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Objective: To explore the effect of nursing intervention on improving the cognitive function of patients with mild cognitive impairment. Methods: Sixty patients with mild cognitive impairment in Weifang Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine from January 2020 to January 2021 were randomly selected for this study. They were divided into two groups: a reference group (routine follow-up and daily health education) and a research group (nursing intervention based on the reference group). Results: Before nursing, there was no significant difference in the MoCA, MMSE, ADL, SDS, and SAS scores between the two groups (p > 0.05). After intervention, the MOCA score and MMSE score of the research group were lower than those of the reference group, the ADL score of the research group was higher than that of the reference group, and the quality-of-life score of the research group was also higher than that of the reference group (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Early nursing intervention for patients with mild cognitive impairment can effectively improve their cognitive functions and daily abilities.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The corpus callosum (CC) consists of topographically arranged white matter (WM) fibers. Previous studies have indicated the CC to be discretely involved in WD. In this study, we strived to characterize the macrostructural properties of the CC using midsagittal cross-sectional area and thickness profile measurements. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was performed using archived magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of 14 patients with WD and 14 age- and gender-matched healthy controls. Using an automated software pipeline for morphometric profiling, the midsagittal CC was segmented into five sub-regions (CC1–5) according to the Hofer–Frahm scheme. The mean thickness and area of different CC segments and their clinical and cognitive correlates were identified. RESULTS: The mean area was significantly different only in CC2 segment (94.2 ± 25.5 vs. 118.6 ± 19.7 mm2, corrected P < 0.05). The mean thickness was significantly different in CC1 (5.06 ± 1.15 vs. 6.93 ± 0.89 mm, corrected P < 0.05), CC2 (3.73 ± 0.96 vs. 4.87 ± 1.01 mm, corrected P < 0.05), and CC3 segments (3.42 ± 0.84 vs. 3.94 ± 0.72 mm, corrected P < 0.05). The age at onset of neurological symptoms and MMSE score was significantly correlated with the morphometric changes of CC1 and CC2 segments. CONCLUSION: Morphological changes of the CC are discrete in WD. Morphometric loss of CC was associated with an earlier onset of neurological symptoms and cognitive dysfunction in WD.

Background: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) increases societal costs and decreases the activities of daily living (ADL) and quality of life (QoL) of the affected individuals. Objective: We assess the impact of AD severity on ADL, QoL, and caregiving costs in Japanese facilities for the elderly. Methods: Patients with AD in facilities for the elderly were included (47 facilities, N = 3,461). The QoL, ADL, and disease severity of patients were assessed using Barthel Index (BI), EuroQoL-5D-5L (EQ-5D-5L), and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), respectively. Annual caregiving costs were estimated using patients’ claims data. The patients were subcategorized into the following three groups according to the MMSE score: mild (21≤MMSE≤30), moderate (11≤MMSE≤20), and severe (0≤MMSE≤10). Changes among the three groups were evaluated using the Jonckheere-Terpstra test. Results: Four hundred and one participants were on anti-AD medicines, of whom 287 (age: 86.1±6.4 years, 76.7% women) in the mild (n = 53, 84.0±6.9 years, 71.7%), moderate (n = 118, 86.6±5.9 years, 76.3%), and severe (n = 116, 86.6±6.5 years, 79.3%) groups completed the study questionnaires. The mean BI and EQ-5D-5L scores for each group were 83.6, 65.1, and 32.8 and 0.801, 0.662, and 0.436, respectively. The mean annual caregiving costs were 2.111, 2.470, and 2.809 million JPY, respectively. As AD worsened, the BI and EQ-5D-5L scores decreased and annual caregiving costs increased significantly. Conclusion: AD severity has an impact on QoL, ADL, and caregiving costs.

