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R Sulkava

Publications and source records attributed to R Sulkava.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

The demented elderly in the city of Helsinki: functional capacity and placement.

OBJECTIVE: To study prevalence, functional capacity, and placement of demented patients in a randomly selected population. DESIGN: Survey. SETTING: Random sample from population registry of the City of Helsinki. PARTICIPANTS: Nine hundred subjects aged 75 years, 80 years and 85-years, 300 in each group. MEASUREMENTS: For each participant, we completed a questionnaire for the subject and an informant and a functional-capacity scale and Mini-Mental Status Examination by a community nurse, including the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) scale. Subjects with CDR of 0.5 or greater were examined by a neurologist who diagnosed the presence or absence of dementia according to DSM-III-R. RESULTS: Ninety-three subjects of the 656 whose CDR was known were found to have dementia. Three-quarters of them lived in institutions, and they comprised 33%, 60%, and 68% of all institutionalized patients in the above-mentioned age groups, respectively. Community residents suffering from dementia often lived with a caring relative and needed many services. A considerable part of the need was not met. CONCLUSIONS: In the older age groups, the need for institutional placement due to dementia is great. According to our study, it seems unlikely that these patients could be cared for in any other way, at least not on a large scale. The need for services for home-dwelling patients is also great, and the relatives carry a heavy load in taking care of demented patients.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1992

Correction for age, education and other demographic variables in the use of the Mini Mental State Examination in Finland.

The population-based Helsinki Aging Study was comprised of three age groups: 75-, 80- and 85-year-olds. A random sample of 511 subjects completed the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and were assessed on the Clinical Dementia Rating-scale (CDR). According to the CDR results 446 subjects were screened as non-demented. Of these subjects 30% scored below or at 24 MMSE points. Age, education and social group had a significant effect on the MMSE scores, even after excluding the demented cases. Together they explained 10% of the total variance within the MMSE. Social group correlated with education. The MMSE scores were corrected according to age and education. Adjustment of the originally used cutpoint of 24 resulted in cutpoints of 25 and 26 among the 75-year-olds, in the low and high education groups respectively; 23 and 26 in the 80-year-olds; 22 and 23 in the 85-year-olds.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1991

Diagnosis of multi-infarct dementia.

Multi-infarct dementia (MID) is commonly considered a dementia syndrome evolving in connection with multiple ischemic brain lesions, without other changes known to cause dementia. The ischemic brain lesions result from various vascular mechanisms, and different brain mechanisms are involved in the genesis of MID. Typical features for MID are abrupt onset of cognitive symptoms, stepwise deterioration of mental functioning, and focal neurologic symptoms or signs, but in 20% of cases the onset is insidious and the course is even. The main steps in diagnosis of MID include diagnosis of dementia, diagnosis of specific causes of dementia and secondary factors potentially aggravating cognitive decline, and demonstration of ischemic brain changes assumed to be responsible for the evolution of dementia. Methods used for clinical diagnosis of MID include clinical history and examination, brain imaging, ischemic scores, neurophysiologic investigations, and a variety of laboratory investigations designed to detect concomitant illness. According to strict clinical criteria for MID, the accuracy of the antemortem diagnosis as verified postmortem in one series was approximately 90%.

Dementia, Multi-Infarct↗
PubMed1991

99Tcm-HMPAO SPECT in suspected dementia.

To evaluate the usefulness of 99Tcm-hexamethylpropyleneamine oxime (HMPAO) single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) in suspected dementia we studied 160 consecutively imaged elderly patients from our hospital's memory disorder clinic. The diagnosis was based on clinical data, laboratory tests, neuropsychological examination, computed tomography (CT) and EEG. The patients were divided into six diagnostic categories: Alzheimer's disease (AD), multi-infarct dementia (MID), frontal lobe-type dementia (FTD), vascular encephalopathy not fulfilling the criteria of dementia, specific organic conditions, and psychiatric disorders. SPECT images were assessed without knowing the clinical diagnosis, and divided into AD pattern, FTD pattern, MID pattern, abnormal but unclassifiable, and normal. Twenty-three of 36 patients with clinical AD, 25/33 patients with clinical MID, and 2/5 patients with clinical TFD had compatible SPECT patterns. SPECT distinguished AD from MID in the majority (80%) of cases. In patients with depression or anxiety SPECT was abnormal in 16/21 cases, suggesting that SPECT may give early clues to the presence of an underlying organic disease in such elderly patients. Thus, SPECT with 99Tcm-HMPAO seems to be useful in the diagnosis of suspected dementia.

Aged↗
PubMed1991

Platelet membrane fluidity in Alzheimer's disease and multi-infarct dementia: a spin label study.

The membrane fluidity of platelets isolated from 15 patients with probable Alzheimer's disease (AD), 11 patients with probable multi-infarct dementia (MID), and 7 neurologically healthy controls was studied by electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy employing spin label techniques. Spin label I(12,3) probed the shallow site (hydrophilic region) and spin label I(5, 10) the deeper site (hydrophobic region) of the platelet membrane. With both probes, a significant increase in membrane fluidity was observed in patients with AD and MID, as compared to age-matched controls. However, there were no significant differences in fluidity between AD and MID patients. Our results suggest an increased platelet membrane fluidity in dementias, but the change seems not to be specific to AD.

Aged↗
PubMed1990

Pattern of language impairment is different in Alzheimer's disease and multi-infarct dementia.

