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Variables related to social distancing can have negative effects on the emotional well-being and cognition of adults and the elderly., Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze the available studies that address the relationship between situations of social distancing, socioemotional aspects, and cognition in the lives of mature and older adults., Methods: A literature review study was carried out between December 2021 and January 2022, involving the SciELO, PubMed, and ScienceDirect databases, with studies published between February 2018 and December 2021., Results: A total of 754 studies were identified, and after selection, 18 were included. Notably, 16 showed significant effects of social distancing on cognition and socioemotional aspects, that is, the greater the social distancing, the lower the capacity for cognitive performance and the higher the index of symptoms of depression and anxiety, for example., Conclusions: Greater engagement in social activities and a closer contact with friends and family are protective factors against symptoms of depression and anxiety and cognitive decline., Competing Interests: Disclosure: The authors report no conflicts of interest.

Introduction: Alzheimer's disease (AD) and behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) are frequent causes of dementia and, therefore, instruments for differential diagnosis between these two conditions are of great relevance., Objective: To investigate the diagnostic accuracy of Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination-Revised (ACE-R) for differentiating AD from bvFTD in a Brazilian sample., Methods: The ACE-R was administered to 102 patients who had been diagnosed with mild dementia due to probable AD, 37 with mild bvFTD and 161 cognitively healthy controls, matched according to age and education. Additionally, all subjects were assessed using the Mattis Dementia Rating Scale and the Neuropsychiatric Inventory. The performance of patients and controls was compared by using univariate analysis, and ROC curves were calculated to investigate the accuracy of ACE-R for differentiating AD from bvFTD and for differentiating AD and bvFTD from controls. The verbal fluency plus language to orientation plus name and address delayed recall memory (VLOM) ratio was also calculated., Results: The optimum cutoff scores for ACE-R were <80 for AD, <79 for bvFTD, and <80 for dementia (AD + bvFTD), with area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (ROC) (AUC) >0.85. For the differential diagnosis between AD and bvFTD, a VLOM ratio of 3.05 showed an AUC of 0.816 (Cohen's d = 1.151; p < .001), with 86.5% sensitivity, 71.4% specificity, 72.7% positive predictive value, and 85.7% negative predictive value., Conclusions: The Brazilian ACE-R achieved a good diagnostic accuracy for differentiating AD from bvFTD patients and for differentiating AD and bvFTD from the controls in the present sample., (© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permission@oup.com.)

Introduction: There is a shortage of validated instruments to estimate disease progression in frontotemporal dementia (FTD)., Objectives: To evaluate the ability of the FTD Rating Scale (FTD-FRS) to detect functional and behavioral changes in patients diagnosed with the behavioral variant of FTD (bvFTD), primary progressive aphasia (PPA), and Alzheimer disease (AD) after 12 months of the initial evaluation, compared to the Clinical Dementia Rating scale-frontotemporal lobar degeneration (CDR-FTLD) and the original Clinical Dementia Rating scale (CDR)., Methods: The sample consisted of 70 individuals, aged 40+ years, with at least 2 years of schooling, 31 with the diagnosis of bvFTD, 12 with PPA (8 with semantic variant and 4 with non-fluent variant), and 27 with AD. The FTD-FRS, the CDR, and the 2 additional CDR-FTLD items were completed by a clinician, based on the information provided by the caregiver with frequent contact with the patient. The Addenbrooke Cognitive Examination-Revised was completed by patients. After 12 months, the same protocol was applied., Results: The FTD-FRS, CDR-FTLD, and CDR detected significant decline after 12 months in the 3 clinical groups (exception: FTD-FRS for PPA). The CDR was less sensitive to severe disease stages., Conclusions: The FTD-FRS and the CDR-FTLD are especially useful tools for dementia staging in AD and in the FTD spectrum.