Background Malnutrition in the elderly people is frequent and serious. Management of malnutrition at home after hospitalization is unsatisfactory. The objective of the study is to evaluate the feasibility and participation of a new collaborative and participative program involving the patient, the general practitioner and the dietician nutritionist, to fight against malnutrition in the elderly people at home after hospitalization. Methods This was a prospective and non-randomized study performed from May 2015 to February 2016, in subjects aged 75 and more, malnourished, with an MMSE score > 20 and returning homes after hospitalization. At home, a dietician worked with the patients and their general practitioner for 3 months. Patient participation and satisfaction of the 3 actors were assessed. Results Forty-four patients were included and 11.9% (n=8) benefited from the entire program. Present entourage (p=0.001), dietary education to the entourage (p=0,003), a high MMSE score (p=0.04), having an ulcer (p=0.0097), and a high weight at discharge (p=0.03) increased patients' participation. Patients (78.6%) and general practitioners (75%) were satisfied with the program. Patients criticized the lack of involvement of the general practitioner. General practitioners felt they had not acquired any knowledge of dietetics. Conclusion Patient participation and collaboration between actors of the program of management of malnutrition in elderly people were considered weak.

Introduction: The prevalence of individuals who experience an impaired olfactory function increases with age. Impaired olfactory function is considered as one of the risk factors for malnutrition in the elderly. The purpose of this study was to examine whether there was a relationship between impaired olfactory function and nutritional status in the elderly. Methods: Comparatives analytical study with a cross-sectional approach to the elderly group. Subjects were recruited from Pusat Santunan Keluarga/PUSAKA (in the period May-June 2016) at Jakarta Barat. Subjects were chosen by random sampling. The nutritional status, cognitive, and olfactory function were assessed with MNA assessment, MMSE instrument, and olfactory assessment. Result: 207 people participated in this study; 67.1% were women. Impaired olfactory function and malnourished were found in 46.5% and 42.5%, respectively. The bivariate analysis found that there was a relationship between olfactory function and nutritional status (p=0,006), olfactory function and MMSE score (p=0,001). Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that there were no significant associations between olfactory function and nutritional status with the variables examined in this study. Conclusion: Olfactory function is not directly associated with nutritional status in the elderly.

Background: Epilepsy patients in developing countries is quite high. A person can have epilepsy within a certain time limit, but also not a few people who survive with this condition for life. This situation will affect cognitive function. Cognitive function impairment in epilepsy patients can be triggered by various factors related to aetiology, clinical, and others. Therefore, we tried to find the factors that influence the cognitive function in epilepsy patients.Methods: This study was an observational analytic study with a cross-sectional design. The study was conducted using primary data obtained from direct interviews and MMSE examination and secondary data obtained from medical records to confirm the diagnosis of epilepsy. Samples were collected based on the diagnosis of neurologist in the patient's medical record at the Regional General Hospital Dr. Zainoel Abidin Banda Aceh from October to December 2019. This study involved thirty-four epilepsy patients.Result: There were cognitive function decreased in recalling 47,1% and 26,5% in Attention and calculation. The relationship between the frequency of seizure (p = 0.028) and therapy (p = 0.012) on the MMSE .Conclusion: Politherapy was the dominant factor affecting the MMSE score of epilepsy patients.

Background : Frailty is a condition that causes a decline or failure in homeostasis mechanism on older people resulting in increased susceptibility to stressor. The risk factors of frailty include: cognitive impairment and depression. Objective : To prove the relation between cognitive impairment and depression with frailty. Methods : This study is using cross-sectional approach. Samples are collected from 222 citizens from the elderly population of Malang using accidental sampling method. Variables measured in this study are frailty that is determined by Fried Criteria, cognitive impairment that is determined by MMSE score and depression status that is determined by GDS score. Results: The analysis result of relation between cognitive impairment and depression and frailty using the Spearman correlation test produces the value of p = 0,000 and the correlation coefficients for rare 0,500 and 0,508 respectively. Different levels of cognitive impairment and depression in the frail group compared to pre-frail and robust groups resulted in p = 0,000, whereas the level of cognitive impairment and depression in the pre-frail group compared to robust group yielding p values of 0.735 and 0.944 respectively. Conclusion: There is a relation between cognitive impairment and depression on frailty. There was a significant difference in the levels of cognitive impairment and depression in the frail group compared to the pre-frail and robust groups, whereas in the pre-frail group compared to robust group the levels of cognitive impairment and depression did not have a significant difference.

