Renata Teles Vieira

Epidemiology of early-onset dementia: a review of the literature

Presenile Dementia or Early Onset Dementia (EOD) is a public health problem, it differs from Senile Dementia, and encloses a significant number of cases; nevertheless, it is still poorly understood and underdiagnosed. This study aims to review the prevalence and etiology of EOD, comparing EOD with Senile Dementia, as well as to show the main causes of EOD and their prevalence in population and non-population based studies. The computer-supported search used the following databases: Pubmed/Medline, ISI Web of Knowledge and Scielo. The search terms were alcohol-associated dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, Creutzfeldt-jakob disease, dementia with lewy bodies, early onset dementia, frontotemporal lobar degeneration, Huntington’s disease, mixed dementia, neurodegenerative disorders, Parkinson’s disease dementia, presenile dementia, traumatic brain injury, vascular dementia. Only papers published in English and conducted from 1985 up to 2012 were preferentially reviewed. Neurodegenerative diseases are the most common etiologies seen in EOD. Among the general population, the prevalence of EOD was found to range between 0 to 700 per 100.000 habitants in groups of 25-64 years old, with an increasing incidence with age. The progression of EOD was found to range between 8.3 to 22.8 new cases per 100.000 in those aged under 65 years. Alzheimers disease (AD) is the major etiology, followed by Vascular Dementia (VaD) and Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration (FTLD). A larger number of epidemiological studies to elucidate how environmental issues contribute to EOD are necessary, thus, we can collaborate in the planning and prevention of services toward dementia patients.

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for clinical applications in neurological and psychiatric disorders: an overview.

Neurological and psychiatric disorders are characterized by several disabling symptoms for which effective, mechanism-based treatments remain elusive. Consequently, more advanced non-invasive therapeutic methods are required. A method that may modulate brain activity and be viable for use in clinical practice is repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS). It is a non-invasive procedure whereby a pulsed magnetic field stimulates electrical activity in the brain. Here, we focus on the basic foundation of rTMS, the main stimulation parametters, the factors that influence individual responses to rTMS and the experimental advances of rTMS that may become a viable clinical application to treat neurological and psychiatric disorders. The findings showed that rTMS can improve some symptoms associated with these conditions and might be useful for promoting cortical plasticity in patients with neurological and psychiatric disorders. However, these changes are transient and it is premature to propose these applications as realistic therapeutic options, even though the rTMS technique has been evidenced as a potential modulator of sensorimotor integration and neuroplasticity. Functional imaging of the region of interest could highlight the capacity of rTMS to bring about plastic changes of the cortical circuitry and hint at future novel clinical interventions. Thus, we recommend that further studies clearly determine the role of rTMS in the treatment of these conditions. Finally, we must remember that however exciting the neurobiological mechanisms might be, the clinical usefulness of rTMS will be determined by its ability to provide patients with neurological and psychiatric disorders with safe, long-lasting and substantial improvements in quality of life.

Demência na doença de Parkinson

OBJETIVO: A presenca de sindromes psiquiatricas, incluindo demencia, associada a disturbios motores tem sido cada vez mais reconhecida durante a ultima decada, com destaque para o prejuizo cognitivo na doenca de Parkinson idiopatica. Esta revisao enfocara a epidemiologia, os aspectos clinicos, diagnosticos diferenciais, mecanismos subjacentes e o tratamento da demencia na doenca de Parkinson idiopatica. METODO: Uma revisao da literatura dos estudos que investigaram a demencia da doenca de Parkinson idiopatica foi realizada. RESULTADOS: A demencia e altamente prevalente na doenca de Parkinson idiopatica. O prototipo da demencia na doenca de Parkinson idiopatica consiste numa sindrome disexecutiva com comprometimento da atencao, funcoes executivas e, secundariamente, a memoria. Neuroquimicamente, o deficit mais significativo parece ser colinergico; a demencia se correlaciona com a presenca de corpos de Lewy corticais e limbicos. Evidencias preliminares sugerem que os anticolinesterasicos podem ser efetivos na demencia da doenca de Parkinson idiopatica. CONCLUSOES: O prejuizo cognitivo na doenca de Parkinson idiopatica e associado a caracteristicas proprias e e responsavel por importante incapacidade nestes pacientes.

