皮质下缺血性血管性认知损害扩散张量成像研究

目的通过扩散张量成像(DTI)探讨皮质下缺血性血管性认知损害患者白质微结构变化及其与认知功能之间的相关性。方法采集49例皮质下缺血性脑血管病患者[轻度血管性痴呆(VaD)10例、非痴呆型血管性认知损害(VCIND)20例、认知功能正常19例]DTI数据并观察皮质下白质微结构改变,分析VaD组患者DTI参数与认知功能间的相关性。结果与对照组相比,VaD组内侧前额叶、前扣带回、胼胝体干、双侧顶叶、右侧颞叶、双侧眶额叶,以及VCIND组右侧额下回、右侧海马、双侧楔前叶FA值减低(均P=0.000);与VCIND组比较,VaD组内侧前额叶、前扣带回、胼胝体、双侧顶叶、右侧颞叶FA值减低(P=0.000)。与对照组相比,VaD组内侧前额叶、胼胝体、双侧顶叶、双侧颞叶、前扣带回,以及VCIND组双侧楔前叶、右侧海马MD值升高(均P=0.000);与VCIND组相比,VaD组右侧内侧前额叶、前扣带回、胼胝体干、双侧顶叶、双侧颞叶MD值升高(均P=0.000)。VaD组内侧前额叶FA值与数字连线测验A时呈显著负相关(r=-0.782,P=0.007),双侧额下回MD值与数字连线试验A时程呈显著正相关(r=0.877,P=0.001)。结论 DTI对皮质下缺血性认知损害患者白质微结构改变更敏感,能够反映患者认知功能早期异常改变;内侧前额叶白质微结构的改变是影响患者执行能力的重要因素。     

皮质下缺血性脑血管病认知功能障碍研究

目的应用系列神经心理学测试分析皮质下缺血性脑血管病(SIVD)患者的认知损害特征。方法入选SIVD患者53例,年龄及性别相当的健康老年人25例为正常对照组。SIVD患者按照认知损害的诊断标准分为血管性痴呆(VaD)组27例和血管性认知障碍非痴呆(VCIND)组26例。进行MMSE及血管性痴呆包括记忆力、注意力、语言、视空间结构及执行功能5个认知域在内的神经心理学测试,确定VCIND患者受损的认知域。结果①与正常对照组比较,VaD组患者各项量表测试均严重受损,具有统计学差异(P﹤0.05);②VCIND组患者MMSE、数字倒背评分下降,连线测验时间延长,差异有统计学意义(P﹤0.05);③VaD组与VCIND组相比,上述各项均受损严重,其中单词回忆、连线测验、画钟测验、数字广度测验评分差异有统计学意义(P﹤0.05)。结论①SIVD患者同时存在多个认知域损害,以执行功能、注意力损害较为突出,记忆、语言受累相对较轻;②VCIND患者表现为执行功能、注意力受损,程度均低于VaD组,晚期VaD患者全面认知功能明显下降。     

不同类型的血管性认知损害的执行功能障碍

目的 分析不同类型的血管性认知功能损害(VCI)患者的执行功能损害特征.方法 经头颅MRI证实为皮质下缺血性小血管病(SIVD)患者64例,其中16例单一的执行功能损害(s-VCI-ND)、26例多个认知领域损害(m-VCI-ND)和22例血管性痴呆(VaD)患者,完成一系列神经心理测验,包括总体认知水平、记忆、语言、注意/执行功能、空间结构能力等各个认知领域.其中执行功能检查包括定势转移、优势抑制、工作记忆、概念形成和流畅性5个分因子,共15种独立的分测验.结果 汉诺塔测验、示踪排序测验、同步听觉连续加法测验等在非痴呆VCI(VCI-ND)患者中的完成率低于50%,不适合VCI-ND的检测;s-VCI-ND组与健康对照组比较,分别反映4种执行功能成分的连线测验B耗时数(216.5±69.3、137.4±37.9)、Stroop色词测验卡片C耗时数(115.4±30.1、72.9±17.5)、卡片分类测验(1.9±1.4、2.7±1.2)和范畴流畅性测验(列举动物14.2±2.3、17.7±4.4)差异具有统计学意义(t=4.73、5.72、2.04、3.53,均P<0.05);VCI-ND的认知表现介于健康老人组和VaD组之间,其中m-VCI-ND有比较严重的执行功能损害和情景与语义记忆障碍,其认知缺损模式接近VaD,很可能是VaD的前期状态.结论 SIVD所致VCI的执行功能损害缺乏选择性,部分执行功能测验可以作为早期检测VCI-ND的敏感工具.     