BACKGROUND: To the best of our knowledge, the association of physical impairment and cognitive decline has never been investigated in frail patients with acute myocardial infarction. AIM: The aim of our study is to assess the correlation between physical and cognitive dysfunction in frail patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). METHODS: We examined consecutive frail patients with first STEMI treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI). All patients were evaluated via Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and 5-m gait speed test after PPCI. RESULTS: A total of 871 frail patients with suspected STEMI were admitted and 301 patients successfully completed the study. We found that the gait speed significantly correlated with the MMSE score (r: 0.771; p: < 0.001). The independent effects on MMSE score were confirmed in a linear multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, our findings indicate that an assessment of both cognitive and physical conditions should be included in the comprehensive geriatric evaluation of hospitalized older STEMI patients.

Dementia is a leading cause of diseases for the elderly. Early diagnosis is very important for the elderly living with dementias. In this paper, we propose a method for dementia diagnosis by predicting MMSE score from finger-tapping measurement with machine learning pipeline. Based on measurement of finger tapping movement, the pipeline is first to select finger-tapping attributes with copula entropy and then to predict MMSE score from the selected attributes with predictive models. Experiments on real world data show that the predictive models such developed present good prediction performance. As a byproduct, the associations between certain finger-tapping attributes (‘Number of taps’, ‘Average of intervals’, and ‘Frequency of taps’ of both hands of bimanual in-phase task) and MMSE score are discovered with copula entropy, which may be interpreted as the biological relationship between cognitive ability and motor ability and therefore makes the predictive models explainable. The selected finger-tapping attributes can be considered as dementia biomarkers.

Objectives The oldest‐old (aged ≥80 years) are the fastest growing population segment and age is related to cognitive impairment. We aimed to estimate the association between cognitive impairment and all‐cause mortality, in addition to the relationship with different cognitive subdomains among the oldest‐old in China. Methods We analyzed 25,285 participants recruited from 22 out of 30 provinces in the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS) from 1998 to 2008, with mortality follow‐up until 2014. Cognitive function was measured by the Chinese‐version 30‐item Mini‐Mental State Examination (MMSE), classified as no (MMSE score: 25–30), mild (18–24), moderate (10–17), and severe (0–9) impairment. We used time‐dependent Cox model to evaluate the relationship between time‐varying cognition and mortality. Results The relationship between cognition and mortality showed a dose–response pattern among the overall population. Compared to those with no impairment, participants with moderate (HR = 1.41, 95% CI 1.28–1.56) and severe (HR = 1.77, 95% CI 1.59–1.96) cognitive impairment showed increased mortality risk. Impairment in the subdomain of orientation was independently associated with increased mortality risk (HR = 1.20, 95% CI 1.05–1.36) among participants without overall cognitive impairment. Urban and rural residents had similar mortality risk. Conclusions A consistent dose–response pattern existed between cognitive impairment and all‐cause mortality. Orientation was associated with mortality in the population without cognitive impairment. Similar mortality regardless of residence areas indicated scarce health care and treatment for cognitive impairment in China from 1998 to 2014., Based on 25,285 Chinese participants 80 years or older, we found a clear negative dose–response relationship between the severity of time‐varying cognitive impairment and the probability of survival for both female and male and the total population. The relationship between cognition and mortality was similar for urban and rural residents, and the dose–response pattern disappeared in the highest educated group. The orientation subscale was associated with mortality risk independent of the overall MMSE score.

Biomarkers to discriminate the main pathologies underlying frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD-Tau, FTLD-TDP) are lacking. Our previous FTLD cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) proteomestudy revealed that sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) was specifically increased in FTLD-Taupatients. Here we investigated the potential of CSF SHBG as a novel biomarker discriminating themain FTLD pathological subtypes. SHBG was measured in CSF samples from patients with FTLDTau (n = 23), FTLD-TDP (n = 29) and controls (n = 33) using an automated electro-chemiluminescentimmunoassay. Differences in CSF SHBG levels across groups, as well as its association with CSFYKL40, pTau181/total-Tau ratio and cognitive function were analyzed. CSF SHBG did not differacross groups, though a trend towards elevated levels in FTLD-Tau cases compared to FTLD-TDPand controls was observed. CSF SHBG levels were not associated with either CSF YKL40 or thep/tTau ratio. They, however, inversely correlated with the MMSE score (r = −0.307, p = 0.011), anassociation likely driven by the FTLD-Tau group (r FTLD-Tau = −0.38; r FTLD-TDP = −0.02). CSFSHBG is not a suitable biomarker to discriminate FTLD-Tau from FTLD-TDP

