Sex-specific neuropsychological correlates of apathy and depression across neurodegenerative disorders

BACKGROUND

Apathy and depression are common neuropsychiatric symptoms across neurodegenerative disorders and are associated with impairment in several cognitive domains, yet little is known about the influence of sex on these relationships.

OBJECTIVES

We examined the relationship between these symptoms with neuropsychological performance across a combined cohort with mild or major neurodegenerative disorders, then evaluated the impact of sex.

DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

We conducted a cohort analysis of participants in the COMPASS-ND study with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), vascular MCI, Alzheimer's disease, mixed dementia, Parkinson's disease, frontotemporal dementia, and cognitively unimpaired (CU) controls.

MEASUREMENTS

Participants with neurodegenerative disease and CU controls were stratified by the presence (severity ≥1 on Neuropsychiatric Inventory Questionnaire) of either depressive symptoms alone, apathy symptoms alone, both symptoms, or neither. A neuropsychological battery evaluated executive function, verbal fluency, verbal learning, working memory, and visuospatial reasoning. Analysis of covariance was used to assess group differences with age, sex, and education as covariates.

RESULTS

Groups included depressive symptoms only (n = 70), apathy symptoms only (n = 52), both (n = 68), or neither (n = 262). The apathy and depression + apathy groups performed worse than the neither group on tests of working memory (t(312)  = -2.4, p = 0.02 and t(328)  = -3.8, p = 0.001, respectively) and visuospatial reasoning (t(301)  = -2.3, p = 0.02 and t(321)  = -2.6, p = 0.01, respectively). The depression, apathy, and depression + apathy groups demonstrated a similar degree of impairment on tests of executive function, processing speed, verbal fluency, and verbal learning when compared to participants without apathy or depression. Sex-stratified analyses revealed that compared to the male neither group, the male apathy and depression + apathy groups were impaired broadly across all cognitive domains except for working memory. Females with depression alone showed deficits on tests of executive function (t(166)  = 2.4, p = 0.01) and verbal learning (t(167)  = -4.3, p = 0.001) compared to the female neither group.

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrated that in neurodegenerative diseases, apathy with or without depression in males was associated with broad cognitive impairments. In females, depression was associated with deficits in executive function and verbal learning. These findings highlight the importance of effectively treating apathy and depression across the spectrum of neurodegenerative disorders with the goal of optimizing neuropsychological outcomes.

The prevalence of apathy in stroke patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Apathy is a frequent neuropsychiatric disorder in stroke patients. However, its prevalence rates have conflicting results across studies. This meta-analysis aimed to estimate the overall prevalence of apathy in stroke patients from 1990 to 2022.

METHODS

PubMed, Web of Science, Embase and PsycINFO were systematically searched to identify relevant articles published from January 1, 1990 to October 29, 2022. Literature quality was assessed with the National Institutes of Health Study Quality Assessment Tool. The pooled prevalence, subgroup analyses and meta-regression were calculated by STATA 16.0.

RESULTS

A total of 39 observational studies involving 5168 stroke patients were eligible for this meta-analysis. The pooled prevalence of apathy in stroke patients was 33.0% (95% CI, 27.6-38.4). Subgroup analyses showed that the pooled prevalence of apathy among stroke patients was higher in Japan (36.6%), China (33.7%) and Turkey (63.5%) compared to that in other countries (30.2%). The pooled prevalence of apathy was higher in ischemic stroke samples (36.1%) than in hemorrhagic stroke samples (14.4%). The pooled prevalence of apathy measured with the Apathy Evaluation Scale (38.3%) was the highest in stroke patients. Meta-regression presented that higher literature quality was significantly associated with lower prevalence, while stroke severity, mean age and female percentage were not significantly associated with the prevalence of apathy in stroke patients.

CONCLUSION

Our findings revealed that the overall prevalence of apathy in stroke patients was 33.0% based on the current evidence. Furthermore, the prevalence was significantly correlated with countries, stroke subtypes, apathy criteria, and literature quality.

Effectiveness of telehealth interventions on depression symptoms after stroke: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Depression symptoms are common after stroke, and affect survivors' recovery of neurological function, ability to return to society, and quality of life. Telehealth has been shown to improve depression symptoms and quality of life among patients post-stroke. However, evidence from clinical trials has not previously been systematically synthesized.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to systematically evaluate the effectiveness of telehealth interventions in reducing depression symptoms among patients post-stroke.