The literature indicates that cognitive stimulation interventions have shown promising results. Abacus represents a tool with great potential in such interventions., Objectives: To carry out a systematic review of studies published in recent years that entailed the delivery of a cognitive training program using an abacus to boost target cognitive abilities of older persons and also other age groups, with or without cognitive impairment., Methods: A systematic review study was conducted in July 2020 involving PubMed, MedLine, LILACS, and SciELO databases., Results: A total of 29 studies were retrieved, of which 8 aimed to identify the effect of abacus-based mental calculation (AMC) for different age groups and to determine its applicability as a method of cognitive stimulation for older adults. In AMC technique, participants first learn to use the physical abacus (PA) and after achieving proficiency they perform calculations using a mental image of the device, manipulating the beads of the so-called mental abacus (MA)., Conclusions: The number of studies addressing abacus use as a cognitive training tool was rather limited, considering the relevance of the theme. Their interventions have shown benefits for cognitive functioning of individuals of various age groups, including older adults with cognitive impairment. Future studies that involve larger samples of healthy and/or cognitively impaired older adults with a longitudinal design and a more elaborate methodological design are suggested., Competing Interests: Disclosure: The authors report no conflicts of interest.

The Gerontological Care Plan is idealized through case management that includes in its aspect engaging the elderly, self-care and the acquisition and maintenance of health-promoting behaviors., Objective: To evaluate the importance of a gerontological care plan, in a geriatric service of a referral hospital in the city of São Paulo., Methods: Fifteen older adult patients were interviewed and the Gerontological Care Plan (PAGe) was applied., Results: Most respondents were classified as independent for instrumental activities of daily living, 42% of whom lived alone. Data from 277 yellow sheets were analyzed, that is, referral forms, in which it was found that the most affected areas were: social work and psychology. For the social worker, the most recurring requests were: verification of the social support network, namely lack of companion and caregiver, with 53%; family problems, with 20%; lack of adherence to treatment, 12%, and problems related to medication, 10%. In the area of psychology, 82% of referrals were due to the need for psychological support, psychotherapy, and help with family problems, depression and grief., Conclusions: A gerontological management proposal was developed within the Geriatric Services of Hospital das Clínicas. The management plan was intended to integrate the actions carried out by the interprofessional team, through the creation of an Integrating Form that allowed the gerontologist to propose, execute and implement a plan of care, follow-up, and monitoring of cases, including the extra context-hospital., Competing Interests: Disclosure: The authors report no conflicts of interest.

Background: Short-term memory binding (STMB) tests assess conjunctive binding, in which participants should remember the integration of features, such as shapes (or objects) and colors, forming a unique representation in memory. In this study, we investigated two STMB paradigms: change detection (CD) and free recall (FR)., Objective: To investigate the cognitive profile in the CD and FR tasks of three diagnostic groups: cognitively unimpaired (CU), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and Alzheimer's clinical syndrome (ACS). In addition, we aimed to calculate and compare the accuracy of the CD and FR tasks to identify MCI and ACS., Methods: Participants were 24 CU, 24 MCI, and 37 ACS. The cognitive scores of the clinical groups were compared using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) analyses were carried out to verify the accuracy of the STMB tasks., Results: In the CD task, CU was different from MCI and ACS (CU > MCI = ACS), while in the FR task all groups were different (CU > MCI > ACS). The ROC analyses showed an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.855 comparing CU with MCI for the CD task and 0.975 for the FR. The AUC comparing CU and ACS was 0.924 for the CD and 0.973 for the FR task. The FR task showed better accuracy to identify MCI patients, and the same accuracy to detect ACS., Conclusion: The present findings indicate that impairments in CD and FR of bound representations are features of the cognitive profiles of MCI and ACS patients., (© 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Institutionalization potentiates the tendency for specific sleep disturbances which occur with aging, besides negative health consequences such as increased rate of depressive symptoms., Objective: To compare sleep profile and depressive symptoms in elderly nursing home residents, highlighting gender differences., Methods: A quantitative descriptive study of 29 elderly from two different nursing homes was conducted. A sociodemographics questionnaire, Sleep Diary, Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire and the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale were applied. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Student's t- test and the Mann-Whitney U-test., Results: The sample comprised individuals that were predominantly female (72%), aged 80-90 years (48%), widowed (66%) and low-educated (83%). The women were found to sleep and awake later than the men. Regarding chronotypes, the women were classified as evening types and men as intermediate/indifferent types. Most of the elderly exhibited symptoms of major depression (48%). Compared to men, women had more depressive symptoms in both dysthymia and major depression categories., Conclusion: No significant differences were evident on comparisons of sleep profile and depressive symptoms, but elderly with the intermediate chronotype scored lower on the depressive symptoms scale., Competing Interests: Disclosure: The authors report no conflicts of interest.

