Mix of Factors Can ID Cognitive Decline in Early Alzheimer Disease
By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter
THURSDAY, Aug. 15, 2024 -- Even in early stages of Alzheimer disease (AD), cognitive deterioration is best predicted by a combination of patient demographic, somatic, and functional variables, according to a study published online Aug. 14 in PLOS ONE.
Liane Kaufmann, from Ernst von Bergmann Klinikum in Potsdam, Germany, and colleagues examined somatic and functional variables associated with cognitive deterioration for 500 patients with probable and possible AD assessed at four time points over two years.
The researchers found that over time, there were significant changes in patient cognitive functioning, activities of daily living, and caregiver load, but not depression, pain, or neuropsychiatric symptoms. High intercorrelations were observed between caregiver load and patient cognitive and functional variables, with correlation patterns remaining stable across time. Cognitive functioning at time point 4 was best predicted by patient age, sex, atrial fibrillation, and activities of daily living at time point 1. Across all four time points, cognitive functioning was best predicted by time (disease duration), age, sex, activities of daily living, and depression.
"Our findings disclose strong correlations between caregiver load and various patient-related measures," the authors write. "Thus, we propose that the clinical management of early-stage AD should be targeted at the patient-caregiver dyad (instead of solely focusing on the patient)."
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted August 2024
Read this next
Shorter Leukocyte Telomere Length Linked to Higher Incidence of Age-Related Brain Diseases
THURSDAY, June 12, 2025 -- Individuals with shorter leukocyte telomere length (LTL) have a higher incidence of stroke, dementia, and late-life depression (LLD), individually and...
Epilepsy More Common With Frontotemporal Dementia
TUESDAY, June 10, 2025 -- Epilepsy is more common among those with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) than among people with Alzheimer disease (AD) or healthy controls, according to a...
Preoperative Blood Pressure Strategies Yield Similar Postoperative Cognitive Results
FRIDAY, June 6, 2025 -- For patients undergoing noncardiac surgery, neurocognitive outcomes do not differ with hypotension-avoidance and hypertension-avoidance strategies...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.