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Background: Makeup greatly impacts normal social lives but can also be a non-pharmacological form of therapy for dementia., Objective: To evaluate the therapeutic effect of makeup therapy., Methods: We carried out a prospective interventional study on female nursing home residents with dementia, focusing on the chronic therapeutic effect of makeup therapy. Thirty-four patients who received either only skin care (control group, n = 16) or skin care plus makeup therapy (makeup therapy group, n = 18) once every 2 weeks for 3 months were assessed., Results: Three months of makeup therapy significantly improved the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score compared with control patients (*p < 0.05). Artificial intelligence (AI) software revealed that the appearance of age decreased significantly in the makeup group compared with the control, especially among patients without depression (*p < 0.05). Furthermore, a larger AI happiness score was significantly correlated with a greater improvement of ADL in the makeup therapy group (r = 0.43, *p < 0.05)., Conclusion: Makeup therapy had a chronic beneficial effect on the cognitive function of female dementia patients, while the chronic effect of makeup therapy on facial appearance was successfully detected by the present AI software.

Background: Possible benefits of makeup therapy, in terms of immediate and late effects on cognitive and affective functions, have not been fully proved for dementia patients., Objective: To evaluate the immediate effect of makeup therapy on dementia patients., Methods: Female nursing home residents with dementia received either only skin care treatment (control group, n = 17) or skin care plus makeup therapy treatment (makeup therapy group, n = 19). Cognitive, affective, and activity of daily living (ADL) scores were evaluated before and just after treatments. Apparent age and emotion were also evaluated with artificial intelligence (AI) software., Results: Makeup therapy significantly improved Abe's behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) score (ABS, *p < 0.05). AI software judged that makeup therapy significantly made the apparent age younger (*p < 0.05). In particular, patients with moderate ADL scores had a significantly higher happiness score in makeup therapy (*p < 0.05), with a modest correlation to the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE, r = 0.42, *p < 0.05). The severe baseline MMSE group reported a greater feeling of satisfaction following makeup therapy (*p < 0.05)., Conclusion: The present makeup therapy is a promising non-pharmacological approach to immediately alleviate BPSD in female dementia patients, and the present AI software quickly and quantitatively evaluated the beneficial effects of makeup therapy on facial appearance.

Autosomal dominant amyloid precursor protein (APP) mutations in familial Alzheimer's disease accelerate the amyloid beta (Aβ) pathology. Here we describe Japanese siblings with a new N-terminal mutation (a heterogeneous c.674T>C, p.Val225Ala) of the APP gene, developing a progressive dementia at 57 years and Aβ and tau pathologies in cerebrospinal fluid studies. However, the brother and sister showed different clinical and neuroimaging features, suggesting different Aβ pathologies for each sibling., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/parkinsonism dementia complex (ALS/PDC) is an endemic disease observed in the Kii peninsula, Guam, and Papua. We report a case of a 76-year old man with ALS/PDC of the Kii peninsula of Japan (Kii ALS/PDC). The patient was born and grew up in the Kii peninsula. He moved out at age three, and developed symptoms 73years later. He showed pyramidal sign, parkinsonian symptoms, and mildly impaired cognitive function. 131 I-metaiodobenzylguanidine myocardial scintigraphy showed decreased cardiac sympathetic nerve function, and dopamine transporter single photon emission computed tomography imaging showed decreased 123 I-N-ω-fluoropropyl-2β-carbomethoxy3β-(4-iodophenyl) nortropane accumulation. Cerebral blood flow showed hypoperfusion. Positron emission tomography showed widespread tau deposition in his brain. This is a migration case of Kii ALS/PDC with the shortest stay in the endemic area and the longest delay to develop the disease, indicating a genetic factor for the disease development in a considerable degree., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: The oral ingestion of scallop-derived plasmalogen (sPlas) significantly improved cognitive function in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients.Objective: However, the effects and mechanisms of sPlas on AD with chronic cerebral hypoperfusion (CCH), a class of mixed dementia contributing to 20-30% among the dementia society, were still elusive.Methods: In the present study, we applied a novel mouse model of AD with CCH to investigate the potential effects of sPlas on AD with CCH.Results: The present study demonstrated that sPlas significantly recovered cerebral blood flow, improved motor and cognitive deficits, reduced amyloid-β pathology, regulated neuroinflammation, ameliorated neural oxidative