Introduction: Executive dysfunction is a common symptom in neurodegenerative disorders and is in need of easy-to-apply screening tools that might identify it. The aims of the present study were to examine some of the psychometric characteristics of the Brazilian version of the INECO frontal screening (IFS), and to investigate its accuracy to diagnose executive dysfunction in dementia and its accuracy to differentiate Alzheimer disease (AD) from the behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD)., Methods: Patients diagnosed with bvFTD (n=18) and AD (n=20), and 15 healthy controls completed a neuropsychological battery, the Neuropsychiatric Inventory, the Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia, the Clinical Dementia Rating, and the IFS., Results: The IFS had acceptable internal consistency (α=0.714) and was significantly correlated with general cognitive measures and with neuropsychological tests. The IFS had adequate accuracy to differentiate patients with dementia from healthy controls (AUC=0.768, cutoff=19.75, sensitivity=0.80, specificity=0.63), but low accuracy to differentiate bvFTD from AD (AUC=0.594, cutoff=16.75, sensitivity=0.667, specificity=0.600)., Conclusion: The present study suggested that the IFS may be used to screen for executive dysfunction in dementia. Nonetheless, it should be used with caution in the differential diagnosis between AD and bvFTD.

Introduction: Few studies on instruments for staging frontotemporal dementia (FTD) have been conducted., Objective: The objective of this study was to analyze the factor structure, internal consistency, reliability, and convergent validity of the Brazilian version of the Frontotemporal Dementia Rating Scale (FTD-FRS)., Methods: A total of 97 individuals aged 40 years and above with >2 years' education took part in the study, 31 patients diagnosed with behavioral variant FTD (bvFTD), 8 patients with primary progressive aphasia, 28 with Alzheimer disease, 8 with mild cognitive impairment, and a control group of 22 healthy subjects. The FTD-FRS was completed by family members or caregivers, and Neurologists completed the 8-item Clinical Dementia Rating for Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration (CDR-FTLD) scale (6 original domains plus Language and Behavior). The Alzheimer disease and FTD patients had equivalent disease severity level., Results: The internal consistency of the FTD-FRS, estimated by Cronbach α, was 0.975 whereas test-retest reliability was 0.977. Scree plot and exploratory factor (Varimax rotation) analyses revealed the existence of 4 factors, with eigenvalues >1, which together explained 77.13% of the total variance with values of 1.28 to 17.52. The domains of the Brazilian version of the FTD-FRS scale correlated with the domains of the CDR-FTLD., Conclusions: The present study is the first to document the factorial structure of the FTD-FRS and its convergent validity with the CDR-FTLD. These tools are key to determine dementia severity in FTD. The Brazilian FTD-FRS demonstrated adequate psychometric properties for use in Brazil. This instrument may contribute to disease staging in FTD and may help to document intervention-related changes.

It has been challenging to identify clinical cognitive markers that can differentiate patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) from those with behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD). The short-term memory binding (STMB) test assesses the ability to integrate colors and shapes into unified representations and to hold them temporarily during online performance. The objective of this study is to investigate whether free recall deficits during short-term memory binding (STMB) test can differentiate patients with AD from those with bvFTD and controls. Participants were 32 cognitively intact adults, 35 individuals with AD and 18 with bvFTD. All patients were in the mild dementia stage. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) analyses were used to examine the diagnostic accuracy of the STMB. The results showed that AD patients performed significantly worse than controls and bvFTD patients in the STMB test, while the latter groups showed equivalent performance. The bound condition of the STMB test showed an AUC of 0.853, with 84.4% of sensitivity and 80% of specificity to discriminate AD from controls and an AUC of 0.794, with 72.2% of sensitivity and 80% of specificity to differentiate AD from bvFTD. Binding deficits seem specific to AD. The free recall version of the STMB test can be used for clinical purposes and may aid in the differential diagnosis of AD. Findings support the view that the STMB may be a suitable cognitive marker for AD.

