Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
9
pubmed:dateCreated
1999-12-29
pubmed:abstractText
The main objective of the present study was to evaluate the diagnostic value (clinical application) of brain measures and cognitive function. Alzheimer and multi-infarct patients (N = 30) and normal subjects over the age of 50 (N = 40) were submitted to a medical, neurological and cognitive investigation. The cognitive tests applied were Mini-Mental, word span, digit span, logical memory, spatial recognition span, Boston naming test, praxis, and calculation tests. The brain ratios calculated were the ventricle-brain, bifrontal, bicaudate, third ventricle, and suprasellar cistern measures. These data were obtained from a brain computer tomography scan, and the cutoff values from receiver operating characteristic curves. We analyzed the diagnostic parameters provided by these ratios and compared them to those obtained by cognitive evaluation. The sensitivity and specificity of cognitive tests were higher than brain measures, although dementia patients presented higher ratios, showing poorer cognitive performances than normal individuals. Normal controls over the age of 70 presented higher measures than younger groups, but similar cognitive performance. We found diffuse losses of tissue from the central nervous system related to distribution of cerebrospinal fluid in dementia patients. The likelihood of case identification by functional impairment was higher than when changes of the structure of the central nervous system were used. Cognitive evaluation still seems to be the best method to screen individuals from the community, especially for developing countries, where the cost of brain imaging precludes its use for screening and initial assessment of dementia.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Sep
pubmed:issn
0100-879X
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
32
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
1133-43
pubmed:dateRevised
2004-11-17
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed-meshheading:10464391-Age Factors, pubmed-meshheading:10464391-Aged, pubmed-meshheading:10464391-Aged, 80 and over, pubmed-meshheading:10464391-Aging, pubmed-meshheading:10464391-Alzheimer Disease, pubmed-meshheading:10464391-Analysis of Variance, pubmed-meshheading:10464391-Brain, pubmed-meshheading:10464391-Cognition, pubmed-meshheading:10464391-Dementia, pubmed-meshheading:10464391-Dementia, Vascular, pubmed-meshheading:10464391-Educational Status, pubmed-meshheading:10464391-Female, pubmed-meshheading:10464391-Health Status, pubmed-meshheading:10464391-Humans, pubmed-meshheading:10464391-Magnetic Resonance Imaging, pubmed-meshheading:10464391-Male, pubmed-meshheading:10464391-Middle Aged, pubmed-meshheading:10464391-Sensitivity and Specificity, pubmed-meshheading:10464391-Social Class
pubmed:year
1999
pubmed:articleTitle
Diagnosing dementia and normal aging: clinical relevance of brain ratios and cognitive performance in a Brazilian sample.
pubmed:affiliation
Programa de Ciências do Comportamento, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil. mchaves@vanet.com.br
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article