stress, and inhibited neuronal loss in AD with CCH mice at 12 M.Conclusion: These findings suggest that sPlas possesses clinical and pathological benefits for AD with CCH in the novel model mice. Furthermore, sPlas could have promising prevention and therapeutic effects on patients of AD with CCH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Because behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) are sometimes prodromal symptoms of dementia, it is important to investigate the relationship between BPSD and subsequent cognitive decline. Methods: We examined the cognitive and affective functions of 76 cognitively normal subjects at initial assessment (baseline) and 1‐year follow‐up. Cognitive function was assessed using clinical dementia rating (CDR) and Mini‐Mental State Examination (MMSE), and affective function was assessed using Abe's BPSD score (ABS) and mild behavioral impairment (MBI). Results: Although there was no change in MMSE, ABS, or MBI after 1 year, the mean CDR score of 0 at baseline increased to 0.1 ± 0.2 at 1‐year follow‐up (**P < 0.01 vs baseline). No significant change in MMSE was found in both baseline ABS and MBI positive‐ or negative‐groups. In contrast, baseline MBI‐dependent CDR change showed a 13.2% of worsening in MBI‐negative subjects and a 62.5% of MBI‐positive subjects (††P < 0.01), but ABS not. Conclusion: The present data indicate that positive baseline BPSD with MBI was closely related to a subsequent CDR exacerbation. Examining BPSD may be useful for screening cognitively normal population for subsequent dementia development in local communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The world is rapidly aging and facing an increase in the number of dementia patients, so it is important to detect the preclinical stage of dementia in such countries. We examined both cognitive and affective functions among cognitively normal control (n = 218), mild cognitive impairment (MCI, n = 146), and Alzheimer's disease (AD, n = 305) subjects using two evaluation tools for behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) [Abe's BPSD score (ABS) and mild behavioral impairment (MBI)]. BPSD were present in 12.4% (ABS) and 9.6% (MBI) of cognitively normal people, 34.9% and 32.2% in MCI subjects, and 66.2% and 51.1% in AD patients. Both ABS (§p<0.05) and MBI (§§p < 0.01) score showed worse score with cognitive decline of the Mini-Mental State Examination in the AD group in BPSD-positive participants. Similar correlations were found in all participants in AD group (||||p < 0.01 versus ABS and MBI). Among the subscales in BPSD-positive participants, an apathy/indifference score of ABS and a decreased motivation of MBI showed significant differences in AD patients compared to the control and MCI subjects (**p<0.01). In addition, subscale analyses further showed a downward trend from the control to MCI and AD subjects in four ABS subscales and three MBI subscales. The present study showed the preclinical presence of BPSD in cognitively normal people, more so in MCI subjects, and ABS detected BPSD more sensitively than MBI in all three groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxidative stress is part of the entire pathological process that underlies the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD), including the mild cognitive impairment (MCI) stage. Twendee X (TwX) is a supplement containing a strong antioxidative mix of eight antioxidants, which has been shown to have a clinical and therapeutic benefit in AD model mice. Here, we conducted a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled prospective interventional study to evaluate the efficacy of TwX in mitigating MCI. The primary outcomes were differences in Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Hasegawa Dementia Scale-revised (HDS-R) scores between baseline and six months for placebo and TwX groups. Seventy-eight subjects with MCI were randomized into placebo (n = 37) and TwX (n = 41) groups. MMSE scores at six months differed significantly between the TwX and placebo groups (p = 0.018), and HDS-R scores for the TwX group exhibited a significant improvement at six months relative to baseline (p = 0.025). The TwX group did not show any change in affective or activities of daily living scores at six months. The present study indicates that strong antioxidative supplement TwX is clinical beneficial for cognitive function in subjects with MCI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/parkinsonism dementia complex (ALS/PDC), frequently observed in the Kii peninsula of Japan, is pathologically characterized by widespread tau pathology in the cerebrum and brainstem. Here, we report a case of Kii ALS/PDC predominantly presenting progressive parkinsonism. Tau positron emission tomography (PET) imaging with 18F‐PM‐PBB3 suggested tau deposition in the substantia nigra of the midbrain and subcortical areas, but not in the cerebral cortex, which was similar to progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), suggesting that parkinsonism‐predominant type of Kii ALS/PDC may have a similar area of tau deposition to PSP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background: Despite a rapidly