The first symptom in patients described the evolution of the disease. AbvFTD and DbvFTD patients showed increased brain atrophy and increased levels of disinhibition and apathy, respectively. Whole brain analyzes in AbvFTD revealed atrophy in the frontal, insular, and temporal areas. DbvFTD, in turn, presented atrophy in the prefrontal regions, temporoparietal junction, insula, and temporoparietal region. Increased atrophy in DbvFTD patients (compared to AbvFTD) was observed in frontotemporal regions. Multivariate analyses confirmed that a set of brain areas including right orbitofrontal, right dorsolateral prefrontal, and left caudate were enough to distinguish the patients' subgroups.∥Conclusion: First symptom in bvFTD patients described the neurocognitive impairments after around three years of disease, playing an important role in the early detection, disease tracking, and neuroanatomical specification of bvFTD, as well as in future research on potential disease-modifying treatments.
Objectives
We aim to study the effects of the prescription of benzodiazepines and antidepressants on cognitive and functional decline in older adults living with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Lewy body dementia (LBD) over a 5‐year follow‐up.
Methods
This is a longitudinal analysis of a Norwegian cohort study entitled “The Dementia Study of Western Norway” (DemVest). We included 196 patients newly diagnosed with AD (n = 111) and LBD (n = 85), followed annually for 5 years. Three prescription groups were defined: only benzodiazepines (BZD), only antidepressants (ADep), and the combination of benzodiazepines and antidepressants (BZD‐ADep). Linear mixed‐effects models were conducted to analyze the effect of the defined groups on the outcomes. The outcomes were functional decline, measured by the Rapid Disability Rating Scale—2, and cognition measured with the Mini‐Mental State Examination.
Results
Prescription of the combination of benzodiazepines and antidepressants in LBD was associated with faster functional decline. In AD, the prescription of BZD and BZD‐ADep was associated with greater functional deterioration. ADep alone did not show positive or negative significant associations with the studied outcomes.
Conclusions
BZD and especially the combination of BZD and ADep are associated with functional decline in AD and LBD and should be used cautiously.
High blood pressure is a relevant risk factor for vascular damage, leading to development of depressive symptoms and dementia in older adults. Moreover, subjective memory complaints are recognized as an early marker of cognitive impairment. However, it has been established that subjective memory complaints could also be a reflection of depressive symptoms. The objective of this paper is to assess the impact of depressive symptoms and subjective memory complaints on the incidence of cognitive impairment in older adults with high blood pressure.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.