Executive Function Is Selectively Impaired in Old Age Bipolar Depression

Background: Little is known about the cognitive signature of bipolar disorder (BD) in elderly brains. The neuropsychological features of depressive elderly with early-onset BD are largely unknown. This issue is relevant because cognitive impairment can produce an additional impact on the already compromised functionality of elderly with BD. The aim of this study is to assess executive functions (EFs) in the depressive phase of elderly outpatients with early-onset BD. Methods: Forty-nine elderly outpatients with early-onset BD were assessed with several neuropsychological tests for EF in the depressive phase of the disorder. Results: Executive dysfunction is very common in old age bipolar depression. Thirteen patients (26.5%) had a pseudodementia presentation. The worst performances were observed in the following tests: Trail Making B, Stroop Test 3, Backward Digit Span and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. Conclusion: Executive dysfunction profile in elderly BD is complex and heterogeneous, but most cases display difficulties in working memory, inhibitory control, mental flexibility, and information processing speed. The performance of elderly with bipolar depression in executive assessment can be divided into two main categories: (1) Single EF domain impairment; and (2) Multiple EF domain impairment with or without a pseudodementia syndrome. Executive dysfunction in old age bipolar depression may be explained by lack of sufficient mental energy to run those cognitive processes that require larger amounts of effort to be performed.

Comparative Study of Subcortical Atrophy in Patients with Frontotemporal Dementia and Dementia with Extrapyramidal Signs

Objectives : To investigate the severity of subcortical atrophy in frontotemporal dementia (FTD) without extrapyramidal symptoms (EPS) and dementia with EPS. In addition, we aim to verify if there is correlation between demographic and clinical characteristics and subcortical atrophy in the groups. Methodology : The sample was composed of 21 patients with dementia and EPS as well as 19 patients with FTD without EPS. A linear assessment was conducted in order to identify the degree of subcortical atrophy (i.e., bifrontal index - BFI) using MRI. Moreover, the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Pfeffer Functional Activities Questionnaire (FAQ) and the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) were used to investigate clinical aspects. Results : It was verified that patients with dementia and EPS was older than the patients with FTD (p=0.01). The severity of cognitive deficits was associated with BFI, as well as the dementia severity in the EPS group. Conclusion : FTD group presented mean BFI scores above the cutoff for normal elderly population, indicating the presence of subcortical atrophy in this group. Mean BFI was higher (although not statistically significant) in FTD group than in dementia with EPS, which can suggest at least that subcortical pathology in FTD may be as important as in the dementia with EPS group. Subcortical atrophy is a good biological marker for cognitive deterioration in FTD and in dementia with EPS.

Clinical diagnosis of 80 cases of dementia in a university hospital

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to estimate the prevalence of dementia subtypes and to assess the socio-demographic data of patients attending the outpatient clinic of dementia at Hospital das Clinicas from January 2008 to December 2009, in the city of Goiânia-GO, Brazil. METHODS: Procedures provided for diagnosis included physical and neurological examination, laboratory tests, neuroimaging and DSM-IV. The functional capacity and level of cognitive deficit were assessed by Pfeffer Functional Activities Questionnaire (Pfeffer-FAQ) and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), respectively. RESULTS: Eighty patients met the criteria for dementia. The mean age was 63.48 (± 16.85) years old, the schooling was 3.30 (± 3.59) years old, the MMSE was 13.89 (± 7.79) and Pfeffer 17.73 (± 9.76). The Vascular Dementia (VD; 17.5%) was the most frequent cause of dementia, followed by Lewy body dementia (LBD) and Alzheimers disease (AD) (12.25%). CONCLUSION: Considering entire sample and only the elderly over 60 years, VD, AD and LBD are the most common subtypes observed at both groups. Further epidemiological studies are necessary to confirm such rates, which may have a considerable impact on the organization and planning of healthcare services in our country.

Subcortical atrophy in frontotemporal dementia and Alzheimer's disease: Significance for differential diagnosis and correlation with clinical manifestations

Cerebral subcortical atrophy occurs in both Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) but its significance for clinical manifestations and differential diagnosis between these common types of dementia has not been extensively investigated. Objectives To compare the severity of cerebral subcortical atrophy in FTD and AD and to analyze the correlations between cerebral subcortical atrophy and demographics and clinical characteristics. Methods Twenty three patients with FTD and 21 with AD formed the sample, which comprised 22 men and 22 women, aged 33 to 89, with mean age (±SD) of 68.52±12.08 years, with schooling ranging from 1 to 20 years, with a mean (±SD) of 7.35±5.54 years, and disease duration with a mean (±SD) of 3.66±3.44 years. The degree of cerebral subcortical atrophy was measured indirectly with a linear measurement of subcortical atrophy, the Bifrontal Index (BFI), using magnetic resonance imaging. We evaluated cognition, activities of daily living and dementia severity with the Mini-Mental State Examination, Functional Activities Questionnaire and the Clinical Dementia Rating, respectively. Results There was no significant difference (p>0.05) in BFI between FTD and AD. The severity of cognitive deficits (for both FTD and AD groups) and level of daily living activities (only for AD group) were correlated with BFI. Conclusions A linear measurement of cerebral subcortical atrophy did not differentiate AD from FTD in this sample. Cognitive function (in both FTD and AD groups) and capacity for independent living (only in AD group) were inversely correlated with cerebral subcortical atrophy.