: Current drugs for Alzheimer's Disease (AD), such as cholinesterase inhibitors (ChEIs), exert only symptomatic activity. Different psychometric tools are needed to assess cognitive and non-cognitive dimensions during pharmacological treatment. In this pilot study, we monitored 33 mild-AD patients treated with ChEIs. Specifically, we evaluated the effects of 6 months (Group 1 = 17 patients) and 9 months (Group 2 = 16 patients) of ChEIs administration on cognition with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), and the Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB), while depressive symptoms were measured with the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS). After 6 months (Group 1), a significant decrease in MoCA performance was detected. After 9 months (Group 2), a significant decrease in MMSE, MoCA, and FAB performance was observed. ChEIs did not modify depressive symptoms. Overall, our data suggest MoCA is a potentially useful tool for evaluating the effectiveness of ChEIs.

Combining Mini-Mental State Examination and Montreal Cognitive Assessment for assessing the clinical efficacy of cholinesterase inhibitors in mild Alzheimer’s disease: a pilot study

Giovanna Furneri
Co-primo
;
Simone Varrasi
Co-primo
;
Claudia Savia Guerrera
Secondo
;
Giuseppe Alessio Platania;Vittoria Torre;Francesco Maria Boccaccio;Santo Di Nuovo;Concetta Pirrone;Sabrina Castellano;Filippo Caraci
Ultimo
Writing – Review & Editing
;
2024-01-01

Abstract

: Current drugs for Alzheimer's Disease (AD), such as cholinesterase inhibitors (ChEIs), exert only symptomatic activity. Different psychometric tools are needed to assess cognitive and non-cognitive dimensions during pharmacological treatment. In this pilot study, we monitored 33 mild-AD patients treated with ChEIs. Specifically, we evaluated the effects of 6 months (Group 1 = 17 patients) and 9 months (Group 2 = 16 patients) of ChEIs administration on cognition with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), and the Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB), while depressive symptoms were measured with the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS). After 6 months (Group 1), a significant decrease in MoCA performance was detected. After 9 months (Group 2), a significant decrease in MMSE, MoCA, and FAB performance was observed. ChEIs did not modify depressive symptoms. Overall, our data suggest MoCA is a potentially useful tool for evaluating the effectiveness of ChEIs.
2024
Alzheimer’s Disease
Cholinesterase inhibitors
Cognitive decline
MMSE
MoCA
Psychometric tools
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11769/604069
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