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Workplace mental health has gained importance in the recent days. However, its assessment is challenging considering the complexity involved in it. The earliest and highly cited Indian research on the workplace mental health listed 12 workplace factors viz. role overload, role ambiguity, role conflict, unreasonable (group & political) pressure, individual responsibility, under participation, powerlessness, poor peer relations, intrinsic impoverishment, low status, strenuous working condition and unprofitability. However, in view of the deficiency, the workplace factors have been rephrased by subsequent investigators. Numerous investigators have attempted to develop or partially use the pre-existing tool for assessing the workplace stress. These primary observations are often heterogeneous, difficult to interpret, and contribute to the challenges during drafting guidelines / policies. Therefore, a tool validated for larger population perhaps after amalgamation of the existing validated tools is recommended

An imbalance in the keyorganizational psychology constructs viz. "Workload", "Reward", "Community","Control", "Values" and "Fairness" are potential factors leading to negativeoccupational mental health, i.e. burnout. Burnout, a psychological syndrome is thecombination of emotional exhaustion, sense of reduced compassion andaccomplishment. To note, the concept of occupational mental health in a nationwith second largest workforce is nascent. Further, the utility of existingwestern tools in Indian subcontinent is limited by culturallyinappropriateness, patented, less comprehensible and other factors. Presentstudy attempted to develop tools to screen occupational mental health andworkplace areas. Conventional steps involved in psychological tool development,viz. construct identification, drafting of pertinent questions, contentvalidation, field testing of questions and others were adopted. After series ofsteps, tools for screening occupational mental health and key constructsinfluencing mental health at workplace (workplace assessment) were developed.The screening tools exhibited adequate test - retest reliability, internalconsistency / reliability (cronbach's α0.73) and correlation (correlationcoefficient0.6) with the general mental health in larger evaluation of 153consenting workers. The proposed simple and easy to administer tool requiresdevelopment of normative scores thereby aiding early diagnosis and managementof those requiring intervention.

Seizures and epilepsy are inter-related conditions that are often seen in the patients with neurological conditions. In general there are various types of epilepsies like the grand mal, petit mal and clonic tonic types. Typically epilepsies are caused due to the oxidative free radicals that are generated in the brain. There are numerous investigations and researches that are carried out in this field to prove that the oxidative stress and free radicals are the primary etiology for the brain damage and epilepsy. The epilepsy and seizures are often evaluated with the elevation or variations in the brain enzymes. Herbs are few of those drugs that contain rich antioxidants and chemicals. There had been numerous investigations that were performed to prove the activities. They also contain chemicals like Vitamins, polyphenols, flavonoids, alkaloids etc. that posess the activity on brain. In this study, formulations were prepared using the extracts of Basella alba, Bacopa moneira. The effect of these formulations on the antioxidant levels in the brain are estimated and compared to the standard formulation Saraswathiaristam formulation. The formulations showed a better activity compared to the standard ayurvedic formulation. The prevention of tissue damage was estimated by determining the antioxidant enzyme levels.

