A new scoring system for increasing the sensitivity of the MMSE.

BACKGROUND: The mini mental state examination (MMSE) has been criticized for its lack of sensitivity, especially in mild cases of dementia. There have been several attempts to increase the sensitivity by adding or deleting items, which never became accepted in clinical practice. OBJECTIVE: In the current study a new scoring system for improving the sensitivity of the MMSE is proposed, which preserves the original items and the total score of 30 points. Instead of changing the number of items or the total score of 30 points, the weighting of the different items in the total score of 30 points was changed. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Neuropsychological test data of 765 patients were retrospectively included in the study to determine the difficulty of each MMSE item. Multiple scoring systems for the MMSE were developed by inclusion of the item difficulty and clinical relevance. The sensitivity of the new scoring system was compared to the original scoring system by using the DemTect as an established measure. RESULTS: The results showed that an increase of 24.3% in sensitivity was statistically significant. Within the mild cognitive impairment subgroup, the sensitivity of the new scoring system was twice as high in comparison to the original MMSE and within the dementia group the sensitivity was increased by 8.2%. CONCLUSION: A new scoring system with a higher sensitivity than the original MMSE was developed, which can easily be administered in clinical practice because it preserves all items and the total score of 30 points.

Structured Cognitive Training Yields Best Results in Healthy Older Adults, and Their ApoE4 State and Baseline Cognitive Level Predict Training Benefits.

BACKGROUND: Cognitive training has been shown to improve cognitive functions in healthy older adults. However, little is known about which specific variables are responsible for the improvement. OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to evaluate whether healthy older adults benefit more from a structured cognitive training program than an unstructured brain jogging program and to identify possible predictors for training success, including apolipoprotein E4 (apoE4). METHODS: In a randomized controlled trial, participants completed either a 6-week structured cognitive training program (n=35) or a 6-week unstructured brain jogging program (n=35). A control group received no training and was not part of the randomization procedure (n=35). Overall, 105 participants were included in the training data analyses, focusing on verbal memory, attention, and executive functions. Data from an additional 45 previously trained, healthy older adults were used for the predictor analysis. RESULTS: A significant Time×Training interaction in favor of the structured cognitive training program was found in verbal memory. Low baseline performance on neuropsychological tests was a significant predictor for benefits in verbal memory, attention, and executive functions. A subgroup analysis (n=35) revealed that only noncarriers of the apoE4 allele showed significant gains in long-term verbal memory and attention. CONCLUSIONS: Our results support the greater effectiveness of structured cognitive training on verbal memory compared with brain jogging and no training. The success of this type of training program may be predicted by sociodemographic, cognitive, and genetic variables.

[Development of "Cologne Culture ADL" for dementia diagnosis in individuals with Turkish migration background and in German patients]. / Entwicklung des Instruments "Cologne Culture ADL" zur Erfassung der Alltagskompetenz in der Demenzdiagnostik von deutschen und türkischen Menschen.

BACKGROUND: Neuropsychological dementia diagnosis of migrants are limited regarding the testing of cognitive abilities as well as the recording of everyday activities (Activities of Daily Living, ADL) such as linguistic, educational, lifestyle and cultural-religious factors have not been taken into account in psychometric instruments. AIM OF THE STUDY: We aimed to develop a culturally sensitive ADL scale, which is suitable for both German people and Turkish migrants that takes into consideration gender, cultural-religious and lifestyle aspects. A further aim was to determine the quality criteria for the newly proposed ADL scale. METHODS: After the initial phase, including qualitative interviews (N = 15) with cognitively unimpaired German participants and Turkish migrants, a first version of the ADL instrument was developed. This version was then completed by cognitively unimpaired Germans (n = 197) and Turkish participants (n = 53) and the shortened ADL scale was generated based on an item analysis. It consisted of the three subscales 'cognition', 'Basic Activities of Daily Living (BADL)' and 'Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL)'. For Turkish participants, questions about Islamic prayers were added. Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) were applied to rule out cognitive impairment and depression. The 'Bayer-ADL' was used to measure the validity of the scale. RESULTS: The everyday life of Germans and Turkish migrants differs in aspects of religious practice and in terms of sociocultural activities, which are taken into account in the CC-ADL. The reliability of the new ADL scale in terms of internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) were regarding 'cognition' α = .43 for Germans and α = .80 for Turkish migrants; 'BADL' α = .55 for Germans and α = -.04 for Turkish migrants; 'IADL' α = .91 for Germans and α = .83 for Turkish migrants and α = .73 for Turkish migrants under the 'prayer items'. The correlation of the ADL total score with the Bayer ADL for Germans was ρ = .347 (p < .00) and for the Turkish sample ρ = .520 (p < .01). CONCLUSION: The development of a final version of the CC-ADL scale requires further data from healthy participants and patients (Mild Cognitive Impairment and dementia).

