Retrograde Amnesia in Dementia: Comparison of HIV-Associated Dementia, Alzheimer's Disease, and Huntington's Disease.

Remote memory was assessed in persons with HIV-associated dementia (HIV-D), probable Alzheimer's disease (AD), and Huntington's disease (HD) and in healthy controls. The clinical groups were similar in overall dementia severity. Each clinical group exhibited impairments on remote memory tests relative to controls; however, temporally graded memory loss with selective preservation of older information was observed in the AD group but not the HD or HIV-D group. Analysis of cued retrieval indicated a preferential cuing benefit for the HIV-D and HD groups relative to the AD group. The similar pattern of remote memory performance demonstrated by the HIV-D and HD groups is a novel finding and suggests a subcortically mediated retrograde amnesia in HIV-D. The temporally graded pattern and the abnormal cued retrieval performance in the AD group are consistent with a consolidation deficit associated with extrahippocampal (cortical) and hippocampal damage. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Studying Individual Aging in an Interindividual Context: Typical Paths of Age-Related, Dementia-Related, and Mortality-Related Cognitive Development in Old Age.

This study has 2 objectives: (a) to explore typical paths of cognitive development associated with aging, terminal decline, and dementia and (b) to promote and illustrate an individual-oriented approach to the study of cognitive aging based on longitudinal panel data from a population-based sample (N = 500; age rangeT1= 60-80, where T refers to time) tested at 3 occasions 5 years apart. Results document interindividual differences in multivariate patterns of change. Although cognitive changes generally covary, the present study indicates that subgroups of individuals develop along different paths characterized by selective changes in subsets of cognitive functions. Typical progression of dementia followed a developmental cascade from low declarative memory, via low functioning across all observed cognitive measures, to dementia diagnosis, and finally, death. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On what we cannot learn from proximity data.

Different issues raised in the commentaries are elaborated in this reply. The focus was on the following five topics: (a) the nature of storage deficits in the patient groups and the different meanings that can be attached to it, (b) the possible explanations for the disordered responses of the patients, (c) suggestions for the use of other techniques to study semantic deficits, (d) the Warrington and Shallice criteria to distinguish between access and storage problems, and (e) some technical (statistical) issues raised in the commentaries. The reply concludes by highlighting the key findings reported in the target article that seem to be accepted by the large majority of the commentators. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pharmacotherapy for Delusional Disorder and Associated Conditions.

Delusional disorder, according to current psychiatric nosology, is the presence of one or more nonbizarre delusions (i.e., false beliefs that nonetheless may be plausible or derived from ordinary life experiences) that do not occur in the context of schizophrenia and often exist in the presence of generally acceptable levels of psychosocial functioning. Currently recognized subtypes of delusional disorder are erotomanic (a delusion that another is in love with the patient), grandiose, jealous, persecutory, or somatic (Manschreck, 2000). As Manschreck noted, the diagnosis is complicated by disagreements over the distinction between bizarre and nonbizarre delusions, as well as the fact that the features of certain subtypes of delusional disorder may closely resemble those found in other conditions. Very little data, aside from anecdotal or case reports, exist to inform practice regarding the treatment of delusional disorder. Much of the recent literature addresses delusions that exist in the context of dementia or another underlying neurological disorder. It is important to recognize the substantial differences between these conditions and a primary delusional disorder. This brief review examines not only pharmacological management of primary delusional disorder but also delusions in the context of dementia and related disorders. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Structure versus processing deficits in Alzheimer's disease, a matter of degree: A comment on Storms et al. (2003).

