Velayudhan, Latha, Lovestone, Simon

Background: Olfactory dysfunction, impaired odor identification in particular, is known to occur in Alzheimer disease (AD). The entorhinal cortex and the olfactory bulb, critical areas for olfactory function, are rich in acetylcholine, the neurotransmitter implicated in AD pathology and treatment. In view of the common anatomical substrate, we aimed to determine whether performance on an […]

van Uffelen, Jannique G. Z., Chinapaw, Marijke J. M., Hopman-Rock, Marijke, van Mechelen, Willem

This study examined the feasibility and effect on aerobic fitness of a 1-yr, twice-weekly, group-based moderate-intensity walking program (MI-WP, n = 77) compared with a low-intensity activity program (LI-AP, n = 75) for community-dwelling older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Thirty participants did not start a program; median attendance in the other 122 participants […]

van Dyck, Christopher H., Lyness, Jeffrey M., Rohrbaugh, Robert M., Siegal, Alan P.

Background: The aim of this study is to determine whether B12 replacement would ameliorate cognitive and psychiatric symptoms in elderly subjects with dementia and low serum B12 levels.; Methods: A test group (n = 28) of nursing home residents with low serum B12 levels (300 pg/mL) were evaluated by blinded raters while the test group […]

Tappen, Ruth M., Williams, Christine L.

Few studies have tested strategies to address the mental health needs of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). To test a newly developed, empirically based modified counseling approach, 30 nursing home residents with AD were randomly assigned to a modified counseling (Therapeutic Conversation) treatment group or usual care control group. Mini-Mental State Examination mean scores were […]

Takahashi, Sho, Mizukami, Katsuyoshi, Yasuno, Fumihiko, Asada, Takashi

Background: Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is a common type of dementia. It is difficult to make an initial diagnosis of DLB because of a variety of early symptoms, including psychosis-like and depressive states. In this study, we examined the characteristic depressive symptoms of the prestage of DLB and the efficacy and safety of somatotherapy […]

Squitieri, Ferdinando, Orobello, Sara, Cannella, Milena, Martino, Tiziana, Romanelli, Pantaleo, Giovacchini, Giampiero, Frati, Luigi, Mansi, Luigi, Ciarmiello, Andrea

Purpose: Huntington disease (HD) mutation increases gain-of-toxic functions contributing to glutamate-mediated excitotoxicity. Riluzole interferes with glutamatergic neurotransmission, thereby reducing excitotoxicity, enhancing neurite formation in damaged motoneurons and increasing serum concentrations of BDNF, a brain cortex neurotrophin protecting striatal neurons from degeneration.; Methods: We investigated metabolic and volumetric differences in distinct brain areas between 11 riluzole-treated […]

Sommer, Oskar H., Aga, Olav, Cvancarova, Milada, Olsen, Inge C., Selbaek, Geir, Engedal, Knut

Background/aims: To evaluate the efficacy of oxcarbazepine (OXC) in the treatment of agitation and aggression in patients with Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia or both.; Methods: This is an 8-week, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial carried out independently of the pharmaceutical industry. Changes in the agitation and aggression subscore of the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) were the […]

Sobów, Tomasz, Kłoszewska, Iwona, Flirski, Marcin, Liberski, Paweł

Background and Purpose: Cholinesterase inhibitors (ChEI) are currently the mainstream symptomatic treatment of patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). To this end, the response to the treatment with ChEI is clinically difficult to predict. Several demographic, clinical and biological variables have been proposed as pre-treatment predictors of long-term therapy efficacy. The aim of the study was […]

Snitz, Beth E., O'Meara, Ellen S., Carlson, Michelle C., Arnold, Alice M., Ives, Diane G., Rapp, Stephen R., Saxton, Judith, Lopez, Oscar L., Dunn, Leslie O., Sink, Kaycee M., DeKosky, Steven T.

Context: The herbal product Ginkgo biloba is taken frequently with the intention of improving cognitive health in aging. However, evidence from adequately powered clinical trials is lacking regarding its effect on long-term cognitive functioning.; Objective: To determine whether G. biloba slows the rates of global or domain-specific cognitive decline in older adults.; Design, Setting, and […]

Silver, Jonathan M., Koumaras, Barbara, Meng, Xiangyi, Potkin, Steven G., Reyes, Patricio F., Harvey, Philip D., Katz, Douglas I., Gunay, Ibrahim, Arciniegas, David B.

Objective: To investigate the safety, tolerability and efficacy of rivastigmine capsules (3-12 mg/day) in a 26-week, multi-centre, open-label extension of a double-blind study.; Methods: Patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and persistent cognitive impairment who had received rivastigmine (3-6 mg/day) or placebo for 12 weeks could enter the extension study and receive rivastigmine (< or […]