Brazilian norms and effects of age and education on the Hayling and Trail Making Tests

Normative scores for attentional tests used by the Spanish consortium for ageing normative data (SCAND) study: Trail Making Test, Digit Symbol and Letter Cancellation

Objective: This paper reports normative data for different attentional tests obtained from a sample of middle-aged and older native Spanish adults and considering effects of age, educational level and sex. Method: 2,597 cognitively intact participants, aged from 50 to 98 years old, participated voluntarily in the SCAND consortium studies. The statistical procedure included conversion of percentile ranges into scaled scores. The effects of age, education and sex were taken into account. Linear regressions were used to calculate adjusted scaled scores. Results: Scaled scores and percentiles corresponding to the TMT, Digit Symbol and Letter Cancellation Task are shown. Additional tables show the values to be added to or subtracted from the scaled scores, for age and education in the case of the TMT and Letter Cancellation Task measures, and for education in the case of the Digit Symbol subtest. Conclusions: The current norms provide clinically useful data for evaluating Spanish people aged 50 to 98 years old and contribute to improving detection of initial symptoms of cognitive impairment.

A comparative study of cognitive and behavioral profiles between sporadic and type 8 amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

INTRODUCTION/AIMS

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) type 8 (ALS8) is caused by VAPB gene mutations. The differences between neuropsychological and behavioral profiles of patients with sporadic ALS (sALS) and those with ALS8 are unclear. We aimed to compare cognitive performance and behavioral aspects between sALS and ALS8 patients.

METHODS

Our study included 29 symptomatic ALS8 patients (17 men; median age 49 years), 20 sALS patients (12 men; median age 55 years), and 30 healthy controls (16 men; median age 50 years), matched for sex, age, and education. Participants underwent neuropsychological assessments focused on executive functions, visual memory, and facial emotion recognition. Behavioral and psychiatric symptoms were evaluated using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and the Cambridge Behavioral Inventory.

RESULTS

Clinical groups (sALS and ALS8) exhibited lower global cognitive efficiency and impaired cognitive flexibility, processing speed, and inhibitory control compared with controls. ALS8 and sALS showed similar performance in most executive tests, except for poorer verbal (lexical) fluency in those with sALS. Apathy, anxiety, and stereotypical behaviors were frequent in both clinical groups.

DISCUSSION

sALS and ALS8 patients demonstrated similar deficits in most cognitive domains and had comparable behavioral profiles. These findings should be considered in the care of patients.

Does the frequency of reading and writing habits contribute to executive functions, intelligence, and learning in adolescents with healthy development?

The influence of the frequency of reading and writing habits (FRWH) on cognition has been investigated by several studies in the literature. However, the implications of FRWH on executive development, intelligence, and academic achievement are not yet clear in adolescents with healthy development. The aim was to verify whether there are differences in executive functions, intelligence, and academic achievement between adolescents with high and low FRWH. Moreover, we aimed to investigate if there are differences in the parental FRWH between adolescents with high and low FRWH. The sample was composed of 47 healthy adolescents, n = 24 with high FRWH and n = 23 with low FRWH. Adolescents with higher FRWH had better performance on measures of vocabulary, Speech Act analysis, and Oral Narrative Discourse. Therefore, a high FRWH has a positive influence on the cognitive development of healthy adolescents, especially with regard to pragmatic language. However, adolescents with low FRWH performed better than those with a high FRWH on an automatic counting task. The interpretation of cognitive performance and academic achievement scores in neuropsychological assessment should consider the FRWH of parents and adolescents. This factor should be targeted by early stimulation interventions to help adolescents achieve the highest possible levels of global development.

Multidimensional Clinical Assessment in Frontotemporal Dementia and Its Spectrum in Latin America and the Caribbean: A Narrative Review and a Glance at Future Challenges

Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is the third most common form of dementia across all age groups and is a leading cause of early-onset dementia. The Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) includes a spectrum of diseases that are classified according to their clinical presentation and patterns of neurodegeneration. There are two main types of FTD: behavioral FTD variant (bvFTD), characterized by a deterioration in social function, behavior, and personality; and primary progressive aphasias (PPA), characterized by a deficit in language skills. There are other types of FTD-related disorders that present motor impairment and/or parkinsonism, including FTD with motor neuron disease (FTD-MND), progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), and corticobasal syndrome (CBS). The FTD and its associated disorders present great clinical heterogeneity. The diagnosis of FTD is based on the identification through clinical assessments of a specific clinical phenotype of impairments in different domains, complemented by an evaluation through instruments, i.e., tests and questionnaires, validated for the population under study, thus, achieving timely detection and treatment. While the prevalence of dementia in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is increasing rapidly, there is still a lack of standardized instruments and consensus for FTD diagnosis. In this context, it is important to review the published tests and questionnaires adapted and/or validated in LAC for the assessment of cognition, behavior, functionality, and gait in FTD and its spectrum. Therefore, our paper has three main goals. First, to present a narrative review of the main tests and questionnaires published in LAC for the assessment of FTD and its spectrum in six dimensions: (i) Cognitive screening; (ii) Neuropsychological assessment divided by cognitive domain; (iii) Gait assessment; (iv) Behavioral and neuropsychiatric symptoms; (v) Functional assessment; and (vi) Global Rating Scale. Second, to propose a multidimensional clinical assessment of FTD in LAC identifying the main gaps. Lastly, it is proposed to create a LAC consortium that will discuss strategies to address the current challenges in the field.