[Screening of executive functions in patients with Parkinson's disease using the new rapid test PAL-5]. / Screening exekutiver Funktionen bei Parkinson-Patienten durch den neuen Schnelltest PAL-5.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most prevalent chronic neurodegenerative disorder worldwide, following Alzheimer's disease. Along with the characteristic motor symptoms of the disorder, especially bradykinesia, cognitive deficits can often be found prior to the onset of the disorder. These mainly concern executive functioning. To detect cognitive deficits at an early stage, initial screening procedures are recommended. The new cognitive rapid test Paarassoziationslernen-5 ("PAL-5") has been developed to detect the most prevalent cognitive symptoms - namely executive impairments - of PD patients. It consists of a direct recall of five incompatible and newly jointed word pairs (capitals vs. countries), an intermediate formal lexical word fluency task ("FAS-Test") and a delayed recall. Thereby, the three major executive functioning processes are tested: cognitive flexibility, inhibition and memory. In the department of neurology of the University Clinic of Cologne, the PAL-5 was completed by 154 PD patients, 115 participants with cognitive deficits without a PD diagnosis and 115 controls (N = 384) between 2014 and 2016. For purposes of retest reliability determination, another 42 controls were examined from February to July 2017, with a four-month time interval between the initial and second test. Highly significant group differences have been found. PD patients and cognitive impaired participants scored significantly lower than the control group. A comparison of PD patients and cognitively impaired participants did not reveal significant group differences. Additionally, a moderate to high correlation between PAL-5 and MMST as well as PAL-5 and PANDA was found (respectively p < .001). An ROC analysis of the PAL-5 total score of PD patients with a score lower than 11 showed an AUC of .91. Therefore, a cut-off of ≤ 10 seems to be practicable to detect cognitive deficits - especially executive functioning deficits and memory impairments - in PD patients. It has been shown that cognitive flexibility, inhibition and memory is a short useful combination for a screening procedure of PD patients.

Long-term Functional Recovery and Quality of Life after Surgical Treatment of Putaminal Hemorrhages.

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the long-term functional recovery and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients after surgically treated putaminal hemorrhages. Surgery for putaminal hemorrhages remains a controversial issue. Although numerous reports describe conflictive results regarding short-term outcome of surgically treated patients, very little is known about their long-term recovery and their HRQOL. METHODS: In this monocentric, retrospective study we analyzed mortality, long-term functional outcome, activity of daily life status, and HRQOL undergoing craniotomy for hematoma evacuation between December 2004 and January 2011. RESULTS: Forty-nine consecutive patients were identified with 8 (16.3%) patients dying during acute care. Forty-one patients surviving acute phase were transferred to neurologic rehabilitation hospitals. One patient was lost to follow-up. Median follow-up was 52.9 (17-101) months. At follow-up, 24 of 40 (60%) patients still were alive with 16 of 40 (40%) patients living with major disability (modified Rankin Scale [mRS], 4 or 5). Seven patients (17.5%) showed a mRS lesser than or equal to 3 with only 3 (7.5%) of those living functionally independent (mRS, 0-2). HRQOL in survivors was reduced with a median DEMQOL/DEMQOL (a patient/caregiver reported outcome measure designed to assess health-related quality of life of people with dementia) proxy score of 92 and 93, respectively. All patients showed severe impairment in activities of daily life. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first long-term follow-up analysis for patients with surgically treated putaminal hemorrhages. Survivors show only marginal recovery despite intensive neurologic rehabilitation; most remain dependent with a reduced HRQOL and significantly impaired activities of daily life status.