Cognitive function varies in each human being, from simple to complex, requiring attention, concentration, and coordination. Cognitive is related to a person's ability to think, solve problems, organize and also to communicate and interact with others and the environment. Methods: cross-sectional research, samples involve the students of medical faculty of Unissula-Semarang with GPA less than 3 and more than 3 graduated in 2018, instrument Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Descriptive analysis and Chi-square test. Results and Discussion: samples are 56 students, the highest gender is men (51%), the range of age 18-21 years old (53.6%), the number of GPA is the same as the one below and above 3 there are 28 (50%). Test Chi Square gender difference with P value of 0.422 GPA gender does not have significant difference to the GPA, based on the age of the results of T-test p-value 0.000, showed age had significant difference to the GPA, where the age is getting younger GPA is getting better, based on the scores of MMSE test, it was obtained p 1.000, MMSE score has no significant difference with the GPA. Conclusion: Gender and MMSE value have no difference with GPA, there is difference between age and GPA, the younger the students the better GPA the students achieve.

Objective The aim of this study was to validate the reliability of the Chinese version of Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination III (ACE-III) for detecting mild cognitive impairment. Furthermore, the present study compares the diagnostic accuracy of ACE-III with that of Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). Methods One hundred and twenty patients with MCI and 136 healthy controls were included in the study. All patients were evaluated by the Chinese version of ACE-III, MoCA and MMSE. Results Subjects in the control group showed better performance in ACE-III total score and its subdomain scores than those in the MCI group. There was a significantly positive correlation between ACE-III total score and MoCA score. Meanwhile, there was also a significantly positive correlation between ACE-III total score and MMSE score. For ACE-III total score, a cut-off point of 85 yielded a sensitivity of 97.3% and a specificity of 90.7%. The AUC for ACE-III total score was 0.978. For MoCA, a cut-off point of 23 yielded a sensitivity of 86.5% and a specificity of 97.7%. The AUC for MoCA was 0.961. There were no significant differences in diagnostic accuracy between ACE-III and MoCA. Conclusion The present findings support that both ACE-III and MoCA are useful for detecting MCI in early stages.

Background. We believe that, in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD), a forward-directed increase in the subjective vertical position (SV) leads to prolonged worsening of forward flexion of the trunk (FFT) mainly because the body adjusts to the SV. We conducted a study to clarify the relation between the SV angle, FFT angle, and various other clinical measures by comparing baseline values against values obtained 1 year later. Methods. A total of 39 PD patients (mean age, 71.9 ± 10.1 years; disease duration, 7.2 ± 5.4 years; modified Hoehn & Yahr (mH&Y) score, 2.6 ± 0.7) were enrolled. The Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale score, Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score, mH&Y score, FFT angle, SV angle, and levodopa-equivalent dose (LED) were assessed at the time of enrollment (baseline evaluation) and 1 year later. Results. Eighteen patients (46%) complied with the protocol and completed the study. Significant increases were observed in the 1-year SV angle (p=0.02), MMSE score (p=0.008), and LED (p=0.001) compared to baseline values. Correlation was observed between the baseline SV angle and baseline and 1-year FFT angles (r=0.64, p=0.008 and r=0.58, p=0.012, respectively) and between the 1-year SV angle and 1-year FFT angle (r=0.63, p=0.005). Conclusion. Our data suggest that the SV contributes to increased FFT.

Objective: To study and analyze the clinical effect of electroacupuncture at Baihui and Neiguan Points on cognitive function recovery of elderly patients after general anesthesia. Methods: The subjects were 80 elderly patients who received general anesthesia from January 2019 to February 2021. According to different anesthesia methods, they were divided into research group (electroacupuncture at Baihui and Neiguan combined with conventional drug anesthesia) and control group (simple drug anesthesia). The postoperative cognitive function recovery of the two groups was observed and compared. Results: Compared with the control group, the MMSE score and POCD incidence of research group were significantly better. There was significant difference between the two groups (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Conclusion electroacupuncture at Baihui and Neiguan combined with conventional drug anesthesia can promote the recovery of cognitive function and prevent cognitive dysfunction in elderly patients under general anesthesia.