Studies show that aging is accompanied by decline in cognitive functions but also indicate that interventions, such as training on electronic games, can enhance performance and promote maintenance of cognitive abilities in healthy older adults., Objective: To investigate the effects of an electronic game program, called Actively Station, on the performance of global cognition of adults aged over 50 years., Methods: 124 mature and elderly adults enrolled in the "Actively Station" cognitive stimulation program of São Caetano do Sul City, in the State of São Paulo, participated in training for learning of electronic games. Participants were divided into two groups: training group (TG) n=102 and control group (CG) n=22. Protocol: a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination Revised (ACE-R), the Memory Complaint Questionnaire (MAC-Q), the scale of frequency of forgetfulness, the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15), the Geriatric Anxiety Inventory (GAI), the Global Satisfaction with Life Scale, and two scales on learning in the training., Results: The cognitive performance of the TG improved significantly after the program, particularly in the domains of language and memory, and there was a decrease on the anxiety index and frequency of memory complaints, when compared to the CG., Conclusion: These findings suggest that the acquisition of new knowledge and the use of new stimuli, such as electronic games, can promote improvements in cognition and mood and reduce the frequency of memory complaints., Competing Interests: Disclosure: The authors report no conflicts of interest.

Introduction: Diagnosing neurocognitive disorders is challenging in low-educated individuals., Objective: To report normative data for the Brief Cognitive Screening Battery (BCSB) and to assess the association of age and education with performance on the BCSB in 240 community-dwelling elderly from Ermelino Matarazzo, São Paulo city., Methods: The inclusion criteria were scoring above the education-adjusted cut-off points on the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and below six points on the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS)., Results: Age was associated with performance on the Naming, Incidental Memory, Verbal Fluency, Clock Drawing Test, Delayed Recall and Recognition subtests. Education was associated with performance on Naming, Recognition, Verbal Fluency and the Clock Drawing Test., Conclusion: The normative values reported are relevant for diagnosing neurocognitive disorders in low-educated elderly., Competing Interests: Disclosure: The authors report no conflicts of interest.

Background: There is limited information about the functional profile of behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD)., Objective: To compare direct and indirect assessments of activities of daily living (ADLs) in bvFTD and Alzheimer disease (AD) and their relationship with cognitive performance., Methods: In all, 20 patients with bvFTD, 30 patients with AD, and 34 normal controls (NCs), matched for age, education, and severity of dementia, completed the Direct Assessment of Functional Performance (DAFS-BR) and usual cognitive measures. The Disability Assessment for Dementia (DAD) was completed by caregivers., Results: In DAFS-BR, patients with bvFTD and AD had similar performance but lower than NCs. In DAD, there were no significant differences for effective performance, but patients with bvFTD had lower scores for initiation and planning/organization. Patients with bvFTD were less impaired than AD in cognition., Conclusion: Functional changes in bvFTD seem to be better documented by indirect measures., (© The Author(s) 2014.)

Background/aims: We aimed to compare caregiver burden and distress in behavioral-variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) and to investigate which factors contribute to caregivers' burden and distress., Methods: Fifty patients and their caregivers were invited to participate. Among the patients, 20 had a diagnosis of bvFTD and 30 had AD. Caregivers and patients were statistically equivalent for age, sex, education and dementia severity according to Clinical Dementia Rating. The protocol included the Short Zarit Burden Inventory, the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI), Disability Assessment for Dementia (DAD), the Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia (CSDD), Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination-Revised, the Executive Interview with 25 Items, Direct Assessment of Functional Status and the Geriatric Anxiety Inventory (GAI)., Results: In the NPI, caregivers of bvFTD patients reported a higher presence and severity of neuropsychiatric symptoms and caregiver distress compared to caregivers of AD patients. There was no significant difference in the perceived burden. In bvFTD, DAD and GAI scores were significantly correlated with burden, whereas in AD, burden was correlated with CSDD and NPI scores. Psychiatric symptoms were associated with distress in both groups., Conclusions: Caregivers of bvFTD patients experienced higher levels of distress than caregivers of AD patients. Patients' functional limitations were associated with burden of caregivers of bvFTD patients, whereas neuropsychiatric symptoms were associated with caregiver strain in both groups., (© 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Previous studies have suggested that performance prediction, an aspect of metamemory, may be associated with objective performance on memory tasks., Objective: The objective of the study was to describe memory prediction before performing an episodic memory task, in community-dwelling older adults, stratified by sex, age group and educational level. Additionally, the association between predicted and objective performance on a memory task was investigated., Methods: The study was based on data from 359 participants in the FIBRA study carried out at Ermelino Matarazzo, São Paulo. Memory prediction was assessed by posing the question: "If someone showed you a sheet with drawings of 10 pictures to observe for 30 seconds, how many pictures do you think you could remember without seeing the sheet?". Memory performance was assessed by the memorization of 10 black and white pictures from the Brief Cognitive Screening Battery (BCSB)., Results: No differences were found between men and women, nor for age group and educational level, in memory performance prediction before carrying out the memory task. There was a modest association (rho=0.11, p=0.041) between memory prediction and performance in immediate memory. On multivariate linear regression analyses, memory performance prediction was moderately significantly associated with immediate memory (p=0.061)., Conclusion: In this study, sociodemographic variables did not influence memory prediction, which was only modestly associated with immediate memory on the Brief Cognitive Screening Battery (BCSB)., Competing Interests: Disclosure: The authors report no conflicts of interest.

