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Anosognosia in mild A lzheimer's disease is correlated with not only neural dysfunction but also compensation
Author(s) -
Tagai Kenji,
Shinagawa Shunichiro,
Kada Hidehiro,
Inamura Keisuke,
Nagata Tomoyuki,
Nakayama Kazuhiko
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
psychogeriatrics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.647
H-Index - 32
eISSN - 1479-8301
pISSN - 1346-3500
DOI - 10.1111/psyg.12287
Subject(s) - anosognosia , psychology , neuroscience , cardiology , medicine , cognition
Background Anosognosia in A lzheimer's disease ( AD ) is a complicated, non‐unitary phenomenon. In a clinical setting, patients with mild AD often preserve their awareness partially. We hypothesized that compensation, as well as neural dysfunction, could be correlated with anosognosia in mild AD . Methods The severity of anosognosia was evaluated using the A nosognosia Q uestionnaire for D ementia in 37 subjects with mild AD or mild cognitive impairment due to AD . The subjects also underwent single‐photon emission computed tomography with N‐isopropyl‐p‐[ 123 I ]iodoamphetamine. Correlation between the severity of anosognosia and perfusion was assessed, and anosognosia (+) and (−) groups were compared. Results The severity of anosognosia was relatively mild; the mean A nosognosia Q uestionnaire for D ementia score was 6.76 ± 14.16. Subjects were divided into two groups: anosognosia (+) ( n = 11) and anosognosia (−) ( n = 26). In the single‐photon emission computed tomography data analysis, the severity of anosognosia was correlated with both lower regional cerebral blood flows of the right prefrontal cortex and higher regional cerebral blood flows of the parietal cortex, especially the left temporo‐parietal junction. Conclusions Our results suggest that anosognosia in mild AD could be correlated with compensation as well as neural dysfunction. We speculate that this compensation may be related to the retrieval of outdated autobiographical memory.