The digit span test is widely used to assess attention and working memory. It is a portable, relatively culture-free and frequently used test. However, the cultural validity of this test, particularly in the Indian older population, is not well established. Objective: This study explores the usefulness of the digit span test for Indian older adults with different levels of education. Methods: Two hundred and fifty-eight community-dwelling healthy normal older adults formed the sample of this study. All study participants were screened using a semi-structured interview schedule, the modified MINI Screen, the Indian version of the Mini-Mental State Examination, a measure of activities of daily living and the digit span test administered verbally. Results: The results indicated that participants with higher educational level performed significantly better than low-educated participants on the digit span test. Participants with low education often struggled with the digit span test and resorted to guessing the digits. Conclusion: Our study clearly demonstrates that the digit span test can be useful for educated participants. However, its usefulness and ecological validity is questionable for those with low education and low literacy, warranting future research. RESUMO. O teste de span de dígitos é amplamente utilizado para avaliar a atenção e a memória de trabalho. É um teste portátil, relativamente livre de cultura e frequentemente usado. No entanto, a validade cultural deste teste, particularmente na população idosa indiana, não está bem estabelecida. Objetivo: Este estudo explora a utilidade do teste de amplitude de dígitos para idosos indianos com diferentes níveis de educação. Métodos: Duzentos e cinquenta e oito idosos saudáveis normais residentes na comunidade formaram a amostra deste estudo. Todos os participantes da pesquisa foram selecionados usando uma entrevista semiestruturado, MINI Screen modificado, versão indiana do Mini Mental State Examination, uma medida de atividade da vida diária e teste do span de dígitos administrados verbalmente. Resultados: Os resultados indicaram que os participantes com alto nível de escolaridade tiveram desempenho significativamente melhor do que os participantes com baixo nível de escolaridade no teste de amplitude de dígitos. Participantes com baixa escolaridade muitas vezes enfrentaram difficuldades com o teste de amplitude de dígitos e recorreram a adivinhar os dígitos. Conclusão: Nosso estudo demonstra claramente que o teste de amplitude de dígitos pode ser útil para participantes instruídos. No entanto, sua utilidade e validade ecológica são questionáveis para aqueles com baixa escolaridade e letramento, requerendo pesquisas futuras.

Background: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is regarded as a transitional state between normal aging and dementia. It may progress to dementia, remain same, or revert to normalcy. Most western studies report an annual conversion of 10%–15% of MCI to dementia. There is a paucity of literature on prospective studies on MCI in India. Objective: The objective is to prospectively study the cognitive status of MCI patients at least 1 year after their diagnosis. The other objective was to find the conversion among the MCI patients to Alzheimer's dementia. Methodology: We followed up persons with MCI above 50 years evaluated in the Geriatric Clinic of National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) between 2012 and 2014, reassessed their cognitive abilities (neuropsychological measures) 1 year later, and compared them with earlier assessment and the conversion rate among this sample. Hindi Mental Status Examination (HMSE), Everyday Abilities Scale for India (EASI), NIMHANS neuropsychological battery for Indian elderly, and Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) scale instruments were used for assessment. Results: Twenty-seven persons with a diagnosis of MCI were contacted. Twenty-one participated and underwent repeat clinical and neuropsychological evaluations. The mean duration of follow-up was 1.43 (standard deviation: ± 0.46) years. Six participants (28.6%) had progressed to mild Alzheimer's disease (AD) based on EASI, CDR, and neuropsychological scores, 15 (71.4%) retained their MCI status, and none had reverted back to normal status. The mean age of converters (progressed to mild AD) was 72 ± 5.69 years and nonconverters (remained as MCI) was 72.6 ± 7.16 years. Multiple medical comorbidities were found in both the groups with hypertension being the higher in converters (P = 0.04). Among the converters compared to nonconverters, there was a significant decline in total word list learning (P = 0.006), design construction copy (P = 0.042), total figures canceled in figure cancellation test (P = 0.009), and total omissions on figure cancellation test (P = 0.02). Discussion and Conclusion: Scores on episodic memory, attention, and visuospatial skills were low in the MCI compared to normal controls to start with – there was a further significant decline in few of these parameters over the follow-up. The conversion rate in our study was 28.6% for 1.43 years, which is higher compared to the western studies. Executive function learning and memory were the domains predominantly affected in the converters compared to nonconverters. The study based on tertiary hospital and help seeking with a specialist by those who perceived/were perceived to worsen could be probable reason for this higher rate. Higher medical comorbidities, lower HMSE scores, and executive function and memory at baseline are found to increase the risk of progression to AD.