Effects of noninvasive brain stimulation on language networks and recovery in early poststroke aphasia.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Modulation of activity in language networks using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) may possibly support recovery from poststroke aphasia. Case series and feasibility studies seem to indicate a therapeutic effect; however, randomized sham-controlled, proof-of-principle studies relating clinical effects to activation patterns are missing. METHODS: Twenty-four patients with subacute poststroke aphasia were randomized to a 10-day protocol of 20-minute inhibitory 1 Hz rTMS over the right triangular part of the posterior inferior frontal gyrus or sham stimulation, followed by 45 minutes of speech and language therapy. Activity in language networks was measured with O-15-water positron emission tomography during verb generation before and after treatment. Language performance was assessed using the Aachen Aphasia Test battery. RESULTS: The primary outcome measure, global Aachen Aphasia Test score change, was significantly higher in the rTMS group (t test, P=0.003). Increases were largest for subtest naming (P=0.002) and tended to be higher for comprehension, token test, and writing (P<0.1). Patients in the rTMS group activated proportionally more voxels in the left hemisphere after treatment than before (difference in activation volume index) compared with sham-treated patients (t test, P=0.002).There was a moderate but significant linear relationship between activation volume index change and global Aachen Aphasia Test score change (r2=0.25; P=0.015). CONCLUSIONS: Ten sessions of inhibitory rTMS over the right posterior inferior frontal gyrus, in combination with speech and language therapy, significantly improve language recovery in subacute ischemic stroke and favor recruitment of left-hemispheric language networks.

Noninvasive brain stimulation for treatment of right- and left-handed poststroke aphasics.

BACKGROUND: Accumulating evidence from single case studies, small case series and randomized controlled trials seems to suggest that inhibitory noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS) over the contralesional inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) of right-handers in conjunction with speech and language therapy (SLT) improves recovery from poststroke aphasia. Application of inhibitory NIBS to improve recovery in left-handed patients has not yet been reported. METHODS: A total of 29 right-handed subacute poststroke aphasics were randomized to receive either 10 sessions of SLT following 20 min of inhibitory repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) over the contralesional IFG or 10 sessions of SLT following sham stimulation; 2 left-handers were treated according to the same protocol with real rTMS. Language activation patterns were assessed with positron emission tomography prior to and after the treatment; 95% confidence intervals for changes in language performance scores and the activated brain volumes in both hemispheres were derived from TMS- and sham-treated right-handed patients and compared to the same parameters in left-handers. RESULTS: Right-handed patients treated with rTMS showed better recovery of language function in global aphasia test scores (t test, p < 0.002) as well as in picture-naming performance (ANOVA, p = 0.03) than sham-treated right-handers. In treated right-handers, a shift of activation to the ipsilesional hemisphere was observed, while sham-treated patients consolidated network activity in the contralesional hemisphere (repeated-measures ANOVA, p = 0.009). Both left-handed patients also improved, with 1 patient within the confidence limits of TMS-treated right-handers (23 points, 15.9-28.9) and the other patient within the limits of sham-treated subjects (8 points, 2.8-14.5). Both patients exhibited only a very small interhemispheric shift, much less than expected in TMS-treated right-handers, and more or less consolidated initially active networks in both hemispheres. CONCLUSION: Inhibitory rTMS over the nondominant IFG appears to be a safe and effective treatment for right-handed poststroke aphasics. In the 2 cases of left-handed aphasics no deterioration of language performance was observed with this protocol. However, therapeutic efficiency is less obvious and seems to be more related to the dominance pattern prior to the stroke than to the TMS intervention.

The Influence of Age, Gender and Education on Neuropsychological Test Scores: Updated Clinical Norms for Five Widely Used Cognitive Assessments.

