The Mini-Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination (M-ACE) is a brief cognitive screening test that evaluates four main cognitive domains (orientation, memory, language and visuospatial function) with a maximum score of 30 points and administration time of five minutes.Objective:To assess the performance of healthy elderly, MCI patients and mild AD patients using the Brazilian version of the M-ACE.Methods:The test was applied to a group of 36 Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), 23 mild Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and 25 cognitive healthy elderly. All participants were aged ≥60 years.Results:The M-ACE displayed high internal consistency (Cronbach alpha >0.8; 95% CI 0.7-0.8) and proved effective for differentiating the AD group from MCI and control groups, providing superior accuracy than the MMSE (the cut-off point of 20 points had the highest sensitivity and specificity – 95.6% and 90.16% respectively, with a high area under the curve – AUC=0.8; 95% CI 0.7-0.9). Performance on the M-ACE was strongly correlated with that of the MMSE and Functional Activities Questionnaire (FAQ). The M-ACE was not accurate in discriminating MCI from control subjects.Conclusion:The M-ACE is a brief screening test which provided high accuracy for diagnosing AD in this sample. The suggested cut-off point in this study was 20 points for AD.
Alzheimer's disease (AD) and epilepsy are common disorders in the elderly.
Evidence demonstrates that patients with AD have an increased risk of developing
epilepsy and seizures.ObjectiveTo review epidemiological, clinical and treatment aspects of epilepsy and
AD.MethodsWe reviewed databases (PubMED, LiLACS, Scielo) conducting a search for
manuscripts using the terms Alzheimer's disease and epilepsy.ResultsManuscripts related to the areas of interest were reviewed. Studies revealed
that epilepsy is more frequent among AD patients. The combined presence of
the two disorders may be related to mechanisms of neuronal hyperexcitability
as a consequence of amyloid-beta protein (Aβ) or phosphorylated tau
accumulation, as well as to structural changes in cortical and hippocampal
regions. Available data suggest that the new generation of antiepileptic
drugs (AEDs) are better tolerated in the elderly population, and may also be
the best option in patients with AD and epilepsy.ConclusionFurther prospective studies involving evaluation of concomitant dementia and
epilepsy, neurophysiological findings and biomarkers need to be
performed.
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