METHODS

Following the PRISMA guidelines, we conducted a meta-analysis of randomized control trials of telehealth interventions for post-stroke depression symptoms. The quality of included studies was assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias tool. RevMan 5.4 software was used for the meta-analysis. Data were synthesized by fixed (I² ≤ 50 %) or random (I² > 50 %) effects models based on a heterogeneity test.

RESULTS

In total, 10 studies with 1717 participants were included, eight of which were eligible for the meta-analysis. There were no significant differences in efficacy between the telehealth and control groups for depression symptoms (standardized mean difference [SMD] = -0.16, 95 % confidence interval [CI] -0.67 to 0.36; P = .54), quality of life (SMD = 0.00, 95%CI -0.18 to 0.18; P = .99), limb function (SMD = 0.46, 95%CI -0.26 to 1.18; P = .21), and daily living ability (SMD = 0.38, 95%CI -1.39 to 2.15; P = .67). The telemedicine group had significantly lower anxiety scores than the control group (SMD = -1.05, 95%CI -1.22 to -0.89; P < .001).

LIMITATIONS

The number of RCTs included in the review was relatively small.

CONCLUSIONS

The efficacy of telehealth interventions in reducing depression symptoms in patients post-stroke is no different from conventional nursing. However, large-scale, high-quality randomized controlled trials are needed to further explore the potential of telehealth interventions in improving mental health among patients post-stroke.

Altered Resting-State Brain Activity and Functional Connectivity in Post-Stroke Apathy: An fMRI Study

Apathy is a common neuropsychiatric disease after stroke and is linked to a lower quality of life while undergoing rehabilitation. However, it is still unknown what are the underlying neural mechanisms of apathy. This research aimed to explore differences in the cerebral activity and functional connectivity (FC) of subjects with post-stroke apathy and those without it. A total of 59 individuals with acute ischemic stroke and 29 healthy subjects with similar age, sex, and education were recruited. The Apathy Evaluation Scale (AES) was used to evaluate apathy at 3 months after stroke. Patients were split into two groups-PSA (n = 21) and nPSA (n = 38)-based on their diagnosis. The fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (fALFF) was used to measure cerebral activity, as well as region-of-interest to region-of-interest analysis to examine functional connectivity among apathy-related regions. Pearson correlation analysis between fALFF values and apathy severity was performed in this research. The values of fALFF in the left middle temporal regions, right anterior and middle cingulate regions, middle frontal region, and cuneus region differed significantly among groups. Pearson correlation analysis showed that the fALFF values in the left middle temporal region (p < 0.001, r = 0.66) and right cuneus (p < 0.001, r = 0.48) were positively correlated with AES scores in stroke patients, while fALFF values in the right anterior cingulate (p < 0.001, r = -0.61), right middle frontal gyrus (p < 0.001, r = -0.49), and middle cingulate gyrus (p = 0.04, r = -0.27) were negatively correlated with AES scores in stroke patients. These regions formed an apathy-related subnetwork, and functional connectivity analysis unveiled that altered connectivity was linked to PSA (p < 0.05). This research found that abnormalities in brain activity and FC in the left middle temporal region, right middle frontal region, right cuneate region, and right anterior and middle cingulate regions in stroke patients were associated with PSA, revealing a possible neural mechanism and providing new clues for the diagnosis and treatment of PSA.

Apathy exacerbates postural control impairments in stroke survivors: The potential effects of cognitive dual-task for improving postural control

Apathy is a stressor and debilitating common condition for both stroke survivors and their caregivers. However, its effects on the postural control of these patients have not yet been investigated. Improved postural stability through withdrawing attention from postural control by concurrent cognitive task (i.e. dual-task condition) has been reported previously, but the effect of apathy, as a confounding factor, remains unknown. This study aimed to examine the effects of apathy and dual-task condition on postural control of chronic stroke survivors from biomechanical and neurophysiological perspectives. Twenty non-apathetic stroke survivors, 20 apathetic stroke survivors, and 20 sex-, age-, weight-, and height-matched healthy subjects were assessed using different postural sway measures and electromyography activity of ankle and hip muscles while quietly standing on rigid and foam surfaces under single-task, easy dual-task, and difficult dual-task conditions. The results showed postural instability and neuromuscular stiffening of stroke survivors, particularly apathetic stroke survivors, compared with healthy controls as evidenced by significantly greater postural sway measures and increased co-contraction of ankle muscles as well as hip muscles. Notably, concurrently performing a cognitive task significantly reduced postural instability and neuromuscular stiffening in chronic stroke survivors even in those with apathy. In conclusion, apathy exacerbates postural control impairments in chronic stroke survivors promoting an inefficient conscious mode of postural control. It is recommended that distracting the attention away from postural control by performing a concurrent cognitive task can be considered an effective strategy while designing interventions for improving postural control in apathetic stroke survivors.