The prevalence of dementia is increasing rapidly, specifically in low and middle income countries (LAMIC) due to demographic aging. Help seeking is delayed and usually sought at an advanced stage of illness and many are yet to receive a formal diagnosis. We interviewed 35 caregivers of persons with Dementia (as per ICD-10) using a semi-structured questionnaire, the Short Explanatory Model Interview (SEMI). We explored the pathways taken by caregivers of people with dementia en route to a tertiary care centre and the interactions they had with different health care providers. Qualitative data analysis was done using ATLAS.ti. We identified three major pathways: I) The Neuropsychiatric pathway II) The General Practitioner pathway and III) The Non-cohesive pathway. In general, the caregivers were poorly informed about the illness details such as diagnosis, course and outcome. Neurologists communicated the diagnosis of 'Dementia' more frequently. When information was made available, the caregivers were satisfied with proper information about illness and with at least, partial improvement of symptoms. There is a need for increasing the awareness of dementia in community at large. Health services and systems that address this important public health problem need strengthening. Sensitization and training of primary care physician and staff to identify dementia at an early stage are the need of the hour.

Introduction: There is an unmet need for continuity-of-care is well known for those with severe mental disorders (SMDs) after acute care at hospitals in India. The “Sakalawara Rehabilitation Services (SRS)” functioned from March 2014 at “Sakalawara Community Mental Health Centre” (SCMHC) of “National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences,” Bengaluru, India in the concepts of residential care (half-way-home) with the aim to develop a replicable model. Aim: To review the inpatient records after the initial 2 years of experience in residential care at SCMHC. Methodology: Retrospective file review of inpatients at SCMHC from March 2014 to March 2016 in a semi-structured proforma designed for the study. Ethical committee of NIMHANS Bengaluru has approved the study. Results: The total number of inpatients during this period was 85. It was found that Schizophrenia spectrum disorders were the most common diagnosis among these patients. The activity of daily living and psycho-education were the most common individual interventions. The majority of families underwent structured family psycho-educational interventions. This review also demonstrated the feasibility of tele-aftercare in continuity of care after discharge of patients. Conclusion: SRS kind of residential set-up is feasible and demonstrated effectiveness in maintaining continuity of care of SMDs. There is a need for better structured and customized interventions. There is further a scope for tele (video) aftercare for those with SMDs.

To study the association of apolipoprotein E (APOE), Clusterin (CLU) and phosphatidylinositol binding clathrin assembly protein (PICALM) polymorphisms in Alzheimer's disease (AD) subjects compared to cognitively normal control subjects in an Indian population.The study subjects included persons with AD (N=243) and age group matched healthy controls (N=164). All the AD subjects were evaluated using a standard protocol. DNA was isolated from whole blood. APOE (rs7412, rs429358), CLU (rs11136000) and PICALM (rs3851179) were genotyped. General linear model was used to test the association between the individual risk genotypes and AD.The presence of APOE ε4 was associated with AD after adjusting for age and gender (p0.0001). There was no association observed with AD at both rs11136000 CLU (p=0.25) and rs3851179 PICALM (p=0.54).Our results confirmed a significant association of APOE ε4 carrier status with AD. No association was observed for CLU and PICALM with AD. This might be due to a different genetic background. There are no previous reports of these polymorphisms in an Indian cohort. Future Indian AD studies should investigate additional SNPs in a larger sample size in these genes.

