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Objective: The aim was to conduct a review on the literature on objective cognitive impairment in patients after COVID-19.Methods: We performed a literature review and searched Ovid Medline in February 2021 based on a PECO scheme.Results: Twelve articles met all inclusion criteria. Total patient sample was <1,000. All studies on global cognitive function found impairment, ranging from 15 to 80% of the sampled patients. Seven studies on attention and executive functions reported impairment, with varying results depending on sub-domain and different tests. Three out of four studies reported memory difficulties, with two studies reporting short-term memory deficits. Although results indicate possible language impairment, only one study used domain-specific language tasks. Two out of four studies on visuospatial function did not report any impairment.Conclusion: Patients with recent SARS-CoV-2 infection appear to experience global cognitive impairment, impairment in memory, attention and executive function, and in particular verbal fluency. Based on the current results, we recommend clinicians to evaluate the need for cognitive assessment of patients with a recent COVID-19 infection, regardless of the severity of the disease, treatment methods and length of ICU stay. We need studies with larger sample and control group.

Anxiety is common in patients with mild dementia, and seems to be associated not so much with cognitive test performance than with caregiver distress and the patient's ability to function in daily life. Anxiety should be taken into account when assessing dementia, as well as screened for when examining patients with known dementia.

Background: Sleep disturbances (SDs) are common in patients with all forms of dementia. However, most studies focus on Alzheimer's disease (AD) and less is known about the prevalence and characteristics of SD in dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). Objective: The aims of this cross-sectional study were: (1) to examine the frequency of SD in DLB versus AD; (2) to compare patients with and without SD with regard to relevant clinical variables, and (3) to investigate the associations between SD and medication use. Methods: Patients with a first-time diagnosis of probable or possible DLB or AD were selected from the Dementia Study of Western Norway and recruited from clinics for old age psychiatry from 2010 until the end of 2013. Results: In all, 123 (55.7%) subjects with dementia suffered from at least one SD. Insomnia was present in 77 (34.8%), and 34 (20.7%) patients had probable REM-sleep behaviour disorder (RBD). All SDs were also significantly more frequent in patients with DLB than in AD, and DLB patients also more often had several co-occurring SDs. The presence of any SD was associated with more neuropsychiatric symptoms, higher morbidity, more parkinsonian symptoms and excessive daytime sleepiness. Antiparkinsonian medication was used more often in RBD, restless leg syndrome (RLS) and periodic limb movements, and benzodiazepines were also common in RLS. Conclusions: Sleep problems are more common in DLB patients compared to AD, and are associated with more clinical impairment. DLB patients frequently have several sleep problems occurring simultaneously, which suggests a need for screening and accurate assessment of sleep in DLB.

IntroductionThe aim of this review was to investigate whether there is a faster cognitive decline in dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) than in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) over time.MethodsPsycINFO and Medline were searched from 1946 to February 2013. A quality rating from 1 to 15 (best) was applied to the included studies. A quantitative meta-analysis was done on studies with mini mental state examination (MMSE) as the outcome measure.ResultsA total of 18 studies were included. Of these, six (36%) reported significant differences in the rate of cognitive decline. Three studies reported a faster cognitive decline on MMSE in patients with mixed DLB and AD compared to pure forms, whereas two studies reported a faster decline on delayed recall and recognition in AD and one in DLB on verbal fluency. Mean quality scores for studies that did or did not differ were not significantly different. Six studies reported MMSE scores and were included in the meta-analysis, which showed no significant difference in annual decline on MMSE between DLB (mean 3.4) and AD (mean 3.3).ConclusionsOur findings do not support the hypothesis of a faster rate of cognitive decline in DLB compared to AD. Future studies should apply recent diagnostic criteria, as well as extensive diagnostic evaluation and ideally autopsy diagnosis. Studies with large enough samples, detailed cognitive tests, at least two years follow up and multivariate statistical analysis are also needed.