Neuropsychiatric symptoms among young stroke survivors-frequency, patterns, and associated factors

BACKGROUND

Although neuropsychiatric symptoms are reported in stroke survivors, details of its prevalence and patterns among young stroke subjects are sparse.

METHODS

In a hospital-based cross-sectional study in India, we recruited 150 young stroke subjects (aged < 45 years) and their caregivers > 3 months from ictus. Neuropsychiatric symptoms were evaluated using the Neuropsychiatric Inventory-12 (NPI-12) and self-reported depression with the Centre for Epidemiological Studies - Depression (CES-D) scale. Descriptive statistics were used. Multivariate analysis was performed to identify associated factors. All statistical analyses were carried out using STATA ver. 14.2, StataCorp, TX, USA.

RESULTS

Eighty-four (56%; 95% CI: 47.7-64.1%) had ≥ 1 symptoms on the NPI-12 over median time from stroke of 2 years (IQR 2). Self-reported depression was seen in 71 (47.3%). Post-stroke epilepsy was associated with presence of at least one neuropsychiatric symptom. Dementia was associated with increased odds; and having spouse as principal caregiver with reduced odds, of self-reported depression. Multiple infarcts on imaging were associated with self-reported depression (OR: 3.29; 95%CI: 1.31-8.27) and presence of any neuropsychiatric symptom (OR: 3.55; 95% CI: 1.42-8.88).

CONCLUSION

Young stroke survivors frequently have neuropsychiatric symptoms with depression being most common. Presence of multiple infarcts on imaging was associated with self-reported depression and presence of any neuropsychiatric symptom.

Early apathetic, but not depressive, symptoms are associated with poor outcome after stroke

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Depression and apathy are frequent neuropsychiatric disturbances after stroke and may appear together. Despite the overlap in symptoms between poststroke depression and apathy, these two syndromes might be associated with different prognoses and benefit from different treatments. We aimed to disentangle the relationship between early depressive and apathetic symptoms and outcome after stroke.

METHODS

Of 698 enrolled patients with ischemic stroke, we included 443 participants (median age = 69 years, 51% female) who underwent depressive and apathetic symptom assessment on Day 8 after stroke. We divided patients into four groups: without greater depressive and apathetic symptoms (Group 1), with only apathetic symptoms (Group 2), with only depressive symptoms (Group 3), and with both depressive and apathetic symptoms (Group 4).

RESULTS

After adjusting for age and stroke severity, Group 2 and Group 4 had an increased risk of poor 3-month outcome (odds ratio [OR] = 1.98, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.16-3.38, p = 0.01 and OR = 1.58, 95% CI = 1.24-2.01, p < 0.01, respectively). Group 2 and Group 4 also had an increased risk of poor 12-month outcome (OR = 3.85, 95% CI = 2.19-6.78, p < 0.01 and OR = 1.54, 95% CI = 1.22-1.96, p < 0.01, respectively) and mortality (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.76, 95% CI = 1.19-6.41, p = 0.02 and HR = 1.77, 95% CI = 1.32-2.38, p < 0.01, respectively). Compared with Group 1, Group 3 did not have an increased risk of unfavorable outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

Early apathetic, but not depressive, symptoms are related to worse outcomes after stroke. Our study underscores the importance of recognizing apathetic symptoms independently from depressive symptoms.

Apathy after stroke: Diagnosis, mechanisms, consequences, and treatment

Apathy is a reduction in goal-directed activity in the cognitive, behavioral, emotional, or social domains of a patient’s life and occurs in one out of three patients after stroke. Despite this, apathy is clinically under-recognized and poorly understood. This overview provides a contemporary introduction to apathy in stroke for researchers and practitioners, covering topics including diagnosis, neurobiological mechanisms, associated consequences, and potential treatments for apathy. Apathy is often misdiagnosed as other post-stroke conditions such as depression. Accurate differential diagnosis of apathy, which manifests as reductions in initiative, and depression, which manifests as negative emotionality, is important as it informs prognosis. Research on the neurobiology of apathy suggests that there are few consistent associations between stroke lesion location and the development of apathy. These may be resolved by adopting a network neuroscience approach, which models apathy as a pathology arising from structural or functional damage to brain networks underlying motivated behavior. Importantly, networks can be affected by physiological changes related to stroke, including the acute infarct but also diaschisis and neurodegeneration. Aside from neurobiological changes, apathy is also associated with other negative outcome measures such as functional disability, cognitive impairment, and emotional distress, suggesting that apathy is indicative of a worse prognosis following stroke. Unfortunately, high-quality trials aimed at treating apathy are scarce. Antidepressants may have limited effects on apathy. Acetylcholine and dopamine pharmacotherapy, behavioral interventions, and transcranial magnetic stimulation may be more promising avenues for treatment.

