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Erik Scherder

Publications and source records attributed to Erik Scherder.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Effects of high-frequency cranial electrostimulation on the rest-activity rhythm and salivary cortisol in Alzheimer's disease: a pilot study.

OBJECTIVE: In a previous study, low-frequency (0.5 Hz) cranial electrostimulation (CES) neither improved the rest-activity rhythm nor reduced the level of salivary cortisol in patients with probable Alzheimer's disease (AD). To investigate whether the frequency of CES was responsible for these negative findings, we set out to examine the effects of high-frequency CES on the rest-activity rhythm and salivary cortisol of patients with probable AD. We hypothesized that a decreased level of cortisol would parallel a positive effect of high-frequency CES on nocturnal restlessness in AD patients. METHODS: Twenty AD patients were randomly assigned to an experimental group (n = 10) and a control group (n = 10). The experimental group was treated with high-frequency CES, the control group received sham stimulation, for 30 min a day, during 6 weeks. The rest-activity rhythm was assessed by actigraphy. Level of cortisol was measured by means of salivette tubes. RESULTS: The rest-activity rhythm and the level of salivary cortisol did not react positively to high-frequency CES. In contrast, both groups showed an increase in the level of cortisol after the 6-week treatment period. CONCLUSIONS: High-frequency CES appeared to be ineffective in AD patients.

Aged↗
PubMed2006

Psychological and physical activity training for older persons: who does not attend?

BACKGROUND: Interventions to promote successful aging include psychological and physical activity programs. Identification of determinants of attendance of older persons may be useful to develop strategies to improve attendance. For physical activity programs determinants of attendance have been investigated extensively. For psychological programs hardly any knowledge is available. Determinants of attendance at psychological and physical activity programs have never been investigated simultaneously. OBJECTIVE: To identify demographic, physical and psychological determinants of attendance of older subjects following multifaceted psychological training - aimed at promoting active social participation - and physical activity training and to compare the variation of these determinants between the two training programs. METHOD: 118 subjects aged 65-92 years were randomized over psychological and physical activity training. Determinants of attendance were obtained at pretest with questionnaires and performance-based tests. RESULTS: Mean attendance was 62%. Attendance was not related to type of program. Having chronic diseases facilitated attendance in the psychological training group and limited attendance in the physical activity training group. Low and high levels of Activities of Daily Living performance (ADLs) and walking endurance were related to a high attendance in the psychological training group. A low level of activities of daily living (ADL) and a low walking endurance were related to a low attendance in the physical activity training group. For both training groups, persons living with a partner had higher attendance rates than persons living alone, and persons with a low level of anxiety had higher attendance rates than persons with a moderate or a high level of anxiety. CONCLUSION: Psychological training may be more suitable for frail older persons with chronic diseases, low ADL levels and low walking endurance than physical activity training, and may help to prepare such persons for physical activity.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed2005

Exercise, cognition and Alzheimer's disease: more is not necessarily better.

Regional hypoperfusion, associated with a reduction in cerebral metabolism, is a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and contributes to cognitive decline. Cerebral perfusion and hence cognition can be enhanced by exercise. The present review describes first how the effects of exercise on cerebral perfusion in AD are mediated by nitric oxide (NO) and tissue-type plasminogen activator, the release of which is regulated by NO. A conclusion of clinical relevance is that exercise may not be beneficial for the cognitive functioning of all people with dementia if cardiovascular risk factors are present. The extent to which cardiovascular risk factors play a role in the selection of older people with dementia in clinical studies will be addressed in the second part of the review in which the effects of exercise on cognition are presented. Only eight relevant studies were found in the literature, emphasizing the paucity of studies in this field. Positive effects of exercise on cognition were reported in seven studies, including two that excluded and two that included patients with cardiovascular risk factors. These findings suggest that cardiovascular risk factors do not necessarily undo the beneficial effects of exercise on cognition in cognitively impaired people. Further research is called for, in view of the limitations of the clinical studies reviewed here.

Alzheimer Disease↗
PubMed2005

Pain in Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis: its relation to the medial and lateral pain systems.

Although pain is one of the major clinical symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD) and multiple sclerosis (MS), it is often neglected and therefore undertreated. The question why the perception of pain in stages without cognitive impairment is not affected by the neuropathology has not been addressed so far. Furthermore, changes in the experience of pain as a result of cognitive impairment have not been clinically studied in PD and MS. These issues which are very relevant for pain assessment and treatment, will be addressed by discussing the neuropathology in the medial and lateral pain systems in cognitively intact versus cognitively impaired patients with PD and MS. Since there are no clinical studies that specifically address pain in cognitively impaired PD and MS patients, hypotheses will be generated about the impact of cognitive impairment on pain experience in these patients. These hypotheses should be a challenge for new research in this important but neglected area.

Brain↗
PubMed2005

Pain in Alzheimer's disease: nursing assistants' and patients' evaluations.

AIM: This paper reports on a study examining the level of agreement between the pain perceptions of nursing assistants, older people without dementia and patients with Alzheimer's dementia. It was hypothesized that nursing assistants would overestimate the pain experience of patients with Alzheimer's dementia. BACKGROUND: There is now increasing evidence that, in contrast to other subtypes of dementia, patients with Alzheimer's disease might experience a decrease in pain. It is unfortunate that these latest insights into the complex relationship between subtypes of dementia and pain are not always included in education programmes for nursing assistants. METHOD: Twenty patients with Alzheimer's disease and 17 older people with arthrosis and/or osteoporosis but no dementia and their personal nursing assistants participated in the study. Pain experience was assessed using the Coloured Analogue Scale for the assessment of Pain Intensity and Pain Affect, the Faces Pain Scale, and the Checklist of Non-verbal Pain Indicators. The data were collected in 2002-2003. RESULTS: Before and after walking, the absolute difference in pain evaluation between nursing assistants and older people without dementia was statistically significantly less than the difference in pain evaluation between nursing assistants and patients with Alzheimer's disease on the Coloured Analogue Scale for Pain Intensity (P = 0.007 and P = 0.04, respectively) and on the Coloured Analogue Scale for Pain Affect (P = 0.009 and P = 0.01, respectively). CONCLUSION: Nursing assistants may overestimate the extent of suffering from pain of patients with Alzheimer's disease. They might be very well able to estimate this pain, provided they were educated about new insights into the influence of the various subtypes of dementia on pain.

Aged↗
PubMed2003

Effects of low-frequency cranial electrostimulation on the rest-activity rhythm and salivary cortisol in Alzheimer's disease.

OBJECTIVE: In previous studies, cranial electrostimulation (CES) had positive effects on sleep in depressed patients and in patients with vascular dementia. The present study examined the effects of low-frequency CES on the rest-activity rhythm and cortisol levels of patients with probable Alzheimer's disease (AD). METHOD: It was hypothesised that a decreased level of cortisol would parallel a positive effect of low-frequency CES on nocturnal restlessness. Sixteen AD patients were randomly assigned to an experimental group (n = 8) or a control group (n = 8). The experimental group was treated with CES, whereas the control group received sham stimulation, for 30 minutes a day, during 6 weeks. The rest-activity rhythm was assessed by actigraphy. Cortisol was measured repeatedly in the saliva throughout the day by means of salivette tubes. RESULTS: Low-frequency CES did not improve the rest-activity rhythm in AD patients. Moreover, both groups showed an increase instead of a decrease in the level of cortisol. CONCLUSIONS: These preliminary results suggest that low-frequency CES has no positive effect on the rest-activity rhythm in AD patients. An alternative research design with high-frequency CES in AD is discussed.

Activity Cycles↗