The Accuracy of INECO Frontal Screening in the Diagnosis of Executive Dysfunction in Frontotemporal Dementia and Alzheimer Disease

Abstract

The present study suggested that the IFS may be used to screen for executive dysfunction in dementia. Nonetheless, it should be used with caution in the differential diagnosis between AD and bvFTD.

The INECO Frontal Screening for the Evaluation of Executive Dysfunction in Cerebral Small Vessel Disease: Evidence from Quantitative MRI in a CADASIL Cohort from Colombia

“…Further, performance on the IFS is sensitive and specific to the presence of executive dysfunction in various neurodegenerative diseases. Previous studies have demonstrated that patients diagnosed with behavioral variant of Frontotemporal Dementia, a condition linked to neurodegeneration in frontal and temporal areas and severe deficits in executive function, presented more severe impairments on the IFS than patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and healthy controls (Bahia et al, 2018;Custodio et al, 2016;Gleichgerrcht, Roca, Manes, & Torralva, 2011;Moreira, Costa, Castro, Lima, & Vicente, 2017). Using a cutoff score of 19.75, the IFS presented a sensitivity of 0.80 and a specificity of 0.63 in discriminating healthy controls from subjects with dementia (Bahia et al, 2018).…”

“…Previous studies have demonstrated that patients diagnosed with behavioral variant of Frontotemporal Dementia, a condition linked to neurodegeneration in frontal and temporal areas and severe deficits in executive function, presented more severe impairments on the IFS than patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and healthy controls (Bahia et al, 2018;Custodio et al, 2016;Gleichgerrcht, Roca, Manes, & Torralva, 2011;Moreira, Costa, Castro, Lima, & Vicente, 2017). Using a cutoff score of 19.75, the IFS presented a sensitivity of 0.80 and a specificity of 0.63 in discriminating healthy controls from subjects with dementia (Bahia et al, 2018). Other studies have corroborated the adequate sensitivity and specificity of the IFS in distinguishing controls subjects from subjects with neurocognitive disorders (Custodio et al, 2016;Gleichgerrcht et al, 2011).…”

Language in Behavioral Variant Frontotemporal Dementia: Another Stone to Be Turned in Latin America

“…LA bvFTD patients have impaired phonemic fluency relative to healthy controls ( 56 – 58 , 60 , 68 – 70 , 72 , 74 , 75 ). This has been observed for both Spanish-speaking ( 57 , 60 , 74 , 75 ) and Portuguese-speaking ( 68 , 72 ) cohorts, across different age groups (mean age varying from 64.4 to 70.2 years old) and education levels (years of education ranging from 10.8 to 16.0 years). Non-significant differences were reported by Torralva et al ( 62 ), although these results came from a smaller sample with higher MMSE scores than those reported in other studies.…”

“…Non-significant differences were reported by Torralva et al ( 62 ), although these results came from a smaller sample with higher MMSE scores than those reported in other studies. Also, phonemic fluency outcomes do not differ significantly between bvFTD and AD [( 58 , 68 , 72 , 73 ), but see ( 60 )]. Comparisons with PPA have yielded mixed results: while some studies report better performance for bvFTD than non-fluent variant PPA and semantic variant PPA patients ( 74 , 75 ), other found no significant difference between groups ( 60 , 69 , 70 ).…”

Depression in Alzheimer’s Disease: An Alternative Role for Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors?

“…As these changes can occur at a rapid rate, they will no doubt place a psychological burden on the individual and increase the likelihood of recurring depressive episodes [86]. In addition, the neurodegeneration [88] and global physiological changes associated with advancing AD, such as increased inflammation and oxidative stress [89], are likely to enhance the severity of depressive episodes. This may lead to significant cognitive impairment and reduce the likelihood of both treatment response and adherence to medication [90,91].…”