Byline: Selva. Velayutham, Sadanandavalli. Chandra, Srikala. Bharath, Ravi. Shankar Introduction: Alzhiemers disease and Frontotemporal dementia are common neurodegenerative dementias with a wide prevalence. Falls are a common cause of morbidity in these patients. Identifying subclinical involvement of these parameters might serve as a tool in differential analysis of these distinct parameters involved in these conditions and also help in planning preventive strategies to prevent falls. Patients and Methods: Eight patients in age and gender matched patients in each group were compared with normal controls. Standardizes methods of gait and balance aseesment were done in all persons. Results: Results revealed subclinical involvement of gait and balancesin all groups specially during divided attention. The parameters were significantly more affected in patients. Patients with AD and FTD had involement of over all ambulation index balance more affected in AD patients FTD patients showed step cycle, stride length abnormalities. Discussion: There is balance and gait involvement in normal ageing as well as patients with AD and FTD. The pattern of involvement in AD correlates with WHERE pathway involvement and FTD with frontal subcortical circuits involvement. Conclusion: Identification the differential patterns of involvement in subclinical stage might help to differentiate normal ageing and the different types of cortical dementias. This could serve as an additional biomarker and also assist in initiating appropriate training methods to prevent future falls. Introduction Alzheimer disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive loss of recent and episodic memory and other cognitive functions, affects 35 million people worldwide.[sup][1] Early diagnosis is important to initiate early treatment strategies to improve disability adjusted life years and reduce caregiver burden. The other type of cortical dementia is frontotemporal dementia (FTD) which manifests little more early and manifests often with neuropsychiatric manifestations. These two conditions are often misdiagnosed as each other or as purely psychiatric illness which delays the diagnosis. Morbidity and mortality are often due to secondary factors than the disease itself. Cortical structures are wired to subcortex by various functional circuits and therefore there is a possibility that subcortical signs which are easier to measure may be involved subclinically and if any differential pattern is observed it might help as an additional biomarker in early specific diagnosis as AD or FTD and also initiate appropriate treatments to delay progression to serious disability. Gait and balance are the product of successful integration of various posture control mechanisms and locomotion. Neurological disorders at any level can compromise the biomechanics of the same as it involves several complex mechanisms. Posture control needs maintaining the center of mass over the BOS all through the gait cycle. Dynamic balance needs cerebellum, vestibular system, and unconscious reactive reflexes such as long loop reflexes. Standing balance needs sensory information with reference to environment generated by vision, proprioception, and vestibular system. Because of the frontal-subcortical circuits breaking down in FTD and WHERE dorsal pathway dysfunction in Ad, both these disorders are likely to have gait and balance-related problems. Older persons with cognitive dysfunction are especially vulnerable for gait and balance problems resulting in repeated falls because of the associated multiaxial “dysfunction involving not only cognition but also, joints, ligaments, tendons, vision, and hearing”[sup][2] Patients with attention and cognitive disorders are at risk of disequilibrium in this automatic, unconscious act of walking due to inability to concentrate in dual tasking.[sup][3],[4],[5],[6],[7],[8],[9],[10],[11],[12],[13],[14] There is evidence for abnormal equilibrium in Ad and motor dysfunction in FTD. …

Objective Schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders are predominantly studied in young population. However some individuals do develop psychotic disorder for the first time during their old age. The aim of this study is to look at the clinical characteristics of non-affective, non-organic, late onset psychosis. Participants and methods Retrospective chart review study, medical records of all patients registered between 1st of January 2006 and 31st May 2011 at geriatric clinic in NIMHANS, Bangalore was screened, 83 files with a diagnosis of late onset psychosis and meeting the study criteria were systematically analyzed. Results The mean age at onset of illness was 67 ± 10 years; 98.8% were married, females formed 67.5% of the sample, commonest phenomenon was delusions followed by hallucinations, 80.5% of the subjects had delusion of persecution, 38.5% had referential delusion, 51.8% had accusative and derogatory auditory hallucinations, negative symptoms was seen only in 2.4% of subjects, none had formal thought disorder. 3.6% had co-morbid Axis II diagnosis. Conclusion Despite its rarity non affective, non organic, late onset psychosis forms a distinct group with unique manifestation. Further systematic research is needed for better understanding of this condition.

Examination of brain structural and functional abnormalities in amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) has the potential to enhance our understanding of the initial pathophysiological changes in dementia. We examined gray matter volumes and white matter microstructural integrity, as well as resting state functional connectivity (rsFC) in patients with aMCI (N = 48) in comparison to elderly cognitively healthy comparison subjects (N = 48). Brain volumetric comparisons were carried out using voxel-based morphometric analysis of T1-weighted images using the FMRIB Software Library. White matter microstructural integrity was examined using whole-brain tract-based spatial statistics analysis of fractional anisotropy maps generated from diffusion tensor imaging data. Finally, rsFC differences between the samples were examined by Multivariate Exploratory Linear Optimised Decomposition into Independent Components of the resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging time series, followed by between-group comparisons of selected networks using dual regression analysis. Patients with aMCI showed significant gray matter volumetric reductions in bilateral parahippocampal gyri as well as multiple other brain regions including frontal, temporal, and parietal cortices. Additionally, reduced rsFC in the anterior subdivision of the default mode network (DMN) and increased rsFC in the executive network were noted in the absence of demonstrable impairment of white matter microstructural integrity. We conclude that the demonstrable neuroimaging findings in aMCI include significant gray matter volumetric reductions in the fronto-temporo-parietal structures as well as resting state functional connectivity disturbances in DMN and executive network. These findings differentiate aMCI from healthy aging and could constitute the earliest demonstrable neuroimaging findings of incipient dementia.