BACKGROUND: Sociodemographic effects (i.e., age, gender, education) have been shown to influence neuropsychological test scores. The current retrospective, quasi-epidemiological work provides age-, gender- and education-corrected clinical norms for five common cognitive assessments. METHODS: In total, test scores of 4968 patients from the University Hospital of Cologne (Department of Neurology), recruited between 2009 and 2020, were analyzed retrospectively. Conducted tests were the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), F-A-S Test (FAS), Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test (ROCFT) and Trail Making Test, Part A and B (TMT-A/-B). Using multiple linear regression analyses, test scores were analyzed for sociodemographic influences (age, gender, education). Based on these analyses, norms were generated by first separating patients into different age groups stratified by educational level and (if necessary) gender. Subsequently, percentile ranks and z-scores for a subsample including only individuals without dementia were calculated. RESULTS: Lower age and higher educational level predicted better test scores (MMSE, FAS, ROCFT) and completion times (TMT-A/-B). Additionally, produced words on the FAS and remembered drawings from the ROCFT were influenced by gender, with females having better FAS but lower ROCFT (delayed recall) scores than males. Considering these effects, clinical norms were provided for the five cognitive assessments. CONCLUSIONS: We found influences of age, gender and education on test scores, although they are frequently not or only partially considered for test score interpretation. With the provided norms, neuropsychologists can make more profound evaluations of cognitive performance. A user-friendly Microsoft Excel file is offered to assist this process.

Multidomain cognitive impairment in non-hospitalized patients with the post-COVID-19 syndrome: results from a prospective monocentric cohort.

BACKGROUND: A fraction of patients with asymptomatic to mild/moderate acute COVID-19 disease report cognitive deficits as part of the post-COVID-19 syndrome. This study aimed to assess the neuropsychological profile of these patients. METHODS: Assessment at baseline (three months or more following acute COVID-19) of a monocentric prospective cohort of patients with post-COVID-19 syndrome. Multidomain neuropsychological tests were performed, and questionnaires on depression, anxiety, fatigue, sleep, and general health status were administered. RESULTS: Of the 58 patients screened, six were excluded due to possible alternative causes of cognitive impairment (major depression, neurodegenerative disease). Of the remaining 52 individuals, only one had a below-threshold screening result on Mini-Mental State Examination, and 13 scored below the cut-off on Montreal Cognitive Assessment. Extended neuropsychological testing revealed a neurocognitive disorder (NCD) in 31 (59.6%) participants with minor NCD in the majority of cases (n = 26). In patients with NCD, the cognitive domains learning/memory and executive functions were impaired in 60.7%, complex attention in 51.6%, language in 35.5%, and perceptual-motor function in 29.0%. Cognitive profiles were associated with daytime sleepiness but not with depression, anxiety, sleep quality, total general health status, or fatigue. CONCLUSION: Neurocognitive impairment can be confirmed in around 60% of individuals with self-reported deficits as part of post-COVID-19 syndrome following a mild acute COVID-19 disease course. Notably, screening tests cannot reliably detect this dysfunction. Standard psychiatric assessments showed no association with cognitive profiles. Longitudinal studies are needed to further evaluate the course of neurocognitive deficits and clarify pathophysiology.

Parkinson's Disease Stigma Questionnaire (PDStigmaQuest): Development and Pilot Study of a Questionnaire for Stigma in Patients with Idiopathic Parkinson's Disease.

BACKGROUND: Stigma is significant in Parkinson's disease (PD). However, no specific tool is available to assess stigma in PD comprehensively. OBJECTIVE: This pilot study aimed to develop and test a stigma questionnaire specific to PD patients (PDStigmaQuest). METHODS: Based on a literature review, clinical experience, expert consensus, and patients' feedback, we developed the preliminary, patient-completed PDStigmaQuest in German language. It included 28 items covering five stigma domains: uncomfortableness, anticipated stigma, hiding, experienced stigma, and internalized stigma. In this pilot study, 81 participants (PD patients, healthy controls, caregivers, and health professionals) were included to investigate the acceptability, feasibility, comprehensibility, and psychometric properties of the PDStigmaQuest. RESULTS: The PDStigmaQuest showed 0.3% missing data points for PD patients and 0.4% for controls, suggesting high data quality. Moderate floor effects, but no ceiling effects were found. In the item analysis, most items met the standard criteria of item difficulty, item variance, and item-total correlation. Cronbach's alpha was > 0.7 for four of five domains. PD patients' domain scores were significantly higher than healthy controls' for uncomfortableness, anticipated stigma, and internalized stigma. Feedback to the questionnaire was predominantly positive. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that the PDStigmaQuest is a feasible, comprehensive, and relevant tool to assess stigma in PD and helps to understand the construct of stigma in PD further. Based on our results, the preliminary version of the PDStigmaQuest was modified and is currently validated in a larger population of PD patients for use in clinical and research settings.

Revealing Perceptional and Cognitive Mechanisms in Static and Dynamic Cocktail Party Listening by Means of Error Analyses.