increasing prevalence of dementia, social support systems for dementia patients and their caregivers are insufficient. Aim: To investigate a telephone support system for dementia patients and their caregivers managed by a local public association, the “Okayama Dementia Call Center (ODCC).” Methods: A total of 1485 phone calls were retrospectively surveyed over 4 years (from June 2011 to May 2014) and were divided into four annual periods. Results: The average consulting time of each of the 1485 phone calls was 20.2 ± 14.7 min. The chief complaint was distress related to dementia symptoms (56.2%), mainly from the children (66.7%) and spouses (17.5%) of dementia patients. With respect to management of ODCC for these clients, the proportion of providing advice has decreased (66.1 to 47.7%) as that of listening time increased (22.7 to 46.1%). Conclusion: The present unique telephone call system (ODCC) may supplement an insufficient social support, and may play an important role in the community care system, enabling people with dementia to live comfortably in their local community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim To evaluate the therapeutic effects of switching from one acetylcholinesterase inhibitor (ChEI), donepezil, galantamine or rivastigmine, to another in Alzheimer's disease patients. Methods We retrospectively enrolled 171 Alzheimer's disease patients, whose ChEI medication was changed. The patients were evaluated on three major aspects of dementia - cognitive, affective and activities of daily living (ADL) measures - at 6 months (M) before the drug switch, at the time of drug switch (baseline), and at 3 M and 6 M after the drug switch. Results The doses of the three ChEI were significantly lower at 6 M after the switch compared with the pre-switch doses. Improvements in apathy were found at 3 M when switching from donepezil to galantamine, but not to rivastigmine, but this switch had adverse effects on ADL. Improvements in cognitive scores at 3 M were also found when switching from galantamine to rivastigmine, but not to donepezil. However, both of these changes improved Abe's Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia scores (ABS), except ADL. Switching from rivastigmine to donepezil worsened ABS at 6 M, but preserved cognitive and ADL scores. Conclusions The present study suggests that despite a relatively lower dose of ChEI after the switch, switching from donepezil or rivastigmine preserved cognitive functions for at least 6 M. Switching from galantamine to rivastigmine improved Mini-Mental State Examination and ABS at 3 M, but did not improve ADL scores. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2017; 17: 1843-1848. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parkinson's disease with dementia (PDD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) both commonly exhibit brain Lewy body pathology and similar end-stage symptoms, but early symptoms differ. To clarify these differences, we compared the demographic characteristics, symptoms, cognitive and affective functioning, activities of daily life, and neuroimaging results between PDD (n = 52) and DLB (n = 46) patients. In measures of cognitive functioning, PDD patients had worse Hasegawa dementia scale-revised (HDS-R) scores (11.2±4.8) and better frontal assessment battery (FAB) scores (11.3±4.1) compared with DLB (17.0±6.4, p = 0.013 and 8.6±4.7, p = 0.039, respectively). DLB patients performed worse than PDD patients in "orientation to place" tasks. In affective functions, DLB patients had worse GDS (7.6±3.4) and ABS (9.9±5.3) scores than PDD patients (5.1±4.1 and 4.8±3.0, respectively). 99mTc-ECD images showed greater CBF in the whole cingulate gyrus and a lower CBF in the precuneus area in DLB than in PDD. These results suggest that PDD patients' lower average scores for "repetition" (MMSE), "recent memory" (HDS-R), and "lexical fluency" (FAB) were related to lower CBF in the cingulate gyrus than in DLB. Furthermore, DLB patients' poorer average subscale scores of "orientation to place" (MMSE) and "similarities", "conflicting instructions", and "go-no go" (FAB) tasks may be related to the lower CBF in the precuneus area in DLB than PDD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dementia and parkinsonism are rarely observed in dural arteriovenous fistula. Here, we report a case of a 63-year-old man with recurrent dural arteriovenous fistula, who developed progressive dementia and parkinsonism as a result of a dural arteriovenous fistula at the torcular herophili. A sinus thrombosis induced the abnormal cortical venous reflux from the isolated straight sinus, resulting in the deep venous congestion of the thalamus and basal ganglia, which led to dementia and parkinsonism. However, the third endovascular embolization ameliorated memory disturbance and apathy with a slight improvement of parkinsonism. Although recoveries from dural arteriovenous fistula-associated neurological deficits are variable depending on the severity, duration and, furthermore, selective vulnerability of the responsible ischemic lesions, early treatment should be essential for better recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]