The Japanese journal of neuropsychology

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ArticleTitle	Neuropsychology of aging and dementia: A topic of very mild Alzheimer's disease (CDR 0.5)
Language	J
AuthorList	Kenichi Meguro, MD
Affiliation	Department of Behavioral Neurology and Cognitive Neuroscience, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine
Publication	Japanese Journal of Neuropsychology: 20 (4), 226-232, 2004
Received
Accepted
Abstract	I discussed the importance of early diagnosis and psychosocial intervention for dementia in a community. For assessing dementia and the borderline condition between normal aging and dementia, an observation method such as the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) should be used. According to the Tajiri Project, we found that the prevalence of CDR 0.5 (very mild Alzheimer's disease) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to be 30.2% and 4.9%, respectively. For the CDR 0.5 condition, there was the possible neural network deterioration between the hippocampus and parietal association neocortex, which was suggested by the clinical MRI and PET studies and the animal experiments. The neuropsychological findings of memory impairment as well as parietal dysfunction in the CDR 0.5 condition supported such neural network deterioration. After the psychosocial intervention of reality orientation and reminiscence therapy for the CDR 0.5 participants in a community, the executive function was stimulated. This result also supported such dynamic decline of neural network.
Keywords	Dementia, Alzheimer's disease, CDR 0.5, Executive function, Psychosocial intervention