Biomaterial Database

Differences between multi-infarct dementia and Alzheimer's disease on unstructured neuropsychological tasks. 1991

M F Mendez, and M Ashla-Mendez

Department of Neurology, St. Paul-Ramsey Medical Center/University of Minnesota 55101.

Although patients with multi-infarct dementia (MID) may have greater spontaneity than those with dementia of the Alzheimer's type (DAT), conventional neuropsychological tests often fail to distinguish between these two dementias. We studied 18 patients with MID and compared them to 18 comparably demented patients with DAT and 18 normal elderly controls on conventional structured tests and two unstructured tasks, a 3-minute verbal description of the Cookie Theft Picture and the Lezak Tinker Toy Test. On the structured tests, the only significant difference between the two dementia groups was worse performance by the DAT patients on several memory measures. On the unstructured tasks, the MID group had significantly fewer words/minute and constructional assemblages. These results suggest that unstructured tasks help distinguish patients with MID from those with DAT, and that MID patients have decreased spontaneous behavior and initiation, possibly reflecting frontal-subcortical pathology and compromised executive abilities.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008297	Male		Males
D009483	Neuropsychological Tests	Tests designed to assess neurological function associated with certain behaviors. They are used in diagnosing brain dysfunction or damage and central nervous system disorders or injury.	Aphasia Tests,Cognitive Test,Cognitive Testing,Cognitive Tests,Memory for Designs Test,Neuropsychological Testing,AX-CPT,Behavioral Assessment of Dysexecutive Syndrome,CANTAB,Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery,Clock Test,Cognitive Function Scanner,Continuous Performance Task,Controlled Oral Word Association Test,Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System,Developmental Neuropsychological Assessment,Hooper Visual Organization Test,NEPSY,Neuropsychologic Tests,Neuropsychological Test,Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test,Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status,Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure,Symbol Digit Modalities Test,Test of Everyday Attention,Test, Neuropsychological,Tests, Neuropsychological,Tower of London Test,Neuropsychologic Test,Test, Cognitive,Testing, Cognitive,Testing, Neuropsychological,Tests, Cognitive
D011597	Psychomotor Performance	The coordination of a sensory or ideational (cognitive) process and a motor activity.	Perceptual Motor Performance,Sensory Motor Performance,Visual Motor Coordination,Coordination, Visual Motor,Coordinations, Visual Motor,Motor Coordination, Visual,Motor Coordinations, Visual,Motor Performance, Perceptual,Motor Performance, Sensory,Motor Performances, Perceptual,Motor Performances, Sensory,Perceptual Motor Performances,Performance, Perceptual Motor,Performance, Psychomotor,Performance, Sensory Motor,Performances, Perceptual Motor,Performances, Psychomotor,Performances, Sensory Motor,Psychomotor Performances,Sensory Motor Performances,Visual Motor Coordinations
D005260	Female		Females
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000368	Aged	A person 65 years of age or older. For a person older than 79 years, AGED, 80 AND OVER is available.	Elderly
D000544	Alzheimer Disease	A degenerative disease of the BRAIN characterized by the insidious onset of DEMENTIA. Impairment of MEMORY, judgment, attention span, and problem solving skills are followed by severe APRAXIAS and a global loss of cognitive abilities. The condition primarily occurs after age 60, and is marked pathologically by severe cortical atrophy and the triad of SENILE PLAQUES; NEUROFIBRILLARY TANGLES; and NEUROPIL THREADS. (From Adams et al., Principles of Neurology, 6th ed, pp1049-57)	Acute Confusional Senile Dementia,Alzheimer's Diseases,Dementia, Alzheimer Type,Dementia, Senile,Presenile Alzheimer Dementia,Senile Dementia, Alzheimer Type,Alzheimer Dementia,Alzheimer Disease, Early Onset,Alzheimer Disease, Late Onset,Alzheimer Sclerosis,Alzheimer Syndrome,Alzheimer Type Senile Dementia,Alzheimer's Disease,Alzheimer's Disease, Focal Onset,Alzheimer-Type Dementia (ATD),Dementia, Presenile,Dementia, Primary Senile Degenerative,Early Onset Alzheimer Disease,Familial Alzheimer Disease (FAD),Focal Onset Alzheimer's Disease,Late Onset Alzheimer Disease,Primary Senile Degenerative Dementia,Senile Dementia, Acute Confusional,Alzheimer Dementias,Alzheimer Disease, Familial (FAD),Alzheimer Diseases,Alzheimer Type Dementia,Alzheimer Type Dementia (ATD),Alzheimers Diseases,Dementia, Alzheimer,Dementia, Alzheimer-Type (ATD),Familial Alzheimer Diseases (FAD),Presenile Dementia,Sclerosis, Alzheimer,Senile Dementia
D014706	Verbal Learning	Learning to respond verbally to a verbal stimulus cue.	Learning, Verbal,Learnings, Verbal,Verbal Learnings
D015161	Dementia, Multi-Infarct	Loss of higher cortical functions with retained awareness due to multiple cortical or subcortical CEREBRAL INFARCTION. Memory, judgment, attention span, and impulse control are often impaired, and may be accompanied by PSEUDOBULBAR PALSY; HEMIPARESIS; reflex abnormalities, and other signs of localized neurologic dysfunction. (From Adams et al., Principles of Neurology, 6th ed, p1060)	Lacunar Dementia,Multi-Infarct Dementia,Dementia Multi-Infarct,Dementia, Multiinfarct,Lacunar Dementias,Dementia Multi Infarct,Dementia Multi-Infarcts,Dementia, Lacunar,Dementia, Multi Infarct,Dementias, Lacunar,Dementias, Multi-Infarct,Dementias, Multiinfarct,Multi Infarct Dementia,Multi-Infarct Dementias,Multi-Infarct, Dementia,Multi-Infarcts, Dementia,Multiinfarct Dementia,Multiinfarct Dementias