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P2–262: Utilising detailed neuropsychological assessment in the differential diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer's disease, frontotemporal dementia and vascular dementia
Author(s) -
Wakefield Sarah,
McGeown William,
Shanks Michael,
Venneri Annalena
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
alzheimer's and dementia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.713
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1552-5279
pISSN - 1552-5260
DOI - 10.1016/j.jalz.2013.05.909
Subject(s) - frontotemporal dementia , psychology , dementia , verbal fluency test , audiology , neuropsychology , neuropsychological assessment , cognition , fluency , semantic dementia , executive functions , differential diagnosis , cognitive psychology , disease , psychiatry , medicine , pathology , mathematics education
that, according to the Plymouth Dementia Screening Checklist, 2 individuals punctuated above the cut-off point -3-(out of 9) with relevant compromise in memory and behavior. One of these individuals presented a mild cognitive decline, being in stage 3 of GDS. At follow-up, there was an increase in the number of individuals who registered changes both in PDSC and in GDS. Seven individuals had scores above the cut-off in PDSC, being memory the most compromised skill. Of these DS adults, 2 were identified as having very mild cognitive decline (stage 2 of GDS), 1 as having mild cognitive deterioration (stage 3), and 3 as having moderate signs of deterioration (stage 4). A strong positive relation was found between the results of PDSC and GDS at follow-up (r 1⁄4 .91, p <.001). Conclusions: The PDSC proved to bea good screening tool whenever the possibility of dementia was a concern in DS individuals. Memory deterioration was the most frequently observed change. These complaints were more outstanding in the older individuals of the sample, confirmed by GDS. These individuals seem to develop cognitive decline earlier than the general population. Given the possibility of developing dementia in thosewho already have warning signs, a more extensive neuropsychological assessment is needed in order to confirm the diagnosis and implement adequate therapeutics. The value of PDSC and GDS in the initial diagnostic process of dementia in Down syndrome is recognized.