An iPad application-based intervention for improving post-stroke depression symptoms in a convalescent rehabilitation ward: A pilot randomized controlled clinical trial protocol

BACKGROUND

Post-stroke depression (PSD) is a neuropsychiatric sequela that causes serious adverse effects on the prognosis of stroke patients. Our developed iPad application is a very innovative approach designed to improve participants' depressive symptoms by presenting positive words stimuli in a video. Although this application has fewer side effects than existing pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions and is likely less burdensome for patients and caregivers, its efficacy for PSD has not been investigated. Here we present a pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) protocol to investigate the therapeutic potential of this application intervention for PSD patients.

METHODS

This study is designed as a 5-week, single-center, open-label, parallel-group, pilot RCT. Thirty-two patients with PSD will be randomly assigned to a combination of the iPad application and usual rehabilitation or usual rehabilitation alone (1:1 allocation ratio). The iPad application intervention lasts 3 min a day, and the usual rehabilitation lasts 3 h a day. The primary outcome is the change from baseline in The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale score at the end of the 5-week intervention.

DISCUSSION

This pilot RCT is the first study to investigate the potential of iPad application interventions to reduce depressive symptoms in PSD patients. This pilot RCT determines whether this is a viable and effective intervention and informs the design for a full-scale trial. If our hypothesis is correct, this trial can provide evidence to augment the standard practice of iPad application interventions to improve depressive symptoms in patients with PSD.

Depressive symptoms, memory complaints, and memory test performance

The impact of emotional factors on subjective cognitive complaints and memory test performance has been a topic of extensive research, produced conflicting results. Investigators typically used self-report inventories that lack measures of response bias. Studies have also neglected to use performance validity tests (PVTs) to screen participants for incomplete effort. In the present study, 27% of the original sample of non-litigating outpatient referrals (N = 416) failed to meet self-report and performance validity criteria. Remaining participants (N = 226) were classified into high and low depression groups using their median score (66 T) on Scale D (Depression) of the MMPI-2. "High depression" subjects scored over 65 T on the D scale (MN = 77 T). "Low depression" subjects scored below 66 T (MN = 56 T). Test performances were compared across WAIS-IV Digit Span, Wechsler Memory Scale IV Logical Memory and Visual Reproduction subtests, and the Miami Selective Learning Test. High and low depressive groups exhibited no significant mean score differences on any memory measures. Cognitive Complaints on the Cognitive Difficulties Scale (CDS) were associated with level of depressive symptoms (r(226) =.42, p <.001). Complaints were predictive of delayed (30 min) list recall (r(224) =.19, p =.006, but were not related to eight other memory measures. Results suggest that, in general, depression severity is predictive of cognitive complaints yet has little, if any, relation to memory test performance.

Network neuroscience of apathy in cerebrovascular disease

Apathy is a reduction in motivated goal-directed behavior (GDB) that is prevalent in cerebrovascular disease, providing an important opportunity to study the mechanistic underpinnings of motivation in humans. Focal lesions, such as those seen in stroke, have been crucial in developing models of brain regions underlying motivated behavior, while studies of cerebral small vessel disease (SVD) have helped define the connections between brain regions supporting such behavior. However, current lesion-based models cannot fully explain the neurobiology of apathy in stroke and SVD. To address this, we propose a network-based model which conceptualizes apathy as the result of damage to GDB-related networks. A review of the current evidence suggests that cerebrovascular disease-related pathology can lead to network changes outside of initially damaged territories, which may propagate to regions that share structural or functional connections. The presentation and longitudinal trajectory of apathy in stroke and SVD may be the result of these network changes. Distinct subnetworks might support cognitive components of GDB, the disruption of which results in specific symptoms of apathy. This network-based model of apathy may open new approaches for investigating its underlying neurobiology, and presents novel opportunities for its diagnosis and treatment.