Journal

The Japanese journal of neuropsychology

[Vol.32 No.2 contents]
Japanese/English

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ArticleTitle The annual rate of change on the Mini-mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale (ADAS) in dementia with Lewy bodies: An analysis of the rates for the first and the second year
Language J
AuthorList Tomoyo Matsui1), Azusa Kato1)2), Takuya Sato3) and Toru Imamura1)2)4)
Affiliation 1)Department of Speech Therapy, School of Health Sciences, Niigata University of Health and Welfare
2)Division of Speech, Hearing and Cognitive Sciences, Graduate School of Health and Welfare, Niigata University of Health and Welfare
3)Division of Speech Therapy, Department of Rehabilitation, Niigata Rehabilitation Hospital
4)Department of Neurology, Niigata Rehabilitation Hospital
Publication Japanese Journal of Neuropsychology: 32 (2), 194-202, 2016
Received Apr 21, 2014
Accepted Jun 8, 2015
Abstract Background: The previous studies for the annual rate of change in Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) suggested that systematic non-medical intervention to family caregivers at the first consultation may improve the disuse impairment of the patient's cognitive function. Objective: To compare the annual rates of change for the first and second year on the scores of MMSE and the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale (ADAS) in patients with dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). Subjects: A total of 39 patients who had a clinical diagnosis of DLB and underwent MMSE and ADAS at the first consultation and at the first- and second-year follow-ups. Methods: We classified the patients who started to take donepezil during the first year as the group with introduction of donepezil therapy, and the patients who either already had started donepezil before the first consultation or did not take donepezil during the two years as the group without introduction of donepezil therapy. We analyzed the annual rates of change in MMSE and ADAS scores using two-way repeated analysis of variance with the timepoint (the first year vs the second year) and introduction of donepezil therapy as factors. Results: The annual rate of ADAS change was significantly lower at the first year than at the second year. The annual rate of MMSE change showed a trend to be lower at the first year. The interaction between the two factors was not significant either for ADAS or MMSE. Therefore, the annual rates of change in MMSE and ADAS scores were lower at the first year than at the second year, regardless of introduction of donepezil therapy. Conclusion: The results of this study suggested that systematic non-medical intervention to family caregivers of a DLB patient at the first consultation may improve the environment of daily living and recover the patient's cognitive function from complicated disuse impairment.
Keywords dementia with Lewy bodies, annual rate of change, donepezil, non-medical interventions, clinical course

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