Cognitive function and frontal lobe atrophy in normal elderly adults: Implications for dementia not as aging‐related disorders and the reserve hypothesis

Abstract

We examined the relations between cognitive function and age and education in the normal elderly population. As per the community-based stroke, dementia, and bed confinement prevention in the town of Tajiri, neuropsychological assessments, including the Cognitive Ability Screening Instrument (CASI), were performed for 99 randomly selected normal elderly subjects.We assessed the frontal function (working memory, word fluency, Trail-Making Tests, CASI subitems of list-generating fluency, attention, and concentration/mental manipulation), language function (proverbs, CASI subitem language), non-language function (the digit symbol test of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R), CASI subitem visual construction), memory (Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale recall/recognition, story recall, CASI subitems short and long-term memory, the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test), and the global function (CASI subitems orientation and abstraction and judgment). We found that the only test affected by age was the digit symbol test of the WAIS-R. The effects of education were distributed among various tests. There was a significant correlation between age and the frontal lobe atrophy in the lower educated group. The present findings suggest that cognitive function is spared by the aging process itself and dementia should be considered as age-related, not aging-related disorders, and that education might have a protective effect on cognitive change, supporting the reserve hypothesis.

Assessment of mental deterioration with the Cognitive Abilities Screening Instrument (CASI) and glucose hypometabolism in Alzheimer’s disease: The Osaki-Tajiri Project

“…We have been using the CASI and have reported on it as follows: 8 (iii) For CDR 0.5 subtypes, all domains except remote memory were decreased in CDR 0.5/dementia of Alzheimer type (DAT). 9 (iv) For longitudinal progression from CDR 0.5 to dementia, all CASI domains at baseline, except for visual construction and language, were found to predict further conversion to Alzheimer's disease (AD).…”

Daily consumption of green tea catechin delays memory regression in aged mice

“…Physiological senescence, which includes declining cognition and motor skills, is not a disease but affects the quality of life of many elderly people. The atrophy of forebrain and hippocampus observed with ageing (Lye et al 2004;Meguro et al 2001;Rusinek et al 2003;Ylikoski et al 2000) may underlie impairments of learning and memory. Prevention of brain atrophy might therefore protect against the progressive degeneration of brain function.…”

Desempenho de idosos na bateria cognitiva CERAD: relações com variáveis sociodemográficas e saúde percebida

“…Estudos nacionais e internacionais mostraram que o aumento da idade e o baixo nível educacional estão relacionados ao pior funcionamento cognitivo em idosos (Argimon & Stein, 2005;Bertolucci, Brucki, Campacci, & Juliano, 1994;Brito-Marques & Cabral-Filho, 2005;Brucki & Rocha, 2004;Erven & Janczura, 2004;Foss, Vale, & Speciali, 2005;Meguro et al, 2001;Nitrini, 1999;Ostrosky-Solsi, Ardila, Rosselli, Lopez-Arango, & Uriel-Mendoza, 1998;Rosselli & Ardila, 2003). Por outro lado, os estudos são contraditórios sobre a associação do desempenho cognitivo com a variável gêne-ro.…”