神经心理测试及P300对皮质下缺血性脑血管病伴认知功能障碍患者评估研究

目的研究神经心理测试及听觉事件相关电位(event related potential,ERP)P300在皮质下缺血性脑血管病(subcortical ischemic vascular disease,SIVD)伴不同程度认知功能障碍的临床应用价值。方法 92例SIVD患者,其中血管性无痴呆型认知损害(vascular cognitive impairment no dementia,VCIND)45例,血管性痴呆(vascular dementia,VaD)47例,同时选取45例未发生脑梗死及认知功能障碍的正常人作为对照组。分别对2组患者住院治疗前及正常对照组进行神经心理测试认知评估量表MMSE、MoCA评分和听觉事件相关电位P300检测。结果入院治疗前,VCIND组、VaD组简易精神状态检查(MMSE)和蒙特利尔认知评估量表(MoCA)评分均较正常组偏低(P0.05),VCIND组较VaD组偏低(P0.05),P300检测:与正常对照组潜伏期(318.689±16.123)ms相比,VCIND组患者潜伏期(360.667±16.082)ms,VaD组患者潜伏期(420.333±21.149)ms,各组间听觉事件相关电位P300潜伏期差异均有统计学意义(P0.05)。结论 SIVD患者存在认知功能损害,以执行功能障碍为主,ERP-P300测试能客观反映VCIND患者早期认知功能障碍,P300潜伏期与MMSE及MoCA有相关性,有利于VCIND早期的诊断。     

帕金森病认知障碍研究

目的研究帕金森病痴呆患者的认知障碍特点。方法采用语义流畅性、语音流畅性、动作流畅性测验与物品和动作命名测验,评定30例PD无痴呆患者、30例PDD患者与60名正常老年人。结果与正常对照组比较,PD无痴呆患者存在动作流畅性损害(P0.01),PDD患者3项言语流畅性与物品和动作命名均受损(P0.01)。结论 PDD患者存在执行功能障碍与命名损害,PDD是一种伴有皮质功能损害的、以额叶皮质下功能障碍为主要特点的认知损害性疾病。     

皮质下缺血性血管病的神经心理特征

目的 探讨皮质下缺血性血管病（subcortical ischemic vascular disease,SIVD）的认知和情感特征。方法 对符合SIVD标准的缺血性卒中患者进行详细的临床访谈和神经心理、神经精神检查。结果 50例患者平均年龄（70±8）岁,男性占78%,轻度SIVD 20例（40%）,中重度30例（60%）。33例诊断为血管性认知功能障碍（vascular cognitive impairment,VCI）,其中24例（72.7%）为血管性认知损害非痴呆（vascular cognitive impairment no dementia,V-CIND）。在VCI患者中,11例（33.3%）为单一认知域损害,22例（66.7%）为多认知域受损,执行和记忆功能是损害最突出的认知域。本组患者没有语言和空间能力的单独受累。VCI患者39.3%伴抑郁,而非VCI者仅11.8%伴抑郁,差异有统计学意义（P =0.043）。妄想、幻觉、过度兴奋和夜间不寻常活动仅见于VaD患者。中重度SIVD中患VCI比例显著高于轻度者（P =0.002）,伴抑郁的比例亦有增高的趋势（P =0.059）。结论 认知障碍在SIVD中常见,但多为V-CIND,以执行功能和记忆损害最为突出,易伴抑郁,提示额叶皮质皮质下环路损伤可能是两者共同损害的主要机制。     