In cocktail party situations multiple talkers speak simultaneously, which causes listening to be perceptually and cognitively challenging. Such situations can either be static (fixed target talker) or dynamic, meaning the target talker switches occasionally and in a potentially unpredictable way. To shed light on the perceptional and cognitive mechanisms in static and dynamic cocktail party situations, we conducted an analysis of error types that occur during a multi-talker speech recognition test. The error analysis distinguished between misunderstood or omitted words (random errors) and target-masker confusions. To investigate the effects of aging and hearing impairment, we compared data from three listener groups, comprised of young as well as older adults with and without hearing loss. In the static condition, error rates were generally very low, except for the older hearing-impaired listeners. Consistent with the assumption of decreased audibility, they showed a notable amount of random errors. In the dynamic condition, errors increased compared to the static condition, especially immediately following a target talker switch. Those increases were similar for random and confusion errors. The older hearing-impaired listeners showed greater difficulties than the younger adults in trials not preceded by a switch. These results suggest that the load associated with dynamic cocktail party listening affects the ability to focus attention on the talker of interest and the retrieval of words from short-term memory, as indicated by the increased amount of confusion and random errors. This was most pronounced in the older hearing-impaired listeners proposing an interplay of perceptual and cognitive mechanisms.

Cross-cultural comparison of MMSE and RUDAS in German and Turkish patients with Alzheimer's disease.

OBJECTIVE: Given the increasing cultural, linguistic diversity in Europe, there is a growing need for cognitive screening tools that minimize the influence of linguistic, cultural, and demographic differences as they are the first means to determine the need for further clinical evaluation of individuals with suspected cognitive impairment. This cross-sectional study compared performance on the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Rowland Universal Dementia Assessment Scale (RUDAS) in Alzheimer's Disease (AD) patients in relation to cultural, demographic, and immigration-related factors (acculturation, bilingualism). METHOD: The study comprised Turkish immigrant (n = 21) and monolingual, nonimmigrant German (n = 20) and Turkish (n = 24) patients with AD. All participants were administered cognitive screening tools, measures of depression, and dementia severity. RESULTS: The mean MMSE total score was significantly higher in German patients with AD compared to both patient groups, but did not differ between native-born Turkish and Turkish immigrant groups. After adjustment for years of education, differences in MMSE performance were no longer significant between groups. Furthermore, bilingualism was associated with better performance on the MMSE in Turkish-immigrant patients. The mean RUDAS total scores were similar between groups with and without adjustment for educational level. Performance on the RUDAS was not associated with demographic and immigration-related variables. CONCLUSIONS: The findings highlight the need to consider the educational background, linguistic integration of older non-Western immigrants for the objective characterization of cognitive profiles. The results provide support for the use of the RUDAS, particularly, among older Turkish immigrants with lower educational levels and varying degrees of acculturation, bilingualism. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in aphasic stroke: a randomized controlled pilot study.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Although functional imaging studies suggest that recruitment of contralesional areas hinders optimal functional reorganization in patients with aphasic stroke, only limited evidence is available on the efficacy of noninvasive brain stimulation such as repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation aimed at suppression of contralateral overactivation. METHODS: In this randomized, controlled, blinded pilot study, the effect of 1-Hz repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation over right-hemispheric Broca homolog in subjects with poststroke aphasia in the subacute stage was examined. According to their group allocation, patients received, in addition to conventional speech and language therapy, multiple sessions of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation either over the right-hemispheric inferior frontal gyrus (intervention group) or over the vertex (control group). The primary outcome parameter was the change in laterality indices as quantified by activation positron emission tomography before and after the 2-week intervention period. The clinical efficacy was evaluated with the Aachen Aphasia Test. RESULTS: At baseline, no group differences were discovered for age, laterality indices, or mean Aachen Aphasia Test scores. Four patients were lost to follow-up, but none due to side effects of the transcranial magnetic stimulation. Positron emission tomography revealed an activation shift toward the right hemisphere in the control group (P=0.0165), which was absent in the intervention group. Furthermore, the latter improved significantly clinically by a mean of 19.8 points in the Aachen Aphasia Test total score (P=0.002), whereas the control group did not. There was however no clear linear relationship between the extent of laterality shift and clinical improvement (r=0.193, P=nonsignificant). CONCLUSIONS: Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation might be an effective, safe, and feasible complementary therapy for poststroke aphasia.

