Study Identifies Key Variables Predicting Cognitive Decline in Alzheimer's Disease

Your doctor is REQUIRED to prevent this cognitive decline post stroke!

With your chances of getting dementia post stroke. YOUR DOCTOR IS RESPONSIBLE FOR PREVENTING THIS!

1. A documented 33% dementia chance post-stroke from an Australian study?   May 2012.

2. Then this study came out and seems to have a range from 17-66%. December 2013.`    

3. A 20% chance in this research.   July 2013.

4. Dementia Risk Doubled in Patients Following Stroke September 2018

Study Identifies Key Variables Predicting Cognitive Decline in Alzheimer's Disease

Cognitive deterioration in patients with Alzheimer’s disease is best predicted by a combination of demographic, somatic, and functional variables, according to a study published in PLOS One.

“Though quite many risk factors for disease progression have been identified, there is a lack of prospective studies investigating the interplay and predictive value of a wide variety of patient variables associated with cognitive deterioration,” wrote Liane Kaufmann, MD, Ernst von Bergmann Klinikum, Potsdam, Germany, and colleagues.

To understand which patient characteristics might best predict cognitive decline in these patients, the researchers followed an initial cohort of 500 Austrian patients with probable and possible Alzheimer’s disease for 2 years. After taking a history of conditions such as heart disease, atrial fibrillation, and diabetes, the researchers tracked cognitive function, daily living activities, depression, pain, and neuropsychiatric symptoms. They also assessed the burden on patients’ caregivers.

Results showed that over time, all patients experienced significant cognitive decline, which was associated with decreased daily life activities and increased dependence on their caregivers. Age, female sex, difficulty with daily activities, and depression predicted cognitive decline at every time point. Older age, female sex, inability to carry out daily activities, and a history of atrial fibrillation predicted the most severe cognitive decline after 2 years.

Overall, even in early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, functional changes were strongly associated with caregiver load.

The study had a high dropout rate, and also did not include lifestyle variables like physical activity, smoking, or alcohol use.

However, the authors believe the findings suggest that a combination of demographics, alongside measures of daily function and previous medical conditions, could help predict cognitive decline, and that caregiver load should also be an important factor in diagnosing and treating patients with Alzheimer’s disease.

“The results of our large-scale prospective study on patients with early-onset Alzheimer’s [disease] identify a combination of high age, female sex, atrial fibrillation, low activities of daily living, and depressive symptomatology as significant risk factors for cognitive deterioration,” the authors concluded. “Moreover, our findings disclose strong correlations between caregiver load and various patient-related measures. Thus, we propose that the clinical management of early-stage Alzheimer’s disease should be targeted at the patient-caregiver dyad.”

Reference: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0307111

SOURCE: PLOS