皮质下缺血性血管性认知损害的特点

目的 观察皮质下缺血性血管性认知损害(subcortical ischemic vascular cognitive impairment,SIVCI)患者各阶段认知损害特点,研究其神经心理学损害特征及可能的病理生理机制.方法 对45例SIVCI患者(其中30例非痴呆型皮质下缺血性认知损害患者、15例皮质下缺血性痴呆患者)和15名年龄、性别和教育程度匹配的正常对照,运用蒙特利尔认知测评量表和简易精神状态检查量表检测总体认知功能.结果 与对照组比较,非痴呆型皮质下缺血性认知损害组患者仅执行(2.70±1.34 vs 4.53±0.75)、注意(3.47±1.22 vs 5.07±0.78)和延迟回忆(3.00±1.11 vs 4.53±0.64)等认知功能水平降低 (P<0.05),抽象(1.33±0.72 vs 1.73±0.46)、定向(4.33±1.27 vs 5.20±0.77)、命名能力(2.10±0.80 vs 2.33±0.72)、语言重复及流畅性(2.07±0.69 vs 2.47±0.74)等认知功能水平无明显降低(P>0.05);皮质下缺血性痴呆组执行(1.87±1.06 vs 4.53±0.75)、注意(2.33±1.05 vs 5.07±0.78)、延迟回忆(1.80±1.27 vs 4.53±0.64)、抽象(0.93±0.88 vs 1.73±0.46)和定向(2.00±1.20 vs 5.20±0.77)等认知功能水平均降低(P<0.05),命名能力(1.87±1.74 vs 2.33±0.72)、语言重复及流畅性(1.93±0.70 vs 2.47±0.74)等认知功能水平无明显改变(P>0.05).结论 SICVI患者执行、注意、延迟回忆等皮质下认知功能较早受累且受损害程度较重,可能与缺血性小血管病变损害脑深部白质中认知纤维环路有关.     

缺血性额叶白质病变的认知功能损害研究

目的探讨皮质下缺血性血管病患者额叶白质病变对认知功能的影响。方法回顾性收集2013年1月至2015年1月期间我科住院诊断为皮质下缺血性脑血管病患者121例,根据额叶白质病变程度,将皮质下缺血性脑血管病患者分为轻度(67例)和重度(54例)脑白质病变组。同时选择同年龄段60例健康、无认知障碍者为对照组;所有受试者均为右利手,且母语均为中文。对三组受试者进行神经心理量表测定,评估其认知功能、记忆功能及执行功能,并对额叶白质病变的程度与认知功能进行非参数等级相关分析。结果与轻度脑白质病变组和对照组相比,重度脑白质病变组的MMSE评分、AVLT评分、ROCF评分及Stroop评分明显降低,P值均0.05。患者MMSE评分与脑白质病变损害严重程度呈正相关(R=0.933,P=0.013),即脑白质病变的严重程度与认知障碍程度呈正相关。结论皮质下缺血性脑血管病患者,额叶的脑白质主要累及认知功能、记忆功能及执行功能,且脑白质病变的严重程度与认知障碍程度呈正相关。     

帕金森病患者认知功能与脑电活动及脑影像学改变的相关性研究

目的研究帕金森病（Parkinsondisease,PD）患者认知功能、脑电活动及脑影像学的相关性。方法对70例PD患者及40例正常人进行中文版简易智能状态检查（MMSE）量表、BEAM频谱分析及脑影像学检查,对经MMSE初步测查后可疑认知功能障碍者进一步行成套神经心理学评估（FOM、RVR、DST、BD、BNT、HAMD）。结果PD痴呆组的神经心理学评估分值明显降低,痴呆组慢波（δ、θ频段）相对功率谱较非痴呆组明显增高（P〈0.01）,而快波（β1、β2频段）的相对功率谱显著降低（P〈0.05）;痴呆组额叶、颞叶的皮质萎缩及皮质下萎缩程度明显增加,且合并脑白质疏松症（LA）者明显高于非痴呆组;PD认知功能损害与额叶脑沟宽度、外侧裂宽度、三脑室宽度、脑室指数、前角指数及δ波功率值相关。结论神经心理学测验有利于发现PD患者的认知功能障碍,PD认知功能障碍与额颞叶皮质萎缩、皮质下机构萎缩程度、δ波功率及抑郁障碍密切相关,合并LA者痴呆发生率高。     

重视血管性认知障碍

自20世纪90年代起,人们越来越认识到血管性痴呆(vascular dementia,VaD)所反映的是一个过时的概念,它确认需要预防治疗的病例太晚,从而丧失了预防痴呆发生的良机,而且还不恰当地采用了阿尔茨海默病(Alzhemer's disease,AD)的诊断模式,为了进一步阐明脑血管病(cerebrovasculardisease,CVD)和认知功能障碍之间的关系,Bowler和Hachinski提出了血管性认知障碍(vascular cognitive impairment,VCI)这一更宽泛的概念,从而逐渐取代VaD,它的重要性就是在缺血性CVD相关的痴呆发生前诊断并治疗轻微的认知功能障碍[1]。1、VCI产生的背景现行的VaD的标准首先依靠AD的标准诊断痴呆,然后根据反映血管危险因素和事件的临床特征,通常采用缺血评分区分AD和VaD。因此痴呆的基本特征包括早期明显的记忆进行性不可逆性减退,此外,认知障碍必须达到正常日常生活活动障碍的程度。由于AD通常先累及颞叶内侧,然后才累及新皮质;而血管性认知功能下降在临床和神经心理方面主要表现为额叶和皮质下功能受损,与AD明显不同[1]。所以很多血管性认知功能...     