Background: Staging scales for dementia have been devised for grading Alzheimer's disease (AD) but do not include the specific symptoms of frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD)., Objective: To translate and adapt the Frontotemporal Dementia Rating Scale (FTD-FRS) to Brazilian Portuguese., Methods: The cross-cultural adaptation process consisted of the following steps: translation, back-translation (prepared by independent translators), discussion with specialists, and development of a final version after minor adjustments. A pilot application was carried out with 12 patients diagnosed with bvFTD and 11 with AD, matched for disease severity (CDR=1.0). The evaluation protocol included: Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination-Revised (ACE-R), Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Executive Interview (EXIT-25), Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI), Frontotemporal Dementia Rating Scale (FTD-FRS) and Clinical Dementia Rating scale (CDR)., Results: The Brazilian version of the FTD-FRS seemed appropriate for use in this country. Preliminary results revealed greater levels of disability in bvFTD than in AD patients (bvFTD: 25% mild, 50% moderate and 25% severe; AD: 36.36% mild, 63.64% moderate). It appears that the CDR underrates disease severity in bvFTD since a relevant proportion of patients rated as having mild dementia (CDR=1.0) in fact had moderate or severe levels of disability according to the FTD-FRS., Conclusion: The Brazilian version of the FTD-FRS seems suitable to aid staging and determining disease progression., Competing Interests: Disclosure: The authors report no conflicts of interest.

There are few studies describing the functional changes in behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) and it is not clear which aspects of functionality are affected by the disease., Objective: The aim of the present investigation was to characterize the functional profile of patients previously diagnosed with bvFTD., Methods: The sample consisted of 31 patients diagnosed with bvFTD, who were compared to patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) (n=31) and to healthy control subjects (NC) (n=34), matched for schooling and age. bvFTD and AD patients were matched by severity of dementia. The protocol included the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), Direct Assessment of Functional Status (DAFS-BR), Functional Activities Questionnaire (PFAQ), Disability Assessment for Dementia (DAD) and the Clinical Dementia Rating scale (CDR)., Results: The group with bvFTD showed worse performance on Initiation and Planning/Organization in the DAD and on ability to feed oneself in the DAFS-BR, as well as higher scores on the PFAQ, suggesting greater dependence in the bvFTD group., Conclusion: The results suggest that individuals with bvFTD display greater functional impairment compared to AD patients with a similar degree of dementia severity and to healthy controls. Direct assessment of functionality proved unable to clearly differentiate between the dementia subtypes.

The aim was to conduct a systematic review of studies that described the functional profile of patients with behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD), published between 2000 and 2013. The bibliographic search was conducted using the terms "frontotemporal dementia" and "frontotemporal lobar degeneration" in combination with "independence," "functionality," "basic activities of daily living," "disability," and scales that measure functional performance: "Disability Assessment for Dementia-DAD," "Functional Activities Questionnaire (FAQ)," "Direct Assessment of Functional Status (DAFS)." To be included in the review, the study had to mention the characterization of the functional status of patients with bvFTD in the objectives of the study, using a previously validated instrument of functional assessment. Fourteen studies met this criterion. The reviewed studies suggested that individuals with bvFTD have greater functional impairment when compared to those with other subtypes of frontotemporal lobar degeneration or Alzheimer's disease. The studies documented a significant association between cognitive impairment and measures of functionality in these patients. The cognitive profile of patients may predict faster functional decline.

