Performance cognitive in pazienti anziani sottoposti a endoarterectomia o a stenting carotideo: Studio di follow up a 12 mesi

Introduction. In this study we investigated short and long-term impact of carotid endarterectomy (CEA) and carotid artery stenting (CAS) in cognitively healthy elderly subjects with severe carotid stenosis on several cognitive functions by neuropsychological evaluation before surgery and after three and twelve months. Methods. Cognition, mood and functional status were evaluated in 28 patients undergoing CEA (24 M, 4 F, 72.6 ± 5.8 years old) and in 29 patients undergoing CAS (17 M, 12 F, 75.1 ± 5.7 years old) by a broad spectrum of tests assessing mood, functional status, memory, attention, verbal fluency, visuospatial and constructional abilities. Results. No significant differences in s…

Influence of comorbidity and cognitive status on instrumental activities of daily living in amnestic mild cognitive impairment: results from the ReGAl project.

Objectives To investigate whether amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) is characterised by restriction in instrumental activities of daily living (IADL). Further, to examine the role of comorbidity and cognitive performance on IADL changes in aMCI subjects. Methods The study included 132 subjects with aMCI and 249 subjects with no cognitive impairment (NCI), consecutively enrolled as outpatients in a multicentric Italian clinical-based study, the ReGAl Project. All subjects underwent a comprehensive evaluation including clinical examination, laboratory screening, neuroimaging and cognitive and behavioral assessments. Functional status was evaluated by the Lawton's Instrumental Activiti…

Being the Family Caregiver of a Patient With Dementia During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Lockdown

Background: Family caregivers of patients with dementia are at high risk of stress and burden, and quarantine due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic may have increased the risk of psychological disturbances in this population. The current study was carried out during the national lockdown declared in March 2020 by the Italian government as a containment measure of the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic and is the first nationwide survey on the impact of COVID-19 lockdown on the mental health of dementia informal caregivers.Methods: Eighty-seven dementia centers evenly distributed on the Italian territory enrolled 4,710 caregiver–patient pairs. Caregivers underwent a tel…

Gli Elementi Prefabbricati in Cemento Armato dell’ex Sede SGES di Palermo

The aim of the paper is to analyse the decay of the precast concrete elements which characterize the building envelope of the Enel-SGES Building, designed by Giuseppe Samonà in 1959 and built after two years in Palermo. Thanks to the original technical documents, saved in the IUAV archive in Venice and in the Samonà's archive of Parma, and according to contemporary evidence the building history has been defined in detail. Moreover we have studied in deep particular elements of the building envelope made of concrete like the windowsills that have different shape in relation to their position on the different building façades. The analysis of these elements, which represent the first example …

Apoe genotype influences the biological effects of AChe inhibitors on platelet APP metabolism

Cognitive deficits in Behçet disease

Tower of London test: a comparison between conventional statistic approach and modelling based on artificial neural network in differentiating fronto-temporal dementia from Alzheimer's disease

The early differentiation of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) from frontotemporal dementia (FTD) may be difficult. The Tower of London (ToL), thought to assess executive functions such as planning and visuo-spatial working memory, could help in this purpose. Twentytwo Dementia Centers consecutively recruited patients with early FTD or AD. ToL performances of these groups were analyzed using both the conventional statistical approaches and the Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) modelling. Ninety-four non aphasic FTD and 160 AD patients were recruited. ToL Accuracy Score (AS) significantly (p < 0.05) The use of hidden information contained in the different items of ToL and the non linear processing of…

Accuracy of the clinical diagnosis of dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) among the Italian Dementia Centers: a study by the Italian DLB study group (DLB-SINdem)

Introduction: Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) may represent a diagnostic challenge, since its clinical picture overlaps with other dementia. Two toolkits have been developed to aid the clinician to diagnose DLB: the Lewy Body Composite Risk Score (LBCRS) and the Assessment Toolkit for DLB (AT-DLB). We aim to evaluate the reliability of these two questionnaires, and their ability to enhance the interpretation of the international consensus diagnostic criteria. Methods: LBCRS and AT-DLB were distributed to 135 Italian Neurological Centers for Cognitive Decline and Dementia (CDCDs), with the indication to administer them to all patients with dementia referred within the subsequent 3 months. We…

Il ruolo dei fattori di rischio vascolare nei sottotipi di Mild Cognitive Impairment: risultati del progetto ReGAl

Voxel-Based Morphomerty study in patients with amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer's Disease: population-based data from the Zabùt Aging Project

Aims and objectives Methods and materials Results Conclusion Personal information References

Vascular Risk Factors in Mild Cognitive Impairment Subtypes

&lt;i&gt;Background and Aim:&lt;/i&gt; To investigate the role of vascular risk factors in different subtypes of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in a multicentric, clinic-based, cross-sectional study. &lt;i&gt;Methods:&lt;/i&gt; Two-hundred and seven subjects with MCI were included in the study: 33 with single non-memory MCI (snmMCI), 42 with multiple-domain amnestic MCI (mdMCI-a) and 132 with amnestic MCI (aMCI). Several clinical vascular risk factors and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain lesions were evaluated. &lt;i&gt;Results:&lt;/i&gt; snmMCI showed a higher frequency of ischaemic heart disease and of transient ischaemic attack (TIA)/stroke, a higher Hachinski ischaemic score and …

Vascular Risk Factors in Mild Cognitive Impairment Subtypes. Findings from the ReGAl Project.

Abstract Background and Aim: To investigate the role of vascular risk factors in different subtypes of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in a multicentric, clinic-based, cross-sectional study. Methods: Two-hundred and seven subjects with MCI were included in the study: 33 with single non-memory MCI (snmMCI), 42 with multiple-domain amnestic MCI (mdMCI-a) and 132 with amnestic MCI (aMCI). Several clinical vascular risk factors and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain lesions were evaluated. Results: snmMCI showed a higher frequency of ischaemic heart disease and of transient ischaemic attack (TIA)/stroke, a higher Hachinski ischaemic score and a higher frequency of white-matter lesions on MR…

Studio di validazione dell'ACE-R in lingua italiana nella popolazione degli young-old e degli old-old

Introduction. The main aims of the study were the translation into Italian, and validation subsequently of the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination Revised (ACE-R), and the evaluation of its usefulness in discriminating cognitively normal subjects from patients with mild dementia. Methods. The ACE-R was translated and adapted into Italian. The Italian ACE-R was administrated to a group of 179 elderly subjects (72 cognitively intact and 107 subjects with mild dementia, mean age 75.4 years ± 6.4). The group was stratified in two sub-samples according to age, i.e. young-old (< 75 years) and old-old (≥ 75 years), in order to evaluate test's sensitivity and specificity in detecting dementia among…

The Italian dementia with Lewy bodies study group (DLB-SINdem): toward a standardization of clinical procedures and multicenter cohort studies design

Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) causes elevated outlays for the National Health Systems due to high institutionalization rate and patients' reduced quality of life and high mortality. Furthermore, DLB is often misdiagnosed as Alzheimer's disease. These data motivate harmonized multicenter longitudinal cohort studies to improve clinical management and therapy monitoring. The Italian DLB study group of the Italian Neurological Society for dementia (SINdem) developed and emailed a semi-structured questionnaire to 572 national dementia centers (from primary to tertiary) to prepare an Italian large longitudinal cohort. The questionnaire surveyed: (1) prevalence and incidence of DLB; (2) clinical…