Background/Aims: Alzheimer disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive disconnection of various brain networks leading to neuropsychological impairment. Pathology in the visual association areas has been documented in presymptomatic AD and therefore we aimed at examining the relationship between brain connectivity and visuospatial (VS) cognitive deficits in early AD. Methods: Tests for VS working memory, episodic memory and construction were used to classify patients with AD (n = 48) as having severe VS deficits (n = 12, female = 4) or mild deficits (n = 11, female = 4). Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging and structural images were acquired as per the standard protocols. Between-group differences in resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) were examined by dual regression analysis correcting for age, gender, and total brain volume. Results: Patients with AD having severe VS deficits exhibited significantly reduced rsFC in bilateral lingual gyri of the visual network compared to patients with mild VS deficits. Conclusion: Reduced rsFC in the visual network in patients with more severe VS deficits may be a functional neuroimaging biomarker reflecting hypoconnectivity of the brain with progressive VS deficits during early AD.

Background: Although electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a well-established treatment modality worldwide for elderly with severe psychiatric disorders, literature is sparse in India. Materials and Methods: A retrospective chart review of patients aged 60 years and above (n = 90) who received a course of ECTs between April 2003 and 2013 in National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru, a tertiary care neuropsychiatric institute, was carried out. For each elderly person, the next consecutive nonelderly ECT patient was selected as a control (n = 85). Clinical, demographic, and ECT variables were compared. Results: Depression (n = 57; 63.3%) was the most common diagnosis for ECT among the elderly while schizophrenia (n = 28; 32.9%) was most common among controls (P < 0.01); suicidal ideas were the most common indication (n = 25; 28.4%) among the elderly while aggression was the most common indication among controls (n = 28; 33.3%) (P = 0.004). Elderly received more number of ECTs (mean [standard deviation (SD)] 8.0 [3.0] vs. 6.4 [2.8]; P ≤ 0.01), had higher seizure threshold (mean [SD] 135.3 [76.9] mc vs. 81.3 [54.2] mc; P < 0.01), and experienced lesser duration of motor seizures (mean [SD] 38.48 [9.72] s vs. 48.90 [14.66]; P < 0.01). Immediate post-ECT cognitive deficits were more in the elderly (n = 19; 21.6% vs. n = 7; 8.3%; P = 0.02). Case records showed no between-group differences both at the end of 3-month (P = 0.40) and 6-month (P = 0.50) follow-up for cognitive complaints. Mean (standard deviation) Clinical Global Impression-Improvement scores at the end of ECT course were 2.3 (0.9) versus 2.4 (0.8) (P = 0.5) among elderly and nonelderly, respectively. These scores were comparable at the end of 3 as well as 6 months' follow-up. Conclusions: This retrospective chart review showed ECT to be safe and effective for geriatric patients with severe psychiatric disorders including cognitive adverse effects. However, prospective studies would help to better establish cognitive adverse effects of ECT.