Apolipoprotein E phenotypes in demented and cognitively impaired patients with and without cerebrovascular disease

Controversy exists regarding the apolipoprotein E (ApoE) epsilon4 allele association with vascular dementia (VaD), ranging from increased epsilon4 frequency, similar to that found for Alzheimer's disease (AD), to no association between the epsilon4 allele and VaD. To clarify further the relationship between ApoE alleles polymorphism and cerebrovascular disease (CVD) in demented and cognitively impaired patients, we examined the ApoE phenotypes in a sample of 280 patients: 155 with AD, 21 with VaD, 32 with mixed dementia (MD), 45 with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) but without CVD, and 27 in which vascular disease was the most probable cause of cognitive decline [vascular mild cognitive impairment (VMCI)]. Our results show that the frequency of the ApoE epsilon4 allele in patients over 70 years old with clinically diagnosed VaD and VMCI does not differ significantly from that of controls. In contrast, ApoE epsilon4 allele-bearing individuals had greater risk of having late-onset AD (OR = 8.8; 95% CI 3.7-21.0), or non-vascular cognitive impairment (OR = 7.0; 95% CI 2.5-19.0).     

Spectrum of disease in vascular cognitive impairment.

The recognition that cognitive impairment of vascular origin is not limited to multi-infarct dementia has led to the development of several sets of new criteria for vascular dementia (VaD). We set out to define the spectrum of disease in patients presenting with vascular cognitive impairment (VCI). Of 412 patients consecutively seen at a memory clinic, 80 had VCI. These patients had vascular cognitive impairment not dementia (n = 19), VaD (n = 48), and mixed Alzheimer's disease-VaD (n = 13). Radiographic patterns were: white matter changes only (40%); multiple infarcts (30%); single strategic stroke (14%), and no identified lesion (16%). Of note, 19 (24%) of these patients meet none of the currently published criteria for VaD. To better understand and treat ischaemic causes of cognitive impairment, the concept of VaD should be expanded to include patients who do not meet traditional dementia criteria.     

Clinical determinants of dementia and mild cognitive impairment following ischaemic stroke: the Sydney Stroke Study

BACKGROUND: Dementia following stroke is common but its determinants are still incompletely understood. METHODS: In the Sydney Stroke Study, we performed detailed neuropsychological and medical-psychiatric assessments on 169 patients aged 50-85 years, 3-6 months after a stroke, and 103 controls with a majority of both groups undergoing MRI brain scans. Stroke subjects were diagnosed as having vascular mild cognitive impairment (VaMCI) or vascular dementia (VaD) or no cognitive impairment by consensus. Demographic, functional, cerebrovascular risk factors and neuroimaging parameters were examined as determinants of dementia using planned logistic regression. RESULTS: 21.3% of subjects were diagnosed with VaD, with one case in those aged 50-59 years, 24% in those aged 60-69 years and 23% in those 70-79 years. There was no difference by sex. The prevalence of VaMCI was 36.7%. VaD subjects had lower premorbid intellectual functioning and had 0.9 years less education than controls. The VaD and VaMCI groups did not differ from the no cognitive impairment group on any specific cerebrovascular risk factor, however overall those with impairment had a greater number of risk factors. They did not differ consistently on depression severity, homocysteine levels and neuroimaging parameters (atrophy, infarct volume and number of infarcts) except for an excess of white matter lesions on MRI and greater number of infarcts in the VaD and VaMCI groups. On a series of logistic regression analyses, stroke volume and premorbid function were significant determinants of cognitive impairment in stroke patients. CONCLUSION: Post-stroke dementia and MCI are common, especially in older individuals. Cerebrovascular risk factors are not independent risk factors for VaD, but stroke volume is a significant determinant of dementia. Premorbid functioning is a determinant of post- stroke impairment.     