Costs of dynamic cocktail party listening: Investigating the effects of cognitive abilities and hearing impairment.

Situations with multiple competing talkers are especially challenging for listeners with hearing impairment. These "cocktail party" situations can either be static (fixed target talker) or dynamic (changing target talker). Relative to static situations, dynamic listening is typically associated with increased cognitive load and decreased speech recognition ("costs"). This study addressed the role of hearing impairment and cognition in two groups of older listeners with and without hearing loss. In most of the dynamic situations, the costs did not differ between the listener groups. There was no clear evidence that overall costs show an association with the individuals' cognitive abilities.

Combined cognitive and motor training improves the outcome in the early phase after stroke and prevents a decline of executive functions: A pilot study.

BACKGROUND: The negative impact of cognitive dysfunction on motor rehabilitation as a relearning-process is well known in stroke patients. However, evidence for combined cognitive and motor training (CMT) is lacking. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of combined CMT in early stroke rehabilitation. METHODS: In a controlled pilot study, 29 moderately affected stroke patients with low-level motor performance and cognitive impairment received motor therapy plus either cognitive (experimental group, EG) or low-frequency ergometer training (control group, CG) for eight days. RESULTS: Both groups improved their motor functioning significantly. After training, between-group comparison revealed significant differences for cognitive flexibility and trends for set-shifting, working memory, and reaction control in favor of the EG. Within-group effects showed improvement across all cognitive domains in the EG, which correlated with gains in bed-mobility, while the CG showed no significant improvement in cognition. Rather, a trend towards reaction control decline was observed, which correlated with less functional progression and recovery. Furthermore, a decline in cognitive flexibility, set-shifting, and working memory was descriptively observed. CONCLUSIONS: Combined CMT may enhance cognition and motor relearning early after stroke and is superior to single motor training. Further studies are needed to replicate these results and investigate long-term benefits.

Effects of Sociodemographic Variables and Depressive Symptoms on MoCA Test Performance in Native Germans and Turkish Migrants in Germany.

The validity of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) in migrants is questionable, as sociodemographic factors and the migration process may influence performance. Our aim was to evaluate possible predictors (age, education, sex, depression, and migration) of MoCA results in Turkish migrants and Germans living in Germany. Linear regression models were conducted with a German (n = 419), a Turkish (n = 133), and an overall sample. All predictor analyses reached statistical significance. For the German sample, age, sex, education, and depression were significant predictors, whereas education was the only predictor for Turkish migrants. For the overall sample, having no migration background and higher education were significant predictors. Migration background and education had an impact on MoCA performance in a sample of German and Turkish individuals living in Germany. Thus, culture-specific normative data for the MoCA are needed, and the development of culture-sensitive cognitive screening tools is encouraged.

Assessment of Affective-Behavioral States in Parkinson's Disease Patients: Towards a New Screening Tool.

BACKGROUND: Assessment of affective-behavioral states in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) undergoing deep brain stimulation (DBS) is essential. OBJECTIVE: To analyze well-established questionnaires as a pilot-study with the long term aim to develop a screening tool evaluating affective-behavioral dysfunction, including depression, anxiety, apathy, mania, and impulse control disorders, in PD patients screened for DBS. METHODS: Two hundred ninety-seven inpatients with PD underwent standardized neuropsychiatric testing including German versions of Beck Depression Inventory-II, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Apathy Evaluation Scale, Self-Report Manic Inventory, and Questionnaire for Impulsive-Compulsive Disorders in PD-Rating Scale, to assess appropriateness for DBS. Statistical item reduction was based on exploratory factor analysis, Cronbach's alpha, item-total correlations, item difficulty, and inter-item correlations. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to assess factorial validity. An expert rating was performed to identify clinically relevant items in the context of PD and DBS, to maintain content validity. We compared the shortened subscales with the original questionnaires using correlations. To determine cutoff points, receiver operating characteristics analysis was performed. RESULTS: The items of the initial questionnaires were reduced from 129 to 38 items. Results of confirmatory factor analyses supported the validity of the shortened pool. It demonstrated high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.72-0.83 across subscales), and the individual subscales were correlated with the corresponding original scales (rs = 0.84-0.95). Sensitivities and specificities exceeded 0.7. CONCLUSION: The shortened item pool, including 38 items, provides a good basis for the development of a screening tool, capturing affective-behavioral symptoms in PD patients before DBS implantation. Confirmation of the validity of such a screening tool in an independent sample of PD patients is warranted.