Depression is the most common mental illness in the elderly, and cost-effective treatments are required. Therefore, this study is aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of a mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) on depressive symptoms, mindfulness skills, acceptance, and quality of life across four domains in patients with late-onset depression. A single case design with pre- and post-assessment was adopted. Five patients meeting the specified inclusion and exclusion criteria were recruited for the study and assessed on the behavioral analysis pro forma, geriatric depression scale, Hamilton depression rating scale, Kentucky inventory of mindfulness skills, Acceptance and Action Questionnaire II, The World Health Organization quality of life Assessment Brief version (WHOQO-L-BREF). The therapeutic program consisted of education regarding the nature of depression, training in formal and informal mindfulness meditation, and cognitive restructuring. A total of 8 sessions over 8 weeks were conducted for each patient. The results of this study indicate clinically significant improvement in the severity of depression, mindfulness skills, acceptance, and overall quality of life in all 5 patients. Eight-week MBCT program has led to reduction in depression and increased mindfulness skills, acceptance, and overall quality of life in patients with late-life depression.

Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (aMCI) represents the transition between healthy aging and Alzheimer’s dementia (AD) wherein gradual impairment of cognitive abilities, especially memory sets in. Impairment in episodic memory, especially delayed recall, is a hallmark of AD and therefore, patients with aMCI with more severe impairment in episodic memory are considered to be at greater risk of imminent conversion to AD. Brain structural and functional abnormalities were examined by comparing gray matter volumes, white matter micro-structural integrity and resting state functional connectivity (rsFC), between patients with aMCI (n = 46) having lower vs. higher episodic memory delayed recall (EM-DR) performance scores, correcting the influences of age, sex, number of years of formal education and total brain volumes using voxel-based morphometry, whole-brain tract based spatial statistics and dual regression analysis respectively. ‘Low’ performers (n = 27) when compared to ‘high’ performers (n = 19) showed significantly increased rsFC in the dorsal attention network (DAN) and central executive network (CEN) in the absence of demonstrable gray matter volumetric or white matter micro-structural integrity differences at family-wise error (FWE) corrected (p

Literature suggests that persons with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are at risk for cognitive impairment, hence dementia. Common domains reported to be affected in those with T2DM are memory and executive functions. The extent of influence of T2DM on these domains has varied among studies. A systematic review and meta-analysis was carried out to understand whether sub-domains contributed to the variations observed in published research. We searched 'PubMed', 'ScienceDirect', 'SciVerseHub', 'Psychinfo', 'Proquest' 'Ebsco' and 'J-gate Plus' databases for published studies on cognition and T2DM among persons aged 50 years and older. Memory, executive functions and processing speed domain and sub-domain scores were extracted; effect sizes (Cohen's d) were calculated and analysed. Eight hundred seventeen articles were found. After various levels of filtering, 15 articles met the inclusion criteria for quantitative analyses. The analyses indicated that in comparison to controls, persons with T2DM showed decrements in episodic memory (d = -0.51), logical memory (d = -0.24), sub-domain of executive functions which included phonemic fluency (d = -0.35) and cognitive flexibility (d = 0.52), and speed of processing (d = -0.22). We found no difference in the sub-domains of verbal short-term memory and working memory. The meta-analysis revealed a detrimental effect of T2DM on cognitive sub-domains, namely, episodic memory and cognitive flexibility. There was a trend for the logical memory, phonemic fluency and processing speed to be affected. The analysis indicates that T2DM is a detrimental factor on certain cognitive sub-domains, rendering the person vulnerable to subsequent dementia. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Early cell death is a feature of neurodegenerative disorders. Telomere shortening is related to premature cellular senescence and could be a marker for cellular pathology in neurological diseases. Relative telomere length in dementia (N=70), Huntington's disease (N=35), ataxia telangiectasia (N=9), and age-group matched control samples (N=105) was measured as relative telomere copy/single copy gene ratios. Individuals with Huntington's disease had the lowest relative telomere copy/single copy gene ratio (0.21), followed by ataxia telangiectasia (0.31) and dementia (0.48). The younger control group had the highest relative telomere copy/single copy gene ratio (1.07). The reduced telomere length could be indicative of shared biological pathways across these disorders contributing to cellular senescence.