Metabolic Syndrome,Mild Cognitive Impairment,and Dementia: A Meta-Analysis of Longitudinal Studies

ObjectiveA systematic review and a meta-analysis of both clinical and population-based studies was undertaken according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement to clarify whether Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) is a risk or a protective factor for incident dementia, Alzheimer disease (AD), and vascular dementia (VaD), and whether it's involved in progression to dementia in patients affected by mild cognitive impairment (MCI).MethodsSearch terms included (“metabolic syndrome” OR “syndrome x” OR “plurimetabolic syndrome”) AND (“dementia” OR “Alzheimer disease” OR “vascular dementia” OR “mild cognitive impairment” OR “MCI”). Research was restricted to articles published in English between January 1, 2000 and August 31, 2018. No age limit was set.ResultsAt the end of the selection procedure, nine longitudinal studies were selected for the meta-analysis: six studies enrolled cognitively well-functioning participants and three studies involved MCI patients. A total of 18,313 participants aged older than 40 years with mean MetS prevalence of 22.7% were followed on average for 9.41years. A fixed model was used to estimate pooled hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals.ConclusionNo statistically significant pooled association emerged between MetS and incident dementia and AD. MetS increased the incidence of pure VaD. MetS increased the risk of progression from MCI to dementia. Follow-up length might be a key factor in investigating these associations further. Because MetS is constituted by a set of potentially modifiable factors, further studies with longer follow-up and repeated assessment of both MetS and cognitive status are desirable to draw definite conclusions.     

Vascular cognitive disorder: a new diagnostic category updating vascular cognitive impairment and vascular dementia

Vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) was proposed as an umbrella term to include subjects affected with any degree of cognitive impairment resulting from cerebrovascular disease (CVD), ranging from mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to vascular dementia. VCI may or may not exclude the host of "focal" circumscribed impairments of specialized functions such as language (aphasia), intentional gesture (apraxia), or categorical recognition (agnosia), among others, that may result from a stroke. Therefore, there are no universally accepted diagnostic criteria for VCI. We conclude that this concept could be more useful if it were to be limited to cases of vascular MCI without dementia, by analogy with the concept of amnestic MCI, currently considered the earliest clinically diagnosable stage of Alzheimer disease (AD). In agreement with our view,the Canadian Study on Health and Aging successfully implemented a restricted definition of VCI, excluding cases of dementia (i.e., vascular cognitive impairment no dementia, VCI-ND). The Canadian definition and diagnostic criteria could be utilized for future studies of VCI. This definition excludes isolated impairments of specialized cognitive functions.Vascular dementia (VaD): The main problem of this diagnostic category stems from the currently accepted definition of dementia that requires memory loss as the sine qua non for the diagnosis. This may result in over-sampling of patients with AD worsened by stroke (AD+CVD). This problem was minimized in controlled clinical trials of VaD by excluding patients with a prior diagnosis of AD, those with pre-existing memory loss before the index stroke, and those with amnestic MCI. We propose a definition of dementia in VaD based on presence of abnormal executive control function, severe enough to interfere with social or occupational functioning. Vascular cognitive disorder (VCD): This term, proposed by Sachdev [P. Sachdev, Vascular cognitive disorder. Int J Geriat Psychiatry 14 (1999)402-403.] would become the global diagnostic category for cognitive impairment of vascular origin, ranging from VCI to VaD. It would include specific disease entities such as post-stroke VCI, post-stroke VaD, CADASIL, Binswanger disease, and AD plus CVD. This category explicitly excludes isolated cognitive dysfunctions such as those mentioned above.     

Prevention and early intervention for vascular dementia in community dwelling elderly: Findings from the Nakayama study

Cerebrovascular disease (CVD) may be the single most common risk factor for age‐associated dementia (in particular for vascular dementia (VaD)), and there is definite potential for prevention and treatment of CVD. After one of the most comprehensive and precise type‐specific prevalence surveys of dementia (first Nakayama study), we have continued the preventive and early interventional approaches to CVD and VaD, including treatment of cardiovascular risk factors. In this cohort study, 88% of patients with ‘vascular cognitive impairment without dementia’, who were alive at 3‐years follow up, were still diagnosed with ‘vascular cognitive impairment without dementia’ and only 12% progressed to dementia. Compared with the results of previous studies, active control of risk factors and prevention of recurrent stroke may reduce the incidence of dementia and slow the progression of cognitive impairment in patients with ‘vascular cognitive impairment without dementia’.     