Executive functions (EF) refer to the cognitive skills necessary to formulate a goal, plan, execute plans effectively, and to perform self-monitoring and self-correction. Several aspects of EF change during the normal aging process., Objectives: To train skills associated with executive functions in the elderly and to detect possible impact on objective EF tests and self-reports of functional status., Methods: A cross-sectional study involving an intervention and pre and post testing was carried out. Study participants included 26 seniors assigned to an experimental group (EG) and given six sessions of cognitive intervention, and 17 seniors assigned to a control group (CG) who completed pre and post testing only. All participants were enrolled in an Open University for the Third Age. The following tests were used to measure outcome: the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), the Story subtest of the Rivermead Behavioral Memory Test (RBMT) (versions A and B), semantic verbal fluency fruit category, and verbal fluency with phonological constraints (FAS), WAIS-III Digit Span, Clock Drawing Test (CDT), Trail Making Part A and the Pfeffer Functional Assessment Questionnaire (PFAQ). Delta scores were calculated (post-test score minus pretest score) to assess the impact of the intervention., Results: In the post test, the CG showed significant improvement on the RBMT Story recall and Digit Span but a decline in verbal fluency. The EG remained stable in terms of pre and post test scores., Conclusions: The intervention did not enhance performance on the EF tests. It is noteworthy that the EG received only a small number of sessions which may not have been sufficient to generate improvement. Alternatively, the lack of group differences observed could be associated to participation in other workshops offered at the university., Competing Interests: Disclosure: The authors report no conflicts of interest.

A systematic review of the neuroanatomical literature was performed to determine the neuropharmacological aspects most relevant to the study of memory processes. Articles were retrieved using the search terms "biology of memory", "memory and aging", "memory impairment", "elderly and memory," and their equivalents in Portuguese. Of the studies surveyed, five studies dealt with epidemiological and demographic issues, 12 were clinical trials i.e. were based on testing and implementation of instruments in human subjects, 33 studies were basic research involving studies of mice, rats and non-human primates, and biochemical and in vitro trials and finally, 52 studies were literature reviews or book chapters which in our view, fell into this category., Conclusions: The work sought to highlight which neural networks are most involved in processing information, as well as their location within brain regions and the way in which neurotransmitters interact with each other for the formation of these memories. Moreover, it was shown how memory changes during the normal human aging process, both positively and negatively, by analyzing the morphological alterations that occur in the brain of aging individuals., Competing Interests: Disclosure: The authors report no conflits of interest.

Objectives: The present study sought to characterize the degree of general satisfaction with life and degree of satisfaction on four domains: health, physical capacity, mental capacity and social involvement, and to determine the characteristics of self-reports of individuals enrolled on the program in relation to their psychological well-being focusing on the dimensions: autonomy, personal growth, control, positive relationships with others, purpose, personal acceptance and generativity, and to analyse the effect of time studying on level of well-being., Method: A total of 140 elderly students of a University for the Third Age took part in the study. The Global Satisfaction With Life Scale and the Self Development Scale (with six psychological well-being subscales) were applied. Continuous variables for the two groups were compared using the Mann-Whitney test. Spearman's correlation coefficient was used to analyze the relationship among numeric variables. Internal consistency of the instrument scales was analysed by calculating Cronbach's alpha coefficient., Results: Results showed that students who had attended the University of the Third Age for six months or longer had a higher level of satisfaction with life and greater psychological adjustment compared with new entrants to the same institution., Conclusion: The study results confirmed the positive effects of continuing education on the well-being of elderly and its contribution to successful aging., Competing Interests: Disclosure: The authors reports no conflicts of interest.