Story recall based paradigm is widely used to assess verbal memory functions in older adults. This study examined usefulness of Story Recall Test for Indian older adults and relative contribution of age, education and gender to performance on story recall. Each participant received culturally appropriate measures of global cognitive function, activities of daily living and Word list followed by Story Recall Test. The results indicated that participants with higher education performed better than participants with low education on Story Recall Test. Further, contribution of age and gender to story recall performance was also noted. However education emerged strongest contributor for performance on story recall test. Story Recall Test using brief and culturally relevant theme could be useful to assess memory functions in heterogeneous educational background. However performance on Story Recall Test is highly dependent on education levels.

Background While many studies have reported reduced volume of hippocampus in late onset depression (LOD), the status of hippocampus sub-regions (anterior/posterior) is yet to be explored. Evaluating hippocampal sub-regions might facilitate better elucidation of the neurobiological basis of LOD. Methods Twenty five elderly subjects with LOD (mean age = 65.28 yr, SD = 5.73, 15 females) and 20 healthy controls (mean age = 65.35 yr, SD = 5.67, 7 females) were examined using 3-tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). They were also evaluated with Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) and Hindi Mental State Examination (HMSE). We examined the difference in volume of Hippocampal sub-regions between the LOD group and control group controlling for the age, sex and intracranial volume. Results Left posterior hippocampus volume was significantly smaller in LOD group than the control group (1.01 ± 0.19 ml vs 1.16 ± 0.25 ml, F = 7.50, p = 0.009). There was a similar trend for the right posterior hippocampus (1.08 ± 0.19 ml vs 1.18 ± 0.27 ml, F = 3.18, p = 0.082). Depression severity (mean MADRS score = 20.64 ± 8.99) had a significant negative correlation with volumes of right posterior hippocampus (r = −0.37, p = 0.012) and left posterior hippocampus (r = −0.46, p = 0.001) in the LOD group. Conclusions Specific reduction of posterior hippocampus volume and its relationship with depression severity indicates sub region specific hippocampal volumetric abnormalities in LOD. Future studies need to evaluate sub region specific hippocampal volume in LOD longitudinally for better understanding of the pathogenesis of LOD in view of the functional differences between anterior and posterior hippocampus.

Background: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a transitional stage between normal aging and dementia. Persons with MCI are at higher risk to develop dementia. Identifying MCI from normal aging has become a priority area of research. Neuropsychological assessment could help to identify these high risk individuals. Objective: To examine clinical utility and diagnostic accuracy of neuropsychological measures in identifying MCI. Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study of 42 participants (22 patients with MCI and 20 normal controls [NC]) between the age of 60 and 80 years. All participants were screened for dementia and later a detailed neuropsychological assessment was carried out. Results: Persons with MCI performed significantly poorer than NC on word list (immediate and delayed recall), story recall test, stick construction delayed recall, fluency and Go/No-Go test. Measures of episodic memory especially word list delayed recall had the highest discriminating power compared with measures of semantic memory and executive functioning. Conclusion: Word list learning with delayed recall component is a possible candidate for detecting MCI from normal aging.

Background: Psychological distress in the elderly with various illness conditions often goes unrecognized. Since psychological distress is treatable, it is important to recognize it at the earliest to enhance recovery. This is an interim analysis of screening data of the elderly seeking health care in a hospital in India, with a focus on the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), a screening instrument for psychological distress and a rationale for a higher cutoff score in help seeking elderly. Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis of screening data of psychological distress using GHQ-12 in the elderly seeking care for neuropsychiatric conditions was carried out. Traditionally, ≥2 is considered positive for distress by GHQ-12. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve was used to define new cutoff points for psychological distress. Results: At ≥2, 2443 (50%) of the elderly screened were recognized to be psychologically distressed. Using an ROC and optimum sensitivity and specificity measures, a cutoff score of ≥4 was observed to detect 30% of the elderly who had diagnosable mental health disorders. Female sex, illiteracy, and multiple co-morbidities were the factors that were associated with higher cutoff scores on GHQ-12 proposed here and psychiatric morbidity thereof. Conclusion: There is greater psychological distress among the elderly seeking health care. Hence, it is important to screen them and identify those at higher risk. Using a higher cutoff score with a standardized instrument like GHQ-12 indicated that it was statistically valid to identify those elderly with higher distress in a busy out-patient setting.