Defining dementia: clinical criteria for the diagnosis of vascular dementia

The recognition of cerebrovascular disease (CVD) as a contributing factor and a cause of dementia has led to the development of clinical criteria for vascular dementia (VaD). Due to high specificity, the consensus criteria developed by the National Institute for Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)–Association Internationale pour la Recherche et l'Enseignement en Neurosciences (AIREN) have been used in controlled clinical trials to select patients with pure VaD. VaD is predominantly a subcortical frontal form of dementia with prominent executive dysfunction. In contrast, the criteria of the NINCDS–Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association (ADRDA) emphasize memory loss as the main feature to distinguish Alzheimer's disease (AD) from VaD and from other forms of dementia. Moreover, CVD may precipitate the clinical expression of AD. Although no criteria have been created specifically for patients having AD with CVD, the ischemic score, the Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly and a history of prestroke mild cognitive impairment (MCI) may be useful for identifying patients with this mixed form of dementia.     

The profile of behavioral and psychological symptoms in vascular cognitive impairment with and without dementia

Objective:

The objective of this study was to compare the occurrence and severity of behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) between vascular dementia (VaD) and vascular cognitive impairment-no dementia (VCI-ND).

Materials and Methods:

Consecutive patients presenting with cognitive impairment at least 3 months after an ischemic stroke and with a Hachinski Ischemic Score ≥4 were included. VaD was diagnosed as per National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke – Association Internationale pour la Recherche et l’Enseignement en Neurosciences criteria for probable VaD and VCI-ND on the lines of the Canadian study of health and aging. The severity of cognitive impairment and the behavioral/psychological symptoms were studied by means of the clinical dementia rating scale and the neuropsychiatric inventory (NPI) respectively.

Results:

All patients with VaD and 89% of those with VCI-ND had at least one BPSD. The mean no. of symptoms per patient and the total NPI scores were higher in VaD than in VCI-ND. Apathy and night-time behavior disturbances were significantly more common and severe in VaD.

Conclusions:

BPSD are very common both in VCI-ND and in VaD. The profile of BPSD is similar in both groups, albeit more severe in VaD. The net burden of BPSD is higher in VaD as compared to VCI-ND.Key Words: Behavioral and psychological symptoms, neuropsychiatric inventory, vascular cognitive impairment, vascular cognitive impairment-no dementia, vascular dementia     

Clustering and switching during a semantic verbal fluency test contribute to differential diagnosis of cognitive impairment

The verbal fluency test (VFT) can be dissociated into "clustering" (generating words within subcategories) and "switching" (shifting between clusters), which may be valuable in differential diagnosis. In the current study, we investigated the validity of VFT in the differential diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD, n = 65), vascular dementia (VaD, n = 65), mild cognitive impairment (MCI, n = 92), and vascular cognitive impairment without dementia (VCIND, n = 76) relative to cognitively normal senior controls (NC, n = 374). We found that in the NC group, the total correct score was significantly correlated with age and education; males generated more subcategories; cluster size increased with education, and subcategory and switching decreased with age. A significantly progressive advantage was observed in VFT scores in the sequence NC > MCI/VCIND > AD/VaD, and this significantly discriminated dementia patients from the other groups. AD patients performed better in all four VFT scores than VaD patients. Subcategory and switching scores significantly distinguished AD from VaD patients (AD > VaD; mean difference, 0.50 for subcategory, P <0.05; 0.71 for switching, P <0.05). MCI patients scored higher than VCIND patients, but the difference did not reach statistical significance. These results suggest that semantic VFT is useful for the detection of MCI and VCIND, and in the differential diagnosis of cognitive impairment.     

Predictive accuracy of MCI subtypes for Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia in subjects with mild cognitive impairment: a 2-year follow-up study

AIM: The aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic accuracy of different subtypes of mild cognitive impairment (MCI): amnestic MCI, multiple domain MCI, and single non-memory domain MCI, for the development of Alzheimer's dementia (AD) and vascular dementia (VaD). PATIENTS: Nondemented patients from a memory clinic cohort (n = 118), and a stroke cohort (n = 80, older than 55 years and with a cognitive impairment). RESULTS: 'Multiple domain MCI' had the highest sensitivity for both AD (80.8%) and VaD (100%), and 'amnestic MCI' had the highest specificity (85.9% for AD, 100% for VaD). The positive predictive value was low for all subtypes (0.0-32.7%), whereas the negative predictive value was high (72.8-100%). DISCUSSION: The subtype 'multiple domain MCI' has high sensitivity in identifying people at risk for developing AD or VaD. The predictive accuracy of the MCI subtypes was similar for both AD and VaD.