VIDEO: Dementia patients without amnesia declined faster than those with amnesia
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SAN DIEGO – Regardless of dementia type, patients with nonamnestic symptoms showed a faster rate of functional decline than those amnestic symptoms, according to a study presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference.
Jagan Pillai, MD, PhD, of the Cleveland Clinic, said this retrospective study evaluated 2,600 patients with autopsy-confirmed AD, Lewy body disease and a mixture of both to determine if there were differences in rate of progression in those who present with memory problems compared with other changes such as judgment issues, language problems or spatial difficulties.
“What we found was that among patients, regardless of the subgroup ... the nonamnestic patients had a faster rate of decline,” Pillai said. “It was most striking in patients with language changes compared with other subtypes. It was also seen in patients with executive function problems.”