analyses.
Why it matters
Explains I², a quantity Cochrane Reviews have started including to help readers judge how consistent the results of studies in a meta-analysis are. It is a statistics paper and is not about Alzheimer's disease.
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Baseline data available from 59 patients enrolled in the PSYCLOPS (PSychosis and CLOzapine in PD Study) trial included age, age at onset of PD, duration of PD and psychosis, character of psychosis, medications, living setting, and scores for Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale, Hoehn and Yahr Scale, and Clinical Global Impression Scale.
Why it matters
This study followed 59 Parkinson's disease patients with psychosis for about 26 months to look at death, nursing home placement, dementia, and whether psychosis persisted. It is an observational study of outcomes and does not test any treatment, cure, or prevention for Alzheimer's disease.
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Overall dementia prevalence was 4.8%.
Why it matters
In this study of older Latinos, 4.8% had dementia. More education and a stronger "Anglo cultural orientation" were associated with lower dementia risk, and people with any APOE E4 variant, including two copies (4-4), had higher risk than those with the E3-3 combination. These are associations in one group of people, not causes; the title also mentions type 2 diabetes and stroke, but the summary stored here does not report what was found for them.
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The data from this study provide strong preliminary evidence that, in patients newly admitted to post-acute care facilities from acute care hospitals, delirium symptoms are prevalent, persistent, and associated with poor functional recovery.
Why it matters
Delirium symptoms were common (23%) at admission to post-acute care and were linked to worse recovery in daily activities. This is about delirium in older patients after hospital care, not about treating, curing, or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
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The finding that perceived social support is strongly related to well-being but unrelated to burden reinforces the conceptual distinctiveness of the latter two concepts.
Why it matters
In 243 caregivers, this study found well-being was directly affected by social support, burden, self-esteem and hours of informal care, and that burden and well-being are distinct. It suggests caregiver quality of life can improve even with burden present, but offers no treatment, cure or prevention for Alzheimer's disease.
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Hippocampal volume may index disease severity and predict progression in AD.
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Models combining multiple risk factors should refine the prediction of questionable dementia and persistent cognitive impairment, harbingers of dementia.
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Lipid-lowering agent use was associated with a lower risk of dementia, and specifically of Alzheimer disease, in those younger than 80 years.
Why it matters
This study examined whether the apparent protective effect of lipid-lowering agents against dementia could be explained by indication bias, meaning that people who take these drugs may simply be healthier. It does not establish that these drugs prevent 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.
- Methods for normalization of hippocampal volumes measured with MR
- Integrated care for adults with dementia and other cognitive disorders
- The Effect of Baseline Performance and Age on Cognitive Training Improvements in Older Adults: A Qualitative Review
- Comprehensive Machine Learning-Based Prediction Model for Delirium Risk in Older Patients with Dementia: Risk Factors Identification
- Monitoring night‐time safety in households with dementia using ambient sensing technologies: a rule‐based decision algorithm
- Facing the digital divide into a dementia clinic during COVID-19 pandemic: caregiver age matters
- Cognitive impairment in hip fracture patients: timing of detection and longitudinal follow-up
- Signs and Symptoms of Low-Intake Dehydration Do Not Work in Older Care Home Residents-DRIE Diagnostic Accuracy Study
- Metabolic syndrome and cognitive impairment: current epidemiology and possible underlying mechanisms
- Improving Access to Cognitive Interventions for People With Dementia in Australian Community‐Based Settings