Recent studies have shown that patients diagnosed with Vascular Dementia (VaD) exhibit deficits in executive functions. According to “vascular hypothesis of cognitive aging,” community-dwelling older adults having risk factors for vascular disease development (RVD) may suffer from cognitive decline of the same type. The aim of the study was to assess the level of specific executive functions (EF) that have been revealed as most affected by vascular abnormalities, in older adults with incipient VaD and RVD. Subsequently specific ways of EF measuring could be suggested for more accurate diagnosis of early stage VaD. The study compared three adult groups (N = 60): (a) patients diagnosed with incipient VaD, according to DSM-5 criteria (n = 20); (b) community-dwelling older adults presenting cardiovascular risk factors (RVD; n = 20); (c) healthy young adult controls (n = 20). Three types of executive functions were examined: inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility as rule/task switching, and planning. The following D-KEFS subtests were administered for their evaluation: The ‘Color-Word Interference Test,’ the ‘Verbal Fluency Test,’ and the ‘Tower Test.’ Mixed-measures ANOVA, MANOVA, and one-way ANOVA as well as Scheffe post hoc test were applied to the data of the scores in each condition of each test. The results showed that VaD patients had significantly lower performance in test conditions requiring switching and planning, compared to RVD group and young controls. The specific deficits of VaD patients, compared to older adults presenting RVD according to multiple-group path analyses were: more uncorrected errors in inhibition, the use of semantic knowledge primarily instead of switching ability to switch between semantic categories, as well as a lower level of movement precision in planning.

Olfactory impairment in older adults is associated with cognitive decline. This study describes the development of a Brief Odor Detection Test (B-ODT), and its pilot administration in community-dwelling older adults. The study aimed at examining whether the test could differentiate older adults with very mild cognitive impairment from their cognitively healthy counterparts. The sample consisted of 34 older adults (22 women), aged from 65 to 87 years. Participants were divided into two groups according to their general cognitive functioning. Odor detection was measured via vanillin solutions at the following concentrations: 150 mg/L, 30 mg/L, 15 mg/L, 3 mg/L, and .03 mg/L. The first condition of the test involved a scale administration of vanillin solutions. The second condition examined the change in air odour and it required vanillin solution of 30 mg/L and a metric ruler of 30 cm. The examiner had to place the solution at a specific distance point from each nostril. Odour identification sensitivity was secondarily measured. The results showed statistically significant differences in odour detection threshold between the two groups. In the unirhinal testing, left nostril differences of the two groups were definite. Hence, the B-ODT seems a promising instrument for very early cognitive impairment screening in older adult population.

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