Predicting short- and long-term cognitive training success in healthy older adults: who benefits?

Identifying factors predicting effects of cognitive trainings (CT) is important for developing trainings for individuals with specific profiles. The objective of the present study was to evaluate predictors of CT success in several cognitive domains directly after and 1 year after a 7-week group CT in healthy older adults. Sociodemographic variables, baseline cognitive performance, physical activity parameters, apolipoprotein E-4 (apoE-4), levels of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) were analysed as possible predictors of CT success. Outcomes were assessed directly after training  and 1 year after CT. Results indicate that lower initial baseline performance was a significant predictor for CT success in most of the investigated domains. All tested predictors (except age and BDNF) predicted CT success in different domains. Our data indicate that healthy older adults with lower cognitive baseline scores show stronger benefits of a CT group intervention.

Concordance of Mini-Mental State Examination, Montreal Cognitive Assessment and Parkinson Neuropsychometric Dementia Assessment in the classification of cognitive performance in Parkinson's disease.

BACKGROUND: Cognitive impairment (CI) is frequently observed in Parkinson's disease (PD) and negatively influences the patient's and carer's quality of life. As a first step, assessment of CI is often accomplished by using screening instruments (level I diagnosis). Three commonly used instruments are the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), and Parkinson Neuropsychometric Dementia Assessment (PANDA). Because different preferences regarding test selection exist between clinics, this study aims to provide evidence about the concordance of these tests. It also converts total test scores of the three instruments to assist clinical practice. METHODS: Between January and December 2018, 96 patients with idiopathic PD were examined at the University Hospital of Cologne, Germany. Comparability of MMSE, MoCA, and PANDA scores was investigated by calculating correlations, classification agreements, and percentile ranks. Additionally, we converted test scores among the three screening instruments by implementing the equipercentile equating method and log-linear smoothing. RESULTS: The MMSE classified 26%, the PANDA 32.3% and the MoCA 54.2% of PD patients as having CI. The screening instruments' concordance in classifying cognition into normal cognition versus CI was 75% (AC1 = 0.62) for MMSE and PANDA, 63.5% (AC1 = 0.28) for MoCA and PANDA, and 57.3% (AC1 = 0.24) for MMSE and MoCA. The provided conversion table enables a quick and easy transformation of the three screening instruments within PD diagnostics. CONCLUSION: These results contribute to a better understanding of the screenings' utility and concordance in a population of PD patients. Additionally, communication between clinics may be enhanced.

Static and dynamic cocktail party listening in younger and older adults.

Verbal communication often takes place in situations with several simultaneous speakers ("cocktail party listening"). These situations can be static (only one listening target) or dynamic (with alternating targets). In particular, dynamic cocktail party listening is believed to generate extra cognitive load and appears to be particularly demanding for older listeners. Two groups of younger and older listeners with good hearing and normal cognition participated in the present study. Three different, spatially separated talker voices uttering matrix sentences were presented to each listener with varying types and probabilities of target switches. Moreover, several neuropsychological tests were conducted to investigate general cognitive characteristics that may be important for speech understanding in these situations. In a static condition with a priori knowledge of the target talker, both age groups revealed very high speech recognition performance. In comparison, dynamic conditions caused extra costs associated with the need to monitor different potential sound sources and to refocus attention when the target changed. The amount of costs depended on the probability and type of target talker alterations. Again, no significant age-group differences were found. No significant associations of cognitive characteristics and costs could be shown. However, a more fine-grained analysis based on the calculation of general and specific switch costs showed different mechanisms in older and younger listeners. This study confirms that dynamic cocktail party listening is associated with costs that depend on the type and probability of target switches. It extends previous research by showing that the effects of switching type and probability are similar for younger and older listeners with good hearing and good cognitive abilities. It further shows that, despite comparable costs of dynamic listening, mechanisms are different for the two age groups, as switching auditory attention may be preserved with aging, but monitoring different sound sources appears to be more difficult for older adults.