Utility of the Seoul Cognitive Status Test to detect amyloid status in mild cognitive impairment.

BackgroundInvestigating amyloid-β (Aβ) status could offer clinical implications for the identification of and intervention for individuals at higher risk of dementia due to Alzheimer's disease (AD). The use of computerized cognitive tests has been considered valuable in detecting Aβ positivity.ObjectiveThis study aims to examine the predictive accuracy of the Seoul Cognitive Status Test (Seoul CST) for Aβ-positive mild cognitive impairment (Aβ+ MCI).

Social Cognition in Neurodegenerative Disorders.

Social cognition, including theory of mind, empathy, social perception, and behavior, is crucial for interpersonal relationships and social functioning. Impairments in social cognition have also been recognized in neurodegenerative disorders including frontotemporal dementia, Alzheimer's disease, and Parkinson's disease. This review defines social cognition components, summarizes assessment tools, and evaluates their clinical applicability in these disorders.

Assessing the Equivalence of Telephone-MoCA and MoCA-22 in Healthy Adults.

Background And Purpose: The Telephone-Montreal Cognitive Assessment (T-MoCA) is a remote cognitive screening tool increasingly used in clinical and research contexts. However, its applicability in Korean populations remains underexplored.

Methods: This study examined the equivalence between the T-MoCA and the face-to-face Korean MoCA-22 (K-MoCA-22) in a community-based sample of 113 cognitively normal adults aged 21-91 years.

Clinical Practice Guidelines for Dementia: Recommendations for the Pharmacological Treatment of Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms.

Background And Purpose: Dementia often accompanies behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD), including agitation, aggression, depression, and psychosis, which impact patients' quality of life and caregiver burden. Effective management of BPSD is essential to support patient and caregiver well-being. This study presents evidence-based clinical practice guidelines for pharmacological treatments of BPSD in dementia, focusing on antipsychotics, antidepressants, cognitive enhancers, and other medications.

Clinical Practice Guidelines for Dementia: Recommendations for Cholinesterase Inhibitors and Memantine.

Background And Purpose: This clinical practice guideline provides evidence-based recommendations for treatment of dementia, focusing on cholinesterase inhibitors and N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonists for Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other types of dementia.

Methods: Using the Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcomes (PICO) framework, we developed key clinical questions and conducted systematic literature reviews. A multidisciplinary panel of experts, organized by the Korean Dementia Association, evaluated randomized controlled trials and observational studies.

The Usefulness of F-FDG PET to Differentiate Subtypes of Dementia: The Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background And Purpose: Dementia subtypes, including Alzheimer's dementia (AD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), and frontotemporal dementia (FTD), pose diagnostic challenges. This review examines the effectiveness of F-Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography (F-FDG PET) in differentiating these subtypes for precise treatment and management.

Methods: A systematic review following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines was conducted using databases like PubMed and Embase to identify studies on the diagnostic utility of F-FDG PET in dementia.

Efficacy of smartphone application-based multi-domain cognitive training in older adults without dementia.

Background: As the population ages and the prevalence of dementia increases, there is a growing emphasis on the importance of cognitive training to prevent dementia. A smartphone application-based cognitive training software program, BeauBrain Trainer (BBT), has been developed to provide better access to cognitive training for older adults. Numerous studies have revealed the effectiveness of cognitive training using a cognitive assessment tool.

Development and preliminary validation of a virtual reality memory test for assessing visuospatial memory.

Background: Visuospatial memory impairment is a common symptom of Alzheimer's disease; however, conventional visuospatial memory tests are insufficient to fully reflect visuospatial memory impairment in daily life.

Methods: To address patients' difficulties in locating and recalling misplaced objects, we introduced a novel visuospatial memory test, the Hidden Objects Test (HOT), conducted in a virtual environment. We categorized HOT scores into prospective memory, item free-recall, place free-recall, item recognition, and place-item matching scores.

Classification and prediction of cognitive trajectories of cognitively unimpaired individuals.

Objectives: Efforts to prevent Alzheimer's disease (AD) would benefit from identifying cognitively unimpaired (CU) individuals who are liable to progress to cognitive impairment. Therefore, we aimed to develop a model to predict cognitive decline among CU individuals in two independent cohorts.

