The bicaudate index inversely associates with performance in the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) in older adults living in rural Ecuador. The Atahualpa project

Abstract

The inverse relationship between the bicaudate index and the MoCA score provides evidence that the MoCA is reliable to detect structural brain damage and useful to assess cognitive performance in less educated individuals. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

On the relationship between calcified neurocysticercosis and epilepsy in an endemic village: A large‐scale, computed tomography–based population study in rural Ecuador

“…22,29,30 As detailed elsewhere, MRIs were performed with a Philips Intera 1.5T (Philips Medical Systems, the Netherlands) at Hospital-Clínica Kennedy, and included two-dimensional multi-slice turbo spin echo T1-weighted, fluid attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR), T2-weighted, and gradient-echo sequences in the axial plane, as well as a FLAIR sequence oriented in the sagittal plane; slice thickness was 5mm with 1mm gap between slices. 29 A total of 452 MRIs, all performed in Atahualpa residents aged ≥40 years, were reviewed.…”

“…Due to the potential lack of resolution of CT to detect small cystic lesions in the brain parenchyma, subarachnoid space, or ventricular cavities, we used information provided by brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) performed in the same population for other research purposes, as part of the Atahualpa Project. 22,28,29 As detailed elsewhere, MRI was performed with a Philips Intera 1.5T (Philips Medical Systems, The Netherlands) at Kennedy Hospital-Clinic, and included two-dimensional multislice turbo spin echo T 1 -weighted, fluid attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR), T 2 -weighted, and gradient-echo sequences in the axial plane, as well as a FLAIR sequence oriented in the sagittal plane; slice thickness was 5 mm with a 1-mm gap between slices. 28 A total of 452 MRIs, all performed in Atahualpa residents aged ≥40 years, were reviewed.…”

The Association Between Neurocysticercosis and Hippocampal Atrophy is Related to Age

“…The MoCA is highly reliable for the detection of individuals with mild cognitive impairment, 18 and has proven to be of value for the recognition of this condition and its correlation with structural brain damage among Atahualpa residents. 19,20 In addition, a previous study showed that cognitive performance is not compromised in individuals with hippocampal atrophy associated with NCC. 21 Given the similarity in the demographics of the case and control groups, there is no apparent reason-other than NCC-to explain the higher prevalence of hippocampal atrophy in the casepatient group.…”

Total cerebral small vessel disease score and cognitive performance in community‐dwelling older adults. Results from the Atahualpa Project

“…Our study is limited to the assessment of cognitive performance by a single test. However, the MoCA has proven reliable for assessing cognitive performance in less educated individuals and has been correlated with structural brain damage documented by MRI in our population (Del Brutto et al ., , ). In addition, we did not assess the impact of the total SVD score or its individual components in different domains of cognitive performance evaluated by the MoCA.…”

“…Maximum MoCA score is 30 points, with an additional point given to persons with ≤12 years of education (Nasreddine et al, 2005). We did not use a cutoff score for defining cognitive impairment, but the continuous MoCA score to avoid problems related to poor reliability of specific cutoffs in less-educated populations (Del Brutto et al, 2016a). The MoCA was administered within the first three months following the MRI scan in all cases.…”