Background : The decline of cognitive function is a problem that often experienced by the elderly. Objectives : to determine the role of elderly gymnastics towards cognitive function. Methods : A total of 50 elderly patients that fulfilled the inclusion and exclusion criteria in Kedurus village, Surabaya, from September to October 2013 were conducted. The cognitive function was examined using The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the results were allocated to two groups: the case group with the MMSE score less than 26/30 while MMSE control group from 27/30. Results : During the study, 50 subjects were enrolled (25 case groups and 25 control groups). It was obtained in case group that did inactive-gymnastics was 15 (60%) and active-gymnastics was 10 (40%), with P = 0.047 and OR 3.188 (CI 0.99-10.17) Conclusion : There was no significant correlation between inactive-gymnastics elderly and active gymnastics towards cognitive function.

Background: Drooling or Sialorrhoea is considered as a common non-motor symptom in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD), however the mechanism of drooling in PD is unknown. Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the impacts of dysphagia and cognitive function on drooling in PD. Methods: Eighty-five patients with PD participated in this cross-sectional study. After diagnosis of PD, its severity was determined by the Hoehn and Yahr (HY) scale, which is consisted of five stages and explains the progression symptoms of PD. Evaluation of drooling was done by the Drooling Severity and Frequency scale (DSFS). Dysphagia was diagnosed using the Persian version of Northwestern dysphagia patient check sheet (NDPCS) and cognitive function was assessed through the Persian version of Mini-Mental State examination (MMSE). Data analysis was done with SPSS 22. All analyses were two-tailed tests and a P value of less than 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: The mean total DSFS score was 3.96 ± 1.65, and using a cut-off point of two, the prevalence of drooling was 70.6% (n = 60) in PD patients. In adjusted analysis, the low MMSE score, high HY score, and dysphagia were all associated with drooling. Conclusions: Although concurrence of dysphagia and drooling is possible in PD, we should also consider cognitive impairments as an important factor in the occurrence of drooling. In addition, further studies are needed to investigate the impact of cognitive domains on drooling in Parkinson’s patients.

DIFFERENCE OF COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT IN ISCHEMIC STROKE PATIENTS BASED ON HEMIPARESIS SIDEABSTRACTIntroduction: Cognitive impairment in stroke has a significant impact on the quality of life and is different from the location of the lesion. Patients with a lesion in the left cerebral hemisphere tend to have cognitive impairment and dementia.Aim: This study investigates the relationship between the location of the lesion, which is manifested by hemiparesis side, and the occurrence of cognitive impairment in ischemic stroke patients.Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the population of ischemic stroke patients at Atma Jaya Hospital, who were registered from January 2014 to December 2018. Cognitive function was measured by the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment Indonesian Version (MoCA-Ina). Data were analyzed univariate and bivariate with the software program, statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) version 25.0.Result: There were 125 patients included in this study, which predominantly was 55 years old and older (62.4%) and had a low education level (58.4%). The proportion of patients with right-sided hemiparesis (54.4%) was slightly higher than the left-side one (45.6%). No significant relationship was observed between the hemiparesis side and every cognitive function domain measured by MMSE and MoCA-Ina (p-value >0.05).Discussion Hemiparesis side indicating hemisphere lateralization in ischemic stroke patients showed no significant relationship with the occurrence of cognitive impairment based on MMSE and MoCA-Ina score. Keywords: Cognitive impairment, hemisphere lateralization, ischemic stroke, MMSE score, MoCA-Ina scoreABSTRAKPendahuluan: Gangguan kognitif pada stroke menyebabkan penurunan kualitas hidup dan berbeda berdasarkan letak lesi. Berdasarkan letak lesi, lesi di hemisfer serebri kiri lebih sering menyebabkan gangguan kognitif dan demensia.Tujuan: Tujuan penelitian untuk mengetahui pengaruh perbedaan letak lesi dilihat dari sisi hemiparesis terhadap gangguan kognitif pada subjek stroke iskemik.Metode: Studi potong lintang dilakukan pada pasien stroke iskemik di RS Atma Jaya periode tahun 2014- 2018. Fungsi kognitif dinilai dengan menggunakan Mini Mental State Examination(MMSE) danMontreal Cognitive Assesment Indonesian Version(MoCA-Ina). Analisis data dilakukan secara univariat dan bivariat menggunakan menggunakan program sStatistical pPackage for the sSocial sSciences (SPSS) versi 25.0.Hasil: Sebanyak 125 pasien tergabung dalam penelitian ini, yang sebagian besar berusia ≥55 tahun (62,4%) dan memiliki tingkat pendidikan 0,05).Diskusi: Sisi hemiparesis pasien stroke iskemik yang menunjukkan lateralisasi hemisfer serebri tidak berhubungan dengan gangguan kognitif berdasarkan skor MMSE dan MoCA-Ina.Kata kunci: Gangguan kognitif, lateralisasi hemisfer, skor MMSE, skor MoCA-Ina, stroke iskemik