Language impairment was assessed in 33 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), in 52 patients with multi-infarct dementia (MID), and in 86 elderly community residents. The investigation included the D-Test Battery based on the Luria's Neuropsychological Investigation for all subjects. An extended battery of Luria's language items was used for 30 demented patients (11 AD and 19 MID patients) and 86 controls. The changes in language functions in normal subjects could be clearly differentiated from those seen in patients with mild dementia. The patients with different degrees of dementia differed also significantly from each other in regard to language impairment. Moreover, patients with AD and MID appeared to have different patterns of language impairment although the severity of dementia and the levels of orientation, mnestic, and conceptual functions were equal. AD was associated especially with a defect in understanding of grammatical structures and MID with disorders in recognition of words, naming, and repetition. The differential diagnostic capacity of 23 selected language items proved to be 97% between AD, MID, and control subjects. The results indicate that the examination of language functions is valuable in the differential diagnosis of dementia.

Aged↗
PubMed1989

White matter low attenuation on CT in Alzheimer's disease.

White matter low attenuation (WMLA) was seen on CT in 19.7% of 61 patients with probable Alzheimer's disease. Presence of WMLA was associated with higher age, more severe degree of dementia, and increased CSF/serum albumin ratio, but not with cardiovascular disorders. WMLA on CT might be related to minor vascular events, or Alzheimer patients with WMLA could even constitute their own subtype.

Aged↗
PubMed1988

Oligoclonal immunoglobulin bands in cerebrospinal fluid of patients with Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia.

We examined serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of 16 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), 28 patients with vascular dementia (VD), their age-matched controls and multiple sclerosis (MS) patients in order to evaluate the humoral immune response within the central nervous system both quantitatively and qualitatively. Intra-blood-brain barrier (BBB) protein synthesis was calculated by CSF IgG index. The presence of oligoclonal banding (OCB) was investigated with agarose isoelectric focusing (IEF) followed by immunoblotting with antihuman IgG. No patient with AD and only 4 patients with VD had slightly elevated IgG indexes, and no statistically significant differences in the indexes were found between the two groups. No bands were found in the CSF of AD patients but 3 VD patients had OCB in both serum and CSF. One VD patient had bands in serum but no bands in CSF. No kappa or lambda free light chains were found in those demented patients with demonstrable bands in the CSF and serum. No OCB were found in control sera and CSF. For comparison, the majority of patients with MS had OCB in CSF. Thus, no consistent increase of intrathecal protein synthesis was found in patients with AD and VD. Methodological differences explain at least part of the conflicting results published earlier.

Aged↗
PubMed1988

EEG in the differential diagnosis between Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia.

Demented patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) (n = 67), multi-infarct dementia (MID) (n = 77) and probable vascular dementia (PVD) (n = 45) were studied with electroencephalography (EEG). All patients underwent a routine EEG examination and quantitative EEG was recorded from 14 patients with AD, 20 with MID, and 12 with PVD. The patient groups did not differ in regard to sex, age, education, or degree of dementia. Diffuse abnormality of EEG increased in AD, while driving response to photic stimulation and the mean frequency of background activity decreased in all groups with increasing degree of dementia. In quantitative EEG, the percentage of alpha power decreased and those of theta and delta power increased relative to the degree of dementia. Focal abnormalities, and irritative (spikes and/or sharp waves) and slow wave paroxysms were more common in MID than in AD. Patients with different types of dementia did not differ significantly in regard to diffuse abnormality, occurrence of driving response, mean background frequency, or parameters of quantitative EEG. The mean frequency of background activity and the degree of diffuse abnormality correlated with central and cortical atrophy, white matter low attenuation seen on computed tomography, and with neuropsychological findings.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Cerebrospinal fluid neuron-specific enolase is decreased in multi-infarct dementia, but unchanged in Alzheimer's disease.

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of neuron-specific enolase (NSE) were measured in 22 patients with probable Alzheimer's disease and in 35 patients with multi-infarct dementia, and in 15 controls. CSF NSE in patients with Alzheimer's disease did not differ from those in controls. In patients with multi-infarct dementia without recent vascular events CSF NSE was lower than in controls or in Alzheimer patients. This finding is in accord with the prevailing opinion that vascular dementia is caused by multiple infarcts and not by continuous neuronal ischaemia.

Aged↗
PubMed1988

Is determination of plasma lipids useful in the differentiation of multi-infarct dementia from Alzheimer's disease?

Plasma triglycerides, total cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol were studied in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD, n = 57, mean age 70 years) and multi-infarct dementia (MID, n = 69, mean age 73 years) when the patients were admitted for assessment. Both total cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol but not triglycerides were lower in MID than in AD even though there was a considerable overlap. Especially in younger patients and in patients living at home the difference was not statistically significant. Further, the plasma lipid values in neuropathologically confirmed cases with AD (n = 5) and MID (n = 16) were similar at admission. Low total cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol were related to cardio- and cerebrovascular disorders, living in institutions, and negatively correlated to age and severity of dementia. Our results suggest that determination of total cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol is of minor value in the differential diagnosis between AD and MID and that associated diseases, such as coronary heart disease, cardiac failure and arterial hypertension, are more important in this respect.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Serum lipids and fatty acids in ischemic strokes.

Lipid analysis of different constituents in the blood of patients with stroke revealed that an increased level of total serum cholesterol was infrequently (that of triglycerides more frequently