Beta Amyloid Peptide:Research Paper: Cognitive tests aid in clinical differentiation of Alzheimer's disease versus Alzheimer's disease with Lewy body disease: Evidence from a pathological study

Cognitive tests aid in clinical differentiation of Alzheimer's disease versus Alzheimer's disease with Lewy body disease: Evidence from a pathological study

Abstract

Introduction: Clinical differentiation between Alzheimer's disease (AD) and AD with Lewy body disease (LBD) is relatively imprecise. The current study examined pathologically confirmed group differences in neuropsychological functioning, and the classification ability of specific tests.

Methods: Fifty-one participants with postmortem diagnoses of AD (n = 34) and AD plus LBD (n = 17) were drawn from the Predictors Study. One-way analyses of variance (ANOVAs) and χ2 analyses examined group differences in neuropsychological performance. Binary logistic regressions examined predictive utility of specific tests for pathological diagnosis.

Results: Individuals with AD had better visuoconstruction (P = .006), phonemic fluency (P = .08), and processing speed than AD plus LBD (P = .013). No differences were found in memory, naming, semantic fluency, or set-switching. Processing speed and visuoconstruction predicted pathologic group (P = .03).

Discussion: Processing speed and visuoconstruction predicted postmortem diagnosis of AD versus AD plus LBD. Current results offer guidance in the selection and interpretation of neuropsychological tests to be used in the differential diagnosis of early dementia.

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease; Lewy body dementia; autopsy; diagnosis; neuropsychological performance.

This article originally appeared in the "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32558217/" and has their copyrights. We do not claim copyright on the content. This information is for research purposes only. This Blog is made available by publishers for educational purposes only as well as to give you general information and a general understanding , not to provide specific advice. By using this blog site you understand that there is no client relationship between you and the Blog publisher. The Blog should not be used as a substitute for competent research advice.