Methods: A total of 407 CU individuals from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) and 285 CU individuals from the Samsung Medical Center (SMC) were recruited in this study.

Eye-Tracking Metrics for Figure-Copying Processes in Early- vs. Late-Onset Alzheimer's Disease.

Visuospatial dysfunction is a common symptom in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). To more focus on copying processes rather than on finally completed figures, we conceptually split the copying processes into three stages: visuoperceptual function, visuoconstructional function, and working memory function. We constructed perceptual and working spaces to investigate the different stages of copying, and then, we compared the number and duration of fixations and saccades and the number of switches across the two spaces.

Executive Summary of the 2021 International Conference of Korean Dementia Association: A Report From the Academic Committee of the Korean Dementia Association.

Recently, aducanumab, a beta amyloid targeted immunotherapy, has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of Alzheimer's dementia (AD). Although many questions need to be answered, this approval provides a promising hope for the development of AD drugs that could be supported by new biomarkers such as blood-based ones and composite neuropsychological tests that can confirm pathologic changes in early stages of AD. It is important to elucidate the complexity of AD which is known to be associated with other factors such as vascular etiologies and neuro-inflammation.

Annual Incidence of Dementia from 2003 to 2018 in Metropolitan Seoul, Korea: A Population-Based Study.

National dementia plans were applied in dementia support centers established in Seoul, Korea between 2007 and 2009. However, the annual incidence rates of dementia in Seoul have not been reported. We investigated this annual incidence and the characteristics of incident cases from 2003 to 2018.

Effects of smartphone application-based cognitive training at home on cognition in community-dwelling non-demented elderly individuals: A randomized controlled trial.

Introduction: We investigated whether cognitive function improves in elderly individuals after Application-based Cognitive Training at Home (ACTH) for 12 months.

Methods: A total of 389 non-demented elderly volunteers aged over 60 years were recruited and randomly assigned to the intervention or control group. The intervention group underwent daily ACTH (with regular feedback from the administrator) and monthly offline cognitive training in groups for 12 months.

Longitudinal amyloid cognitive composite in preclinical Alzheimer's disease.

Background And Purpose: Previous studies have developed several cognitive composites in preclinical Alzheimer disease (AD). However, more sensitive measures to track cognitive changes and therapeutic efficacy in preclinical AD are needed considering the diverse sociocultural and linguistic backgrounds. This study developed a composite score that can sensitively detect the amyloid-β (Aβ)-related cognitive trajectory of preclinical AD using Korean data.

Cortical neuroanatomical changes related to specific neuropsychological deficits in subcortical vascular cognitive impairment.

Objective: Neuropsychological test-specific neural substrates in subcortical vascular cognitive impairment (SVCI) are expected to differ from those in Alzheimer's disease-related cognitive impairment (ADCI) but the details are unclear. To determine neural substrates related to cerebral small vessel disease, we investigated the correlations between cognitive dysfunctions measured by standardized neuropsychological tests and cortical thickness in a large sample of participants with amyloid negative (Aβ (-)) SVCI.

Methods: One hundred ninety-eight participants with Aβ (-) SVCI were recruited from the memory clinic between November 2007 to August 2018.

Differential effects of risk factors on the cognitive trajectory of early- and late-onset Alzheimer's disease.

Background: Although few studies have shown that risk factors for Alzheimer's disease (AD) are associated with cognitive decline in AD, not much is known whether the impact of risk factors differs between early-onset AD (EOAD, symptom onset < 65 years of age) versus late-onset AD (LOAD). Therefore, we evaluated whether the impact of Alzheimer's disease (AD) risk factors on cognitive trajectories differ in EOAD and LOAD.

Methods: We followed-up 193 EOAD and 476 LOAD patients without known autosomal dominant AD mutation for 32.

Cognitive trajectories of patients with focal ß-amyloid deposition.

Background: The presence of ß-amyloid (Aß) in the brain can be identified using amyloid PET. In clinical practice, the amyloid PET is interpreted based on dichotomous visual rating, which renders focal Aß accumulation be read as positive for Aß. However, the prognosis of patients with focal Aß deposition is not well established.