G. Stories, T. Dirikx, J. Saerens, S. Verstraeten, and P. P. De Deyn (2003) argued that multidimensional scaling studies are ill-suited for investigating semantic deficits in individuals diagnosed with dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT) because such individuals show great inter- and intraindividual variability in their proximity judgments. Discussed in this commentary are (a) the possible role of attentional set in producing inconsistent performance across trials, (b) the implications of attentional factors on the structure versus process debate, and (c) the inevitable semantic degradation following severe progression of the disease. A framework is presented for considering nonlinear performance differences as a function of attentional demands of the task, vulnerability of the semantic representation, and progression of the disease. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Studies of Al metabolism in animal by accelerator mass spectrometry

The correlation between Al metabolism and senile dementia in animal has been studied by AMS(accelerator mass spectrometry).Three groups of laboratory rats were fed with normal food.food with high Al content,and with enriched Ca and Mg together with high Al,respectively for six to eight months.Mapping test was made to recored th degree of wisdom degeneration.Half of the rats were sacrificed and Al contents in various organs were measured by atomic absorption spectroscopy.The rest were injected with ^26Al,killed after 5,10,15,25,and 35d and ^26Al contents measured by AMS.The distribution of Al as well as the correlation among the accumulation of ^26Al,and the existed Al content and dementia was studied.     

Configuration in smart service systems: A practice‐based inquiry

In this paper, we develop a new perspective on configuration processes inherent to smart service systems that brings human actors to the theoretical foreground, is informed by practice theory, and is grounded in an intervention study of smart locating systems used in home care of persons with dementia. Maintaining control of the location of persons with dementia is a major source of caregiver burden, and assistive technologies such as smart locating systems hold the promise of enhancing quality of life and reducing caregiver burden. Drawing from research on smart service systems, organizational configuration research, and practice theory, we articulate a conceptual model of configuring in practice to explain how practice elements and the capabilities of smart technologies become mutually configured. Our analysis of study participants' experiences with the locating systems identified three distinctive configurations, characterized as enhanced smartness, degraded smartness, and fragile smartness, which developed through configuring processes. The configuring in practice model we develop here helps explain why unexpected and anticipated configurations develop and thus the conditions that facilitate or inhibit value cocreation in smart service systems.     

失智特殊护理单元公共空间设计对老人行为的影响—— 以北京市两所养老设施为例

中国是全球失智老人数量最多的国家,不断增长的失智老人群体对专业化的养老机构需求迫切。然而,当前中国能够满足失智老人特殊照护需求的养老机构很少,对失智老人行为模式、空间需求的认识和研究不足,更缺少专业的护理环境设计应对。本研究通过对北京两个空间布局相异的失智老人特殊护理单元中公共空间的调研,连续观察记录了老人对公共空间的使用方式与行为。对比分析后发现公共空间中空间布局、家具细节、空间氛围、物理环境等环境因素对老人的空间利用、交流行为、活动开展等行为均会产生影响。最后对失智老人护理机构公共空间环境设计提出了相应建议。     

Water Quality for Renal Dialysis

Over 100000 renal failure patients are treated by dialysis in the European Community (EC), and the number is rapidly increasing due to better medical care. The full importance of the quality of water used for renal dialysis is only now being recognized. Aluminium intoxication, first described in the early 1970s, highlighted the need for adequate treatment of water used to prepare dialysate. Other materials harmful to dialysis patients, such as chloramines, may arise as a result of water treatment practice. The paper presents a European-wide assessment of the problems of trace contaminants in dialysis feed water, and examines some contaminant sources in mains water in the light of dialysis water standards and the current treatment techniques available.     

Visuospatial deficits predict rate of cognitive decline in autopsy-verified dementia with Lewy bodies.

Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is often characterized by pronounced impairment in visuospatial skills, attention, and executive functions. However, the strength of the phenotypic expression of DLB varies and may be weaker in patients with extensive concomitant Alzheimer's disease (AD). To determine whether strength of the DLB clinical phenotype impacts cognitive decline, visuospatial and language tests were retrospectively used to predict 2-year rate of global cognitive decline in 22 autopsy-confirmed DLB patients (21 with concomitant AD) and 44 autopsy-confirmed "pure" AD patients. Generalized estimating equations (GEE) revealed a significant interaction such that poor baseline performances on tests of visuospatial skills were strongly associated with a rapid rate of cognitive decline in DLB but not AD (p