Purpose: To study the relation between the performance of older persons in Delhi on individual components of MMSE and years spent on formal education. Material and methods: Random subjects above sixty years, attending out-patient clinics of Department of Medicine or Senior Citizen Clinic between November 2014-April 2016 were included in this study and approved by Institutional Ethical Committee after they consented. Patients with acute infectious conditions were excluded. Participants were assessed using a pre-designed MMSE. Frequency tables for all components were constructed. To evaluate the relationship between gender and MMSE as well as educational status and MMSE, the t-test was used. Linear regression models were developed using MMSE as an outcome variable, and exposure variables were added in blocks. Results: 100 subjects were included in this cross-sectional assessment. >90% of people were oriented to space and were able to repeat and recall all three objects. The mean MMSE score was 24.92 (±5.8). Males had a higher score than women. Education status affected fields like serial deduction, obeying a 3 stage command, writing, drawing and responding to a written command due to which only 50% of people scored well in these parameters. Conclusion: Age and education are critical factors in understanding the inconsistencies in MMSE execution. Subjects who spent more years in formal education performed better than the subjects with low education. The low educational levels increase the probability of misclassifying the ordinary subjects as cognitively impaired. Since the memory area of the MMSE is less influenced by training, it might be utilized alongside other tests in populaces with low instruction.

Background The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is known to have discriminative power for patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). Recently Cognitive Reserve (CR) has been introduced as a factor that compensates cognitive decline. We aimed to assess whether the MoCA reflects CR. Furthermore, we assessed whether there were any differences in the efficacy between the MoCA and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) in reflecting CR. Methods MoCA, MMSE, and the Cognitive Reserve Index questionnaire (CRIq) were administered to 221 healthy participants. Normative data and associated factors of the MoCA were identified. Correlation and regression analyses of the MoCA, MMSE and CRIq scores were performed, and the MoCA score was compared with the MMSE score to evaluate the degree to which the MoCA reflected CR. Results The MoCA reflected total CRIq score (CRI; B = 0.076, P

This study explores to what extent patients scoring in the normal Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE) cognitive range have mental incapacity to consent to treatment; and analyzes the relationship between MMSE score and MacArthur Competence Assessment Tool for Treatment (MacCAT-T) scores. Eighty medical inpatients, 40 psychiatric inpatients and 40 healthy controls were assessed. The criterion of expert psychiatrists was the ‘gold standard’ for capacity. Seven (63.6%) psychiatric patients and two (14.3%) medical patients without capacity performed in a normal MMSE cognitive range (p

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that has no cure at present. This study was carried out to evaluate whether the combination of β-asarone and tenuigenin could improve the efficacy of memantine as a monotherapy in the treatment of AD. Patients with AD were recruited and assigned to two groups. Patients in the control group received memantine (5-20 mg/day) and those in the experimental group received memantine (5-20 mg/day), β-asarone (20 mg/day), and tenuigenin (20 mg/day). The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Activities of Daily Living (ADL), Clinical Dementia Rating Scale (CDR) scores and drug-related side-effects were assessed. Treatment was continued for 12 weeks. In total, 93 AD patients (45 in the control group and 48 in the experimental group) were recruited. Before treatment, both the groups had similar average MMSE scores, ADL scores, and CDR scores, whereas all the average scores improved significantly after treatment. However, compared with the control group, the experimental group had a significantly higher average MMSE score (P=0.00001) and lower average ADL (P=0.00604) and CDR (P=0.00776) scores after treatment. Moreover, the two groups had similar rates of drug-related side-effects. These results indicated that the combination of β-asarone and tenuigenin was an effective augmentation for memantine in the treatment of AD and did not cause more drug-related side-effects. This novel method is worthy of further investigation.