Psychoeducational activities are a way of promoting help for caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's disease, representing a forum for knowledge sharing, and in which the primary focus is on psychological themes aimed at carers developing coping skills and strategies., Objective: The main objective of this study was to gauge perceptions about care and its impact among family caregivers of patients with AD participating in a psychoeducational group intervention, as well as the possible positive and negative aspects associated with this role. The subjective impact of AD on the lives of these caregivers was assessed on each of the dimensions of the Caregiver Burden Scale using a semi-directed interview on perceptions about care., Methods: This was a prospective study, in which information was collected twice, before and after, psychoeducational intervention. Through the application of the scale, benefits were evident for all dimensions assessed in the instrument (general strain, isolation, disappointment, emotional involvement and environment)., Results: The results showed that after the psychoeducational intervention, caregivers felt less burdened by care compared to pre-intervention. Conclusion: These findings confirm that expanded implementation of psychoeducational interventions for caregivers of patients with AD can be beneficial for both caregivers and patients., Competing Interests: Disclosure: The authors reports no conflicts of interest.

Objective: The present study was to investigate the status of the family relationships of elderly patients with Alzheimer's disease from a caregiver's perspective., Methods: A total of sixteen relatives/caregivers of AD patients were assessed by applying a semi-structured questionnaire about family relationships. Frequency tables containing categorical variables (gender, schooling, personal income and current occupation) were compiled. Descriptive statistics were calculated of continuous variables such as age. Answers to open questions were submitted to Bardin's content analysis. The data were held on the Epidata program and statistical analysis was performed using the SPSS v.17.0 software package., Results: In line with the literature, the family was the main source of caregivers and the typical caregiver profile was female. In contrast to other studies, emotional burnout was not a major complaint in the sample studied. The ties created among family members and the life experience of each individual influences how interviewees cope with AD., Conclusion: The family relationships of caregivers of AD patients represent a constant challenge, due to changes in roles within the family structure as well as to disease progression. However, participation in psychological and socio-educational activities run by pioneering institutions in Brazil, act as a mediator of stress in the lives of both caregivers and patients., Competing Interests: Disclosure: The authors reports no conflicts of interest.

There is scant research evidence regarding training effects among elderly with limited educational experience. Research indicating an association between metamemory and memory performance is based on samples of older adults with at least 12 years of education., Objectives: To test the efficacy of a cognitive training program based on the creation of mental images and changes in specific aspects of metamemory in individuals with 3 to 15 years of education (M=8.38, SD=4.24)., Methods: 37 older adults participated in five training sessions (Training Group (TG)) and 32 control subjects completed only pre and post test assessments (Control Group (CG)) including the Mini Mental Status Examination (MMSE), the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), the Brief Cognitive Screening Battery (BCSB)(naming and memorization of 10 pictures, animal category verbal fluency test, the Clock Drawing Test (CDT)), the Story subtest from the Rivermead Behavioural Memory Test (RBMT), the Memory Complaint Questionnaire (MAC-Q), and the Picture and Story domains from the Memory Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (MSEQ)., Results: The TG showed significant improvement between pre and post tests on the delayed recall of the 10 pictures and in self-efficacy for the memorization of stories. These same changes were not found in the CG., Conclusions: Five-session cognitive training may lead to significant improvements in episodic memory and memory self-efficacy, an aspect of metamemory, in individuals with an average of 8 years of education., Competing Interests: Disclosure: The authors report no conflicts of interest.

Normal aging can be characterized by a gradual decline in some cognitive functions, such as memory. Memory complaints are common among older adults, and may indicate depression, anxiety, or cognitive decline., Objectives: To investigate the association between memory complaints and age in cognitively unimpaired older adults, and the relationship between memory complaints and memory performance., Methods: Cognitive screening tests as well as memory complaint questionnaires validated for the Brazilian population were used: the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), Memory Complaint Questionnaire (MAC-Q), Memory test of 18 pictures, Forward and Backward Digit Span (WAIS-III). Fifty seven regular members of the SESC social club participated (50 women), having a mean age of 71.4 years, and 4 to 8 years of education - 34 from 4 to 7 years and 23 with 8 years of education., Results: Results revealed no significant association between cognitive complaints and age or cognitive performance. Older participants in this sample did not show worse performance or a higher level of complaints. There was no significant association between age and GDS scores., Conclusions: The studied sample constitutes a particular group of older adults whose participation in activities may be protecting them from cognitive decline, thus highlighting the impact of lifestyle on cognitive performance during the aging process., Competing Interests: Disclosure: The authors report no conflicts of interest.