Transtorno Depressivo Maior: Um Estudo Comparativo sobre Cognição Socioemocional e Funções Executivas

Resumo O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a cognição socioemocional e as funções executivas em pacientes com Transtorno Depressivo Maior unipolar. A amostra incluiu 22 pacientes entre 36 e 93 anos de idade (M = 59,32; DP = 12,89) e 23 indivíduos controles entre 30 e 81 anos de idade (M = 63,00; DP = 13,56). Além de dados demográficos, foram avaliados sintomas de ansiedade e de depressão, empatia, teoria da mente, reconhecimento de emoções, controle inibitório, flexibilidade cognitiva e fluência verbal. Não houve diferença estatística significativa entre os grupos quanto à idade e à escolaridade. Os pacientes apresentaram significativamente mais ansiedade, depressão e angústia pessoal do que os controles. Indivíduos com sintomas depressivos mais graves apresentaram menor velocidade de processamento.

Different patterns of gray matter atrophy in behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia with and without episodic memory impairment

BACKGROUND

Differentiating patients with behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) from Alzheimer's disease (AD) is important as these two conditions have distinct treatment and prognosis. Using episodic impairment and medial temporal lobe atrophy as a tool to make this distinction has been debatable in the recent literature, as some patients with bvFTD can also have episodic memory impairment and medial temporal lobe atrophy early in the disease.

OBJECTIVES

To compare brain atrophy patterns of patients with bvFTD with and without episodic memory impairment to that of patients with AD.

METHODS

We analyzed 19 patients with bvFTD, 21 with AD and 21 controls, matched by age, sex, and years of education. They underwent brain MRI and the memory test from the Brief Cognitive Battery (BCB) to assess episodic memory. We then categorized the bvFTD group into amnestic (BCB delayed recall score <7) and non-amnestic.

RESULTS

The amnestic bvFTD group (n = 8) had significant gray matter atrophy in the left parahippocampal gyrus, right cingulate and precuneus regions compared with the nonamnestic group. Compared with AD, amnestic bvFTD had more atrophy in the left fusiform cortex, left insula, left inferior temporal gyrus and right temporal pole, whereas patients with AD had more atrophy in the left hippocampus, left frontal pole and left angular gyrus.

CONCLUSIONS

There is a group of amnestic bvFTD patients with episodic memory dysfunction and significant atrophy in medial temporal structures, which poses a challenge in considering only these features when differentiating bvFTD from AD clinically.

Patient Competency Rating Scale-Brazilian Revised Version (PCRS-R-BR): Normative and Psychometric Data in 154 Healthy Individuals

Background Patient Competency Rating Scale (PCRS-R-BR) is a clinical tool to evaluate the degree of competence in cognitive skills perceived by patients with brain injuries. However, no studies have investigated the influence of sociodemographic variables on self-report and self-awareness of healthy individuals.Aim This study aimed to (1) present normative data from the PCRS-R-BR in a healthy adult Brazilian sample; and (2) investigate psychometric properties of the scaleMethod One hundred and fifty-four adults that were divided in three age groups and two education groups and their informants completed the PCRS-R-BR.Results Score on the PCRS-R-BR Patient's Form differed as a function of age with younger adults reporting less competency than older individuals. An education effect was found on Attention/Working memory Factor on the Informant's PCRS-R-BR with informants of higher education adults reporting better competency than lower education individuals. A gender effect was observed on the Informant's Form. The Informant's Form scores of informants of women were higher than the scores provided by the informants of men. PCRS-R-BR showed adequate consistency coefficients and six factors.Conclusion PCRS-R-BR scores showed acceptable validity evidence and provides information regarding how age and gender effects may influence ratings in a Brazilian sample.

Cognitive and neurophysiological assessment of patients with minimal hepatic encephalopathy in Brazil

Minimal hepatic encephalopathy is a syndrome caused by cirrhosis, with a broad spectrum of clinical manifestations. Its diagnosis is based on abnormal results of cognitive and neurophysiological tests, but there are no universally available criteria, especially in Brazil, where local testing standards are required. The objective of the present study was to compare the performance of the mini-mental state examination (MMSE), Rey’s auditory-verbal learning test (RAVLT), psychometric score of hepatic encephalopathy (PHES), topographic mapping of brain electrical activity (TMBEA) and long-latency auditory evoked potential (P300) in the detection of minimal hepatic encephalopathy in Brazil. From 224 patients with cirrhosis included in the global sample, 82.5% were excluded due to secondary causes responsible for cognitive or neurophysiological dysfunction. The final sample consisted of 29 cirrhotics, with predominance of A5 Child-Pugh classification, and 29 controls paired in critical variables such as age, educational level, gender, professional category, scores suggestive of mild depression, association with compensated type 2 diabetes mellitus and sociodemographic characteristics. Overall, performance on cognitive tests and TMBEA did not show a statistically significant difference. There was a marked difference in P300 latency adjusted for age, with patients with cirrhosis showing a mean of 385 ± 78 ms (median of 366.6 ms) and healthy volunteers exhibiting a mean of 346.2 ± 42.8 ms (median of 348.2 ms) (p < 0.01). These findings suggest that, in the earliest stages of cirrhosis, age-adjusted P300 latency was superior to cognitive assessment and TMBEA for detection of minimal hepatic encephalopathy.

Normative data for middle-aged Brazilians in Verbal Fluency (animals and FAS), Trail Making Test (TMT) and Clock Drawing Test (CDT)

Normative studies of neuropsychological tests were performed in Brazil in recent years. However, additional data are needed because of the heterogeneity of education of the Brazilian population.