In:
Arhiv za bioloske nauke, National Library of Serbia, Vol. 65, No. 3 ( 2013), p. 1141-1147
Abstract:
Alzheimer?s disease (AD), the most prevalent dementia, is characterized not
only by cognitive but also behavioral changes that pose the heaviest burden
to caregivers. Differences in the clinical picture depending on the time of
disease onset have been observed. We correlated cognitive and behavioral
deficits in patients with presenile- and senile-onset AD to explore the
differences. We tested 60 AD patients, 19 male and 41 female, mean age 65.2
years with the Dementia Behavior Disturbance Scale (DBD) and a standard
neuropsychological battery. The patients were divided according to their DBD
score into two groups: group I - score 0-2 (n=24; 40%), group II - score 3?
(n=36; 60%), comparable in disease duration and neurological findings. The
cognitive scores were significantly higher in the group with less behavioral
changes than in the group with more behavioral changes: Mini Mental State
Examination score (p=0.0015), serial subtraction (p=0.0009), block design
(p=0.0049), copy of complex figure (p=0.0125), complex visual organization
(p=0.0099), divided attention, visual memory and speech comprehension. A
significantly higher frequency of behavioral disturbances was registered in
patients with senile onset than in the presenile-onset group (p〈0.005). There
were no sex differences. Our data show a correlation between cognitive
decline and behavioral changes in late onset AD patients, indicating that
more behavioral disturbances were associated with a more severe degree of
cognitive decline, especially in non-verbal functions and attention deficits,
compared to early onset patients.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
0354-4664
,
1821-4339
Language:
English
Publisher:
National Library of Serbia
Publication Date:
2013
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2380842-1
