Memory Strategy Training in Older Adults with Subjective Memory Complaints: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

OBJECTIVES: Subjective memory complaints (SMC) in older adults are associated with a decline in everyday functioning and an increased risk for future cognitive decline. This study examines the effect of a memory strategy training compared to a control memory training on memory functioning in daily life. METHODS: This was a randomized controlled trial with baseline, post-treatment, and 6-month follow-up assessments conducted in 60 older adults (50-87 years) with SMC. Participants were randomly assigned to either seven sessions of memory strategy training or seven sessions of control memory training. Both interventions were given in small groups and included psycho-education. Primary outcome measure was memory functioning in daily life. Objective measures of memory performance and self-reported measures of strategy use were included as secondary outcome measures. RESULTS: Participants in each intervention group reported an improvement in personal memory goals (p<.0005), up to 6 months after training. An interaction effect showed that participants following memory strategy training reported a larger improvement in personal memory goals (p=.002). Both intervention groups improved on two memory tests (p<.001 and p<.01). In the memory strategy training group, an increase in strategy use in daily life was the strongest predictor (p<.05) of improvement in subjective memory functioning. CONCLUSIONS: Older adults with subjective memory complaints benefit from memory strategy training, especially in their memory functioning in daily life. (JINS, 2018, 24, 1110-1120).

Pain in Patients with Different Dementia Subtypes, Mild Cognitive Impairment, and Subjective Cognitive Impairment.

Objective: To assess the pain prevalence, pain intensity, and pain medication use in older patients with a diagnosed subtype of dementia, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), or subjective cognitive impairment (SCI). Design: Cross-sectional. Setting: Outpatient memory clinics. Subjects: In total, 759 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), vascular dementia, mixed AD and vascular pathology (MD), frontotemporal dementia, dementia with Lewy Bodies, MCI, or SCI. Methods: Self-reported presence and intensity of pain, prescribed medication, and related descriptive variables were given for each group. To compare groups on prevalence of pain, logistic regression analyses were adjusted for age, gender, and mood. Differences in pain intensity were tested using a Kruskall-Wallis test, and differences in analgesic use with chi-square analyses. Results: Pain prevalence ranged from 34% in MD to 50% in SCI. AD (odds ratio [OR] = 0.56, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.34-0.93) and MD (OR = 0.45, CI = 0.20-0.98) patients were less likely to report pain than SCI patients. The self-reported pain intensity did not differ between groups. In total, 62.5% of patients did not use any analgesic medication despite being in pain, which did not differ significantly between groups. Conclusion: Outpatient memory clinic patients with mild to moderate AD and MD are less likely to report pain than patients with SCI. No difference in self-reported pain intensity was present. The high percentage of patients with and without dementia who do not use analgesics when in pain raises the question of whether pain treatment is adequate in older patients.

Memory strategy use in older adults with subjective memory complaints.

BACKGROUND: Subjective memory complaints (SMC) are common among older adults, but it is unclear to what extent adults with SMC spontaneously use memory strategies to compensate for their memory problems. As SMC may be a risk factor for memory decline later, it is important to extend our knowledge about spontaneous compensatory mechanisms in older adults with SMC. METHOD: Self-reported strategy use and observed strategy use were assessed in 38 adults with and 38 without SMC. RESULTS: Adults with SMC used more strategies in daily life than those without. In the SMC group, memory complaints were positively correlated with strategy use. Only in adults without SMC, a significant correlation was found between observed strategy use and task performance. CONCLUSION: Strategy use in older adults with SMC may be compensatory in nature, but did not increase their objective memory performance. Therefore, older adults with SMC might benefit from interventions aimed at optimizing strategy use.

The Combined Effect of Neuropsychological and Neuropathological Deficits on Instrumental Activities of Daily Living in Older Adults: a Systematic Review.

To date, studies have consistently demonstrated associations between either neuropsychological deficits or neuroanatomical changes and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) in aging. Only a limited number of studies have evaluated morphological brain changes and neuropsychological test performance concurrently in relation to IADL in this population. As a result, it remains largely unknown whether these factors independently predict functional outcome. The current systematic review intended to address this lack of information by reviewing the literature on older adults, incorporating studies that examined e.g., normal aging, but also stroke or dementia patients. A comprehensive search of databases (Pubmed, Embase, Medline, Web of Science, PsycINFO) and reference lists was performed, focusing on papers in the English language that examined the combined effect of neuropsychological and neuroanatomical factors on IADL in samples of adults with an average age above 50. In total, 58 potential articles were identified; 20 were included in the review. The results show that especially neuropsychological variables (primarily memory and executive functions) independently predict IADL. Although some unique predictive value of brain morphological changes, such as hippocampal atrophy, was found, support for the importance of white matter changes was limited. However, the results of the studies reviewed are diverse, and appear to be at least partially determined by the variables included. For example, studies were less likely to find an independent effect of cognition if they solely employed a cognitive screening instrument. This indicates that a structured examination of neuroanatomical and neuropsychological correlates of IADL in different patient populations is warranted.

Positive Effects of Education on Cognitive Functioning Depend on Clinical Status and Neuropathological Severity.

Background: Variability in cognitive functions in healthy and pathological aging is often explained by educational attainment. However, it remains unclear to which extent different disease states alter protective effects of education. We aimed to investigate whether protective effects of education on cognition depend on (1) clinical diagnosis severity, and (2) the neuropathological burden within a diagnosis in a memory clinic setting. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we included 108 patients with subjective cognitive decline [SCD, median age 71, IQR (66-78), 43% men], 190 with mild cognitive impairment [MCI, median age 78, IQR (73-82), 44% men], and 245 with Alzheimer's disease dementia (AD) [median age 80, IQR (76-84), 35% men]. We combined visual ratings of hippocampal atrophy, global atrophy, and white matter hyperintensities on MRI into a single neuropathology score. To investigate whether the contribution of education to cognitive performance differed across SCD, MCI, and AD, we employed several multiple linear regression models, stratified by diagnosis and adjusted for age, sex, and neurodegeneration. We re-ran each model with an additional interaction term to investigate whether these effects were influenced by neuropathological burden for each diagnostic group separately. False discovery rate (FDR) corrections for multiple comparisons were applied. Results: We observed significant positive associations between education and performance for global cognition and executive functions (all adjusted p-values < 0.05). As diagnosis became more severe, however, the strength of these associations decreased (all adjusted p-values < 0.05). Education related to episodic memory only at relatively lower levels of neuropathology in SCD (ß = -0.23, uncorrected p = 0.02), whereas education related to episodic memory in those with higher levels of neuropathology in MCI (ß = 0.15, uncorrected p = 0.04). However, these interaction effects did not survive FDR-corrections. Conclusions: Altogether, our results demonstrated that positive effects of education on cognitive functioning reduce with diagnosis severity, but the role of neuropathological burden within a particular diagnosis was small and warrants further investigation. Future studies may further unravel the extent to which different dimensions of an individual's disease severity contribute to the waxing and waning of protective effects in cognitive aging.

Cognitive impairments associated with medial temporal atrophy and white matter hyperintensities: an MRI study in memory clinic patients.

In this retrospective study, we investigated the independent effects of white matter hyperintensities (WMH) and hippocampal atrophy on cognitive functions in a broad sample of patients seen in a memory clinic. To ensure generalizability, these associations were examined irrespective of diagnosis and with minimal exclusion criteria. Next to these independent effects, interactions between WMH and hippocampal atrophy were examined. Between January 2006 and September 2011 a total of 500 patients visited the memory clinic, 397 of whom were included. Magnetic resonance images of 397 patients were visually analyzed for WMH, medial temporal atrophy (MTA), and global atrophy. We evaluated the association of WMH and MTA with the following cognitive domains: global cognition, episodic memory, working memory, executive function and psychomotor speed. Main effects and interaction effects were examined by means of correlation and regression analyses. In the regression analyses, we controlled for potential confounding effects of global atrophy. The correlational results revealed that WMH were associated with global cognition, executive function and psychomotor speed, whereas a trend was found for episodic memory. MTA was associated with all these four cognitive domains; an additional trend was observed for working memory. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed main independent effects of MTA for episodic memory, executive function, psychomotor speed and global cognition; WMH were only associated with global cognition. The interaction between MTA and WMH was significant for episodic memory only. This study demonstrates that predominantly MTA is an independent predictor not only for memory function, with which is it classically associated, but also for global cognition and executive function. Taken together, MTA may be an important correlate of cognitive deficits found in people attending the memory clinic.