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Mini-Mental Status Examination (mini-mental + status_examination)
Selected AbstractsAn open-label trial of Korean red ginseng as an adjuvant treatment for cognitive impairment in patients with Alzheimer's diseaseEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGY, Issue 8 2008J.-H. Heo Background and purpose:, Ginseng is one of the most popular herbs worldwide. Ginseng has various medical applications, and it seems to have significant effects as a cognition-enhancing drug. In this study, we examined the efficacy of Korean red ginseng (KRG) as an adjuvant therapy to conventional anti-dementia medications in patients with Alzheimer's disease. Methods:, The trial was designed as a 12-week randomized study. Sixty-one patients (24 males and 37 females) with Alzheimer's disease were randomly assigned to one of the following treatment groups: low-dose KRG (4.5 g/day, n = 15), high-dose KRG (9 g/day, n = 15) or control (n = 31). The Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale (ADAS), Korean version of the Mini-Mental Status Examination (K-MMSE) and Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) scale were used to assess the change in cognitive and functional performance at the end of the 12-week study period. Results:, The patients in the high-dose KRG group showed significant improvement on the ADAS and CDR after 12 weeks of KRG therapy when compared with those in the control group (P = 0.032 and 0.006 respectively). The KRG treatment groups showed improvement from baseline MMSE when compared with the control group (1.42 vs. ,0.48), but this improvement was not statistically significant. Conclusions:, KRG showed good efficacy for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease; however, further studies with larger samples of patients and a longer efficacy trial should be conducted to confirm the efficacy of KRG. [source] Dementia and depression among nursing home residents in Lebanon: a pilot studyINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GERIATRIC PSYCHIATRY, Issue 4 2007L. M. Chahine Abstract Background The proportion of elderly in the Lebanese population is 7.1% and this is expected to increase to 10.2% by the year 2025. The nursing home (NH) population in Lebanon has not been studied. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of dementia and depression among a portion of nursing home residents (NHR) in Lebanon and describe the characteristics of NHR afflicted with dementia and depression. Method Of 200 NHR from three NH in Lebanon, 117 were selected by random sampling. Data on demographics and medical history were collected. An Arabic version of the Mini-Mental Status Examination and Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) were administered. Results Our final sample consisted of 102 NHR. Sixty-one (59.8%) had dementia of some kind. Seventeen (27.9%) had mild dementia, 14 (22.9%) had moderate dementia, and 30 (49.2%) had severe dementia. Forty-five (57.7%) of the NHR tested had depression as measured by a GDS score of more than 10. Conclusions Dementia and depression were present in more than half of the NHR in our sample. Our results have important implications, being the first to be collected in the Lebanese community. Screening NHR for dementia and depression on admission and at regular time intervals is a must. More studies targeting all aspects of the elderly population in Lebanon are needed. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Tooth loss and cognitive impairmentJOURNAL OF CLINICAL PERIODONTOLOGY, Issue 7 2009Hans Joergen Grabe Abstract Objectives: Chronic subclinical inflammation may elevate the risk of cognitive impairment. Periodontitis is associated with subclinical inflammation and accounts in part for tooth loss. The hypothesis was tested that periodontitis and tooth loss as a proxy of chronic periodontitis is associated with cognitive impairment in the elderly. Subjects and Methods: The population-based Study of Health in Pomerania comprises 1336 subjects (60,79 years). Cognitive impairment was assessed with the Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE). Tobit regression analyses were adjusted for potential confounders. Results: A decreased number of teeth was associated with lower MMSE scores in females (p<0.001) and males (p=0.007) in age-adjusted models. In the fully adjusted models, tooth loss was associated with cognitive impairment in females (p=0.002) but not in males (p=0.825). Conclusions: A significant association between tooth loss and cognitive impairment was found in females that was not accounted for by potential confounders. Former periodontitis may account for this association as periodontitis was frequently the cause for tooth extractions. [source] Research: The challenges of clinical trials in the exclusion zone: The case of the frail elderlyAUSTRALASIAN JOURNAL ON AGEING, Issue 2 2008Iman Ridda Frail older people have been systematically excluded from randomised controlled trials (RCT). We aim to recruit older, frail hospitalised patients in an RCT and evaluate the frailty index (FI) as a measure to describe the types of people included in the study. We recruited 315 hospitalised patients aged 65 years; age ranged from 60 to 102 years. Baseline assessment scores ranged as follow: Mini-Mental Status Examination from 7 to 30, Barthel index from 5 to 100 and FI from 2 to 24. Total deaths were 20 (6%). We demonstrated that it is feasible to recruit frail older people into RCTs. The FI does not show any ,floor' or ,ceiling' effects. We can measure frailty in an RCT cohort, and we believe that clinical trials should include more frail older people and that the use of an FI can facilitate such trials and generate reliable data to guide future medical practice in a rapidly ageing society. [source] Depressive symptoms among cognitively normal versus cognitively impaired elderly subjectsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GERIATRIC PSYCHIATRY, Issue 5 2001Yan-sheng Li Abstract Objectives The present cross-sectional study analyzed the prevalence and severity of depressive symptoms among patients with Alzheimer's disease (DAT), vascular dementia (VAD), and among the cognitively normal elderly. Putative risk factors contributing to depression were likewise evaluated. Methods Seventy-six DAT patients, 51 VAD patients, and 121 cognitively normal subjects were admitted to the study. Questionnaires concerning demography and their vascular and familial risk factors together with results of neuropsychological testing by combined Mini-Mental Status Examinations (MMSE), Cognitive Capacity Screening Examinations (CCSE), and Hamilton Depression Rating Scales (HDRS) were obtained so that resulting data would be statistically analyzed. Results Prevalence of depressive symptoms among VAD, DAT, and cognitively normal elderly were 31.4%, 19.9%, and 13.2%, respectively. 25.5% of VAD and 13.2% of DAT patients had depression of mild to moderate degrees. Regression analysis revealed that diagnosis of VAD and DAT, heart disease, and past history of depression was significantly associated with high HDRS scores. There was no correlation between degree of depression and severity of cognitive impairments. Conclusion Mild to moderate depression is a common comorbidity with organic dementia, especially VAD, but associated depression is independent of severity of cognitive impairments. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd [source] | ||||||||||