Mild Cognitive impairment (MCI) is an important pre-dementia stage to be identified towards prevention. We screened a large number of older adults seeking help at hospital and community towards a diagnosis of MCI and this study describe their clinical and neuropsychological profile. Older adults aged 60 years & above seeking help at NIMHANS outpatient & community services were screened for early cognitive deficits. Persons were diagnosed to have MCI according to Petersen's criteria, after detailed clinical and neuropsychological assessments. Age, gender and education matched healthy controls were recruited for comparison. A total of 7469 older adults were screened during the study period (July 2012-December 2014). Less than 1% (n=56) were diagnosed with MCI. Majority were males, from urban background with an average of 13 years of education. They presented mainly with memory disturbances, more than 75% (n=43) were found to have amnestic type of MCI (aMCI). Of the aMCI subjects, majority (80%) had deficits in more than one cognitive domain. They performed significantly worse (p

Introduction: Dementia is a major public health problem and it appears to be a global epidemic. The prevalence is doubling every 5 years and it is expected that 70% of persons above 60 years will live in developing countries by 2020 and 15% of them are likely to suffer from dementia. Disease modifying treatments work only if initiated very early; however, diagnostic tools are not always able to clearly differentiate the different types in very early stage. Therefore, inexpensive and easily available biomarkers are needed to know if collectively they will improve the sensitivity of specific diagnosis. Therefore, in this pilot study, we have tried to analyze if long loop reflex (LLR2) is differentially affected in these two conditions early in the course of Alzheimer's dementia (AD) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) based on hypothesis taking into account the anatomical substrates involved. Patients and Methods: Mild cases of clinically probable AD and FTD after appropriate inclusion criteria were subjected for LLR testing in the upper limb at median nerve. The presence or absence of LLR was assessed and also the latency, amplitude, and duration assessed. Results and Conclusion: LLR 2 is differentially affected in both these conditions. Absence of LLR2 was consistently seen in FTD which can be explained by early break down of frontal subcortical circuits in this condition as against AD. This is likely to serve as a very cheap and very early biomarker to differentiate the two common types of cortical dementias.

Background/objectives Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative condition where in early diagnosis and interventions are key policy priorities in dementia services and research. We studied the functional and structural connectivity in mild AD to determine the nature of connectivity changes that coexist with neurocognitive deficits in the early stages of AD. Methods Fifteen mild AD subjects and 15 cognitively healthy controls (CHc) matched for age and gender, underwent detailed neurocognitive assessment and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of resting state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Rest fMRI was analyzed using dual regression approach and DTI by voxel wise statistics. Results Patients with mild AD had significantly lower functional connectivity (FC) within the default mode network and increased FC within the executive network. The mild AD group scored significantly lower in all domains of cognition compared with CHc. But fractional anisotropy did not significantly (p

Context: In 2010, nearly 37 lakh Indians have been estimated to be suffering from dementia. Estimated costs of care in published literature do not reflect the actual expenses of individual households. Hence, a household budget approach was undertaken to arrive at the costs of dementia care in India. Materials and Methods: We identified and listed the different components of care, classified the applicability of care for the different components with respect to mild, moderate, and severe cases. This framework was utilized to assign costs of care and arrive at the household costs of care for a Person with Dementia (PwD) in both urban and rural areas. Results: The total expense was similar to that reported by individual households. The annual household cost of caring for a person with dementia in India, depending on the severity of the disease, ranged between INR 45,600 to INR 2,02,450 in urban areas and INR 20,300 to INR 66,025 in rural areas. Costs increased with increasing severity of the disease process. The costs of informal care contributed to nearly half of the total costs either in rural or urban area. With increasing severity, proportion of medical costs decreased while social cost increased. Medical costs in rural areas were nearly one-third of the total costs as against less than one-fifth in urban areas. Conclusion: The household budget model realistically estimated the household costs of care. It is hoped that the comprehensive and generic framework would prompt health professionals, researchers, and policy makers in India to catalyze geriatric health services, particularly for care for PwD.