Phonemic verbal fluency tests assess the production of words beginning with
specific letters. Of these letters, the most frequently used are F, A and S. It
is a sensitive test for assessing frontal lobe functions.ObjectiveTo provide normative data for the elderly Brazilian population on the FAS
test and to investigate the effects of age and schooling on test
performance.MethodsThe individuals were divided into three age groups (60–69, 70–79 and =80
years), and into four groups according to education (1–3, 4–7, 8–11 and 12
years). All subjects were assessed by the Mini Mental State Examination and
the FAS. Data were analyzed with Student’s t test, ANOVA, simple linear
regression and Spearman’s correlation.ResultsWe evaluated 345 cognitively healthy volunteers, 66.66% being female, aged 60
to 93 years, with an educational level ranging from one to 24 years. The
average (number of items) ±SD for the whole sample was
28.28±11.53. No significant effect of gender was observed
(p=0.5). Performance on the MMSE and education exerted
a direct influence on FAS scores (p<0.001), with
education being the most significant factor. A positive correlation was
found between FAS and the MMSE (r=0.404; p<0.001).ConclusionThe performance of Brazilian elderly on the phonemic verbal fluency
tests-FAS is significantly influenced by education, where
individuals with higher educational level present better performance than
those with fewer years of schooling. Age and gender did not prove
significant with the FAS.
The Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination-Revised (ACE-R) is a highly sensitive and
specific tool for the detection of mild dementia. It is particularly useful in
differentiating Alzheimer’s disease from frontotemporal dementia. While the
first version of the test battery has been adapted in many countries, its
revised version has not, probably because it was published very recently.ObjectiveTo translate and adapt the ACE-R for use in the Brazilian population.MethodsTwo independent translations were made from English into Portuguese, followed
by two independent back-translations. Few adaptations in accordance to the
Brazilian culture and language were made and a first version of the
instrument produced. This former version of the ACE-R was administered to 21
cognitively healthy subjects aged 60 years or more, with different
educational levels.ResultsThe mean age of the studied sample of healthy elderly was 75.4 years (ranging
from 60 to 89 years). Small additional modifications were necessary after
the evaluation of the first ten subjects in order to improve comprehension
of the test. The final Portuguese version of the ACE-R was produced and was
found to be well understood by the remaining 11 subjects, taking an average
of 15 minutes to be administered.ConclusionsThe Brazilian version of the ACE-R proved to be a promising cognitive
instrument for testing both in research and clinical settings. With this
regard, additional studies are currently being carried out in our unit in
order to investigate the diagnostic properties of the ACE-R in our
milieu.
Background/Aims: We aimed to compare caregiver burden and distress in behavioral-variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) and to investigate which factors contribute to caregivers' burden and distress. Methods: Fifty patients and their caregivers were invited to participate. Among the patients, 20 had a diagnosis of bvFTD and 30 had AD. Caregivers and patients were statistically equivalent for age, sex, education and dementia severity according to Clinical Dementia Rating. The protocol included the Short Zarit Burden Inventory, the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI), Disability Assessment for Dementia (DAD), the Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia (CSDD), Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination-Revised, the Executive Interview with 25 Items, Direct Assessment of Functional Status and the Geriatric Anxiety Inventory (GAI). Results: In the NPI, caregivers of bvFTD patients reported a higher presence and severity of neuropsychiatric symptoms and caregiver distress compared to caregivers of AD patients. There was no significant difference in the perceived burden. In bvFTD, DAD and GAI scores were significantly correlated with burden, whereas in AD, burden was correlated with CSDD and NPI scores. Psychiatric symptoms were associated with distress in both groups. Conclusions: Caregivers of bvFTD patients experienced higher levels of distress than caregivers of AD patients. Patients' functional limitations were associated with burden of caregivers of bvFTD patients, whereas neuropsychiatric symptoms were associated with caregiver strain in both groups.
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