A Validation Study of the Inbrain CST: a Tablet Computer-based Cognitive Screening Test for Elderly People with Cognitive Impairment.

Background: Computerized versions of cognitive screening test could have advantages over pencil-and-paper versions by eliminating rater-dependent factors and saving the time required to score the tests and report the results. We developed a computerized cognitive screening test (Inbrain Cognitive Screening Test [Inbrain CST]) that takes about 30 minutes to administer on a touchscreen computer and is composed of neuropsychological tests already shown to be sensitive in detecting early cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease (AD). The aims of this study were to 1) introduce normative data for Inbrain CST, 2) verify its reliability and validity, 3) assess clinical usefulness, and 4) identify neuroanatomical correlates of Inbrain CST.

The preclinical amyloid sensitive composite to determine subtle cognitive differences in preclinical Alzheimer's disease.

Recently, the focus of Alzheimer's disease (AD) research has shifted from the clinical stage to the preclinical stage. We, therefore, aimed to develop a cognitive composite score that can detect the subtle cognitive differences between the amyloid positive (Aβ+) and negative (Aβ-) status in cognitively normal (CN) participants. A total of 423 CN participants with Aβ positron emission tomography images were recruited.

Executive Summary of the 2019 International Conference of Korean Dementia Association: Exploring the Novel Concept of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementia: a Report from the Academic Committee of the Korean Dementia Association.

Because of repeated failures of clinical trials, the concept of Alzheimer's disease (AD) has been changing rapidly in recent years. As suggested by the National Institute on Aging and the Alzheimer's Association Research Framework, the diagnosis and classification of AD is now based on biomarkers rather than on symptoms, allowing more accurate identification of proper candidates for clinical trials by pathogenesis and disease stage. Recent development in neuroimaging has provided a way to reveal the complex dynamics of amyloid and tau in the brain , and studies of blood biomarkers are taking another leap forward in diagnosis and treatment of AD.

A Comprehensive Evaluation of the Process of Copying a Complex Figure in Early- and Late-Onset Alzheimer Disease: A Quantitative Analysis of Digital Pen Data.

Background: The Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test (RCFT) is a neuropsychological test that is widely used to assess visual memory and visuoconstructional deficits in patients with cognitive impairment, including Alzheimer disease (AD). Patients with AD have an increased tendency for exhibiting extraordinary behaviors in the RCFT for selecting the drawing area, organizing the figure, and deciding the order of images, among other activities. However, the conventional scoring system based on pen and paper has a limited ability to reflect these detailed behaviors.

The Cortical Neuroanatomy Related to Specific Neuropsychological Deficits in Alzheimer's Continuum.

Background And Purpose: In Alzheimer's continuum (a comprehensive of preclinical Alzheimer's disease [AD], mild cognitive impairment [MCI] due to AD, and AD dementia), cognitive dysfunctions are often related to cortical atrophy in specific brain regions. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between anatomical pattern of cortical atrophy and specific neuropsychological deficits.

Methods: A total of 249 participants with Alzheimer's continuum (125 AD dementia, 103 MCI due to AD, and 21 preclinical AD) who were confirmed to be positive for amyloid deposits were collected from the memory disorder clinic in the department of neurology at Samsung Medical Center in Korea between September 2013 and March 2018.

Clinical Effects of Frontal Behavioral Impairment: Cortical Thickness and Cognitive Decline in Individuals with Subjective Cognitive Decline and Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment.

Background: Frontal behavioral impairment (FrBI) is commonly observed in various degenerative diseases and refers to various behavioral symptoms.

Objective: We investigated the effects of the presence of FrBI on cortical thickness, and the longitudinal neuropsychological changes in people in the predementia stage.

Methods: A total of 794 individuals completed neuropsychological tests and the Frontal Behavioral Inventory (FBI) Questionnaire, and underwent magnetic resonance (MR) scanning.

Re-standardization of the Korean-Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (K-IADL): Clinical Usefulness for Various Neurodegenerative Diseases.

Background And Purpose: Evaluating instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) is an important part of procedure to diagnose dementia. The Korean-Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (K-IADL) has been used extensively in Korea. However, its cut-off score has not been reformulated since 2002.