Background: The status of vitamin B12 and folate has been implicated in the development and progression of Alzheimer's disease.Methods: The study explored this issue through a retrospective case-control study design, with follow up of the case group for 18 months. The case group (n = 136) comprised patients 65 years or older diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and having a Mini-mental State Examination score (MMSE) of ≤ 27. The control group comprised healthy adults 65 years or older (n = 338) with a MMSE score of >27.Results: Vitamin B12 and folate levels were not found to differ between case and control groups. B12 and folate status at baseline was not predictive of disease progression in the case group.Discussion: This lack of association differs from other studies which have shown a protective effect of vitamin B12 and folate on cognitive decline.KEY POINTSThe findings of this study do not confirm evidence suggesting an effect of vitamin B12 and folate levels on development and progression of Alzheimer's disease.Folate and B12 levels were similar in the Alzheimer's group to those of healthy controls.Folate and B12 levels at initial assessment were not predictive of disease progression.

BACKGROUND Supplementation with medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) was previously shown to increase muscle function in frail elderly individuals. OBJECTIVE We aimed to assess effects of MCTs on cognition in such individuals. METHODS We enrolled 64 elderly nursing home residents (85.5 ± 6.8 y; 13 men, 51 women; BMI 18.6 ± 2.5 kg/m2) in a 3-mo randomized, controlled, single-blinded, intervention trial. Participants were randomly allocated to 3 groups: the first group received supplemental L-leucine (1.2 g) and cholecalciferol (20 μg) enriched with 6 g/d of MCTs (LD + MCT group) as a positive control, the second group received 6 g/d of MCTs (MCT group) as the test nutrient, and the third group received 6 g/d of long-chain triglycerides (LCT group) as a negative control. Cognition (secondary outcome) was monitored 4 times: baseline, 1.5 and 3 mo after initiation of the intervention (intervention), and 1.5 mo after termination of the intervention (postintervention follow-up). Cognition scores were assessed by a linear mixed model (intention-to-treat analysis). RESULTS MCT supplementation increased the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score by 3.5 points at the 3-mo intervention from baseline (P

OBJECTIVE This study aimed to investigate the effects of dexmedetomidine on cerebral oxygen saturation [Sct(O2)] and postoperative cognitive function in elderly patients undergoing minimally invasive coronary artery bypass graft surgery. METHODS Sixty elderly patients who received minimally invasive coronary artery bypass graft surgery were randomly equally divided into dexmedetomidine group (group D) and control group (group N). The patients in group D were pumped with 1 μg/kg dexmedetomidine for 15 min before incision, followed by continuous pumping at 0.3-0.5 μg/(kg·h) till the end of the operation. The patients in group N received same dose of normal saline during the operation. Sct(O2) was monitored at pre-induction (T0), post-induction (T1), 30 min (T2) after single-lung ventilation, and after surgery (T3). Mini-mental state examination (MMSE) was used to assess the cognitive function at 1 day before, 72 hour and 7 days after surgery. RESULTS Sct(O2) level in group D was significantly higher than that in group N at T2 (P

Dementia is a leading cause of diseases for the elderly. Early diagnosis is very important for the elderly living with dementias. In this paper, we propose a method for dementia diagnosis by predicting MMSE score from finger-tapping measurement with machine learning pipeline. Based on measurement of finger tapping movement, the pipeline is first to select finger-tapping attributes with copula entropy and then to predict MMSE score from the selected attributes with predictive models. Experiments on real world data show that the predictive models such developed present good prediction performance. As a byproduct, the associations between certain finger-tapping attributes ('Number of taps', 'Average of intervals', and 'Frequency of taps' of both hands of bimanual in-phase task) and MMSE score are discovered with copula entropy, which may be interpreted as the biological relationship between cognitive ability and motor ability and therefore makes the predictive models explainable. The selected finger-tapping attributes can be considered as dementia biomarkers., Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables