The Miami Naming Test consists of 92 large black and white original ... distracting elements, and to evaluate item difficulty. pig. A SUCCESSFUL. REGIONAL.
Poster Presentation:
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Univ.
Bocu
FL
regarding the effects of geographical and cultural biaa in neuropsychological tests emerged during the conduct of clinical research involving a multicultural population of nursing home residents wtth Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). It was found. for example. that a number of stimulus items in common confrontational naming tests are unknown to individuals of Caribbean Island and Central and South American orgin, particularly those with little or no formal education. Most previous efforts to produce a culture fair teat have involved modifications of existing tests and focused on adaptauons to a specific ethnic group necessitating multiple forms. To addres\ some of these concerns, a multicultural interdisciplinary team of researchers developed a confrontational naming test for use with Anglo, Black and Hispanic populations. The Miami Naming Test is a confrontational naming test developed for USCin multicultural populations. The Miami Naming Test consists of 92 large black and white original line drawmgs of animate and inanimate objects and phenomena that may be encountered in both temperate and tropical climates of the Americas. Prior to the initial testing of the instrument, the drawings have undergone a series of consecutive review by an interdisciplinary panel with experience and expertise in neuropaychological examination of individuals with actual or suspected Alzheimer’\ Disease. Initial testing of the Miami Naming Test was done in 3 senior centers serving Anglo, Black and Hispanic populations in South Florida and in nursing home residents with Alzheimer’s Disease from the same ethnic groups participating in a clinical trial. Results have been used to eliminate items unknown to cognitively intact members of particular ethnic groups, to modify individual drawing5 to reduce distracting elements, and to evaluate item difficulty.
Concerns
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A SUCCESSFUL COMMUNITY
REGIONAL DWELLING
MEMORY
SCREENING
DAY
FOR
ELDERS
Janet Lawrence M.D., Donald Davidoff Ph.D., Michelle Auerbach M.S., Monica Doss M.S., Alexa Connell B.A., Debra Katt-Lloyd B.S., McLean Hospital. Harvard Medical School Objective: To investigate if a large scale, community based memory screening program would be successful in identifying Individuals wtth a high probability of dementia. Method: 494 individuals out of 787 attendees (63%) were screened wth the Seven Minute Screen TM at IO sites throughout New England on 10/29/1999. Subjects were recruited through the media. All sites conformed to a standardized format of an educational lecture, followed by individual screenings with locally trained staff. Subject5 were informed of result\. Those wth scores indicating cognitive Impairment were advised to seek diagnostic evaluation and encouraged to have screening results \ent to thetr PCP. Follow-up surveys were carried out with PCP and subjects to assess compliance with recommendations. Results: Seventy-six (15%) scored a high probability of dementia, Seventeen scored retest (3%). Seven (9% ) of those scoring high were taking doneperil. Feedback from participants indicated a high level of satisfaction with the process. Conclusion?: A memory screening day may allow detection of significant numbers of individuals previously unknown to have cognitive problems. With development of memory enhancing and progression slowing therapies and strategies to increase quality of life, early identification ol dementia i\ crucial. AdditIonal benefits include reassurance of those passing the screen and mcreased community awareness. Work is currently underway to develop a National Memory Screening DayT”.
BRAIN WITH
DEPOSITION
DAMAGE ALZHEIMERS
AND
IN AN EXPERIMENTAL BRAIN
SECTIONS
FROM
MODEL
OF
PATIENTS
DISEASE
It ia well understood that there i\ an association between beta-amyloid protein and Alrheimen direase. Recent evidence ruggests a) that rtimulation of platelets with collagen rewlts in release of beta-amyloid protein, b) that beta-amyloid stained and collagen stained tissue coexist in the frontal conex in Alzheimers disease. c) that beta-amyloid precursor protein mediates an interaction between neurons and extracellular matrix components including collagen type I. In the current study we assess collagen deposition in brain section? ohtained from rats. which had received brain &on\ wing the experimental model of h-hydroxydopaminr injection compared to
and Diagnosis
II
cham operated controls. Collagen deposition was assessed by Sirius Red Fast Green staining which provides both quantitative assessment of collagen deposition and qualitative visualization of the Sirius Red stained collagen in brain sections. Collagen levels were 9.5 kg collagen/mg protein (II= 10) in controls. Assessment of brain sections from leaioned animals indicated a significant (70%) elevation in collagen levels compared to control animals. Collagen deposition was also assessed in brain sections obtained from Alzheimers disease, epilepsy and control subjects. Collagen deposition was significantly elevated in brain sections obtained from Alrheimer\ disease patients compared to controls (20 pg collagen/mg protein). In contrast, bram sections obtained from patients with epilepsy did not differ from controls. These results suggest an association between the deposition of collagen and Alzheimers disease. We have previously reported an association between platelet derived growth factor (PDGF) and deporition of collagen in experimental models and human disease. Given that a recent study suggests an association between PDGF and the neuronal and glial alterattons of Alrheimers disease, it is tempting to speculate that alterations in PDGF, c&a&en deposition and beta-amyloid protein release from platelets may play a key role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimery disease. (supported by the QEII Rtxearch Foundation and the New Zealand Neurological Foundation Human Brain Bank)
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INDIANA
ALZHEIMER
DISEASE
CENTER
NATIONAL
CELL
REPOSITORY
The Indiana Alzheimer Disease Center National Cell Repository was established to provide the research community with large numbers of informative families with multiple individuals affected with Alzheimer Disease (AD) in order to conduct and support research to expand the understanding of the etiology, pathogeneris, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of this disease. The Repository collects and maintain\ information and biological specimens on well-characteri,xd families with AD in order to provide a rcsottrce for use in research projects and to encourage and foster the development of new avenues of AD research. Specifically, the Repository seeks to identify, recruit, gather and maintain information from families with hiatorie, of AD including: pedigree information; medical records on the evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of patients; documentation of the cognitive, behavioral and social consequences of AD; epidemiological and demographtc data, and neuropathological diagnosis information. The Repository has information on over 750 families consisting of over 47,000 individuals. In addition, the Repository collects and maintains biological specimens from these families. Over 2,300 cell lines have been established and over 1,300 cell lines and over 6,700 DNA samples have been sent to researchers around the world. A catalog of these families is available. Researchers investtgating genetic components of AD may be limited in their attempts to obtain large, well-characterized families with histories of AD. The Repository can help invertlgatar\ overcome some of these limitations by provldmg them with cell line\ and/u DNA from large numbers of individuals from families with well-documented histories of AD. The existence of this established Repository promotes AD research by making this rich resource readily available to investigators. For more information. or to request a catalog, contact the Repository at the above or, in the US, call I-800-526-2839. (Supported by P30 AG10133)
PREDICTING COGNITIVE CLINICAL
ALZHEIMER’S IMPAIRMENT AD SCALE
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