Memory Impairment Predicts Alzheimer's Disease

Main Category: Alzheimer's / Dementia
Article Date: 22 Jun 2009 - 5:00 PDT

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Self perceived memory impairment is an indicator of pending Alzheimer dementia but not of vascular dementia, according to results of the LADIS (Leukoaraiosis and Disability) study which explores the impact of brain white matter changes on the functioning of independent elderly individuals over a 3 year period. The study is being presented at the current meeting of the European Neurological Society (ENS), a major meeting in European neurology that is gathering more than 2,900 experts from all over the world in Milan.

"The LADIS study examines brain white matter changes and their influence on the intellectual and motor abilities of aging people," noted Professor Franz Fazekas (Department of Neurology, Medical University Graz, Austria), one of the leading LADIS researches. The study involved medical centres in eleven countries.

The analysis being presented in Milan covered 639 persons and their subjective complaints of memory dysfunction. After three years, 90 patients had become demented. Of those, there were 34 cases classified as Alzheimer dementia with vascular component, 54 had vascular dementia and 2 frontotemporal dementia. Another 147 patients showed some cognitive impairment but not dementia.

"Interestingly memory complaints showed quite different associations with dementia subtypes" stated Professor Fazekas. "Self-perceived memory impairment was a predictor of Alzheimer dementia with vascular component, independent of other risk factors, but not a predictor of vascular dementia."

Abstract:

ENS abstract O153: Verdelho et al, Self-perceived memory impairment predict Alzheimer's disease but not vascular dementia in independent elderly with white matter changes. Results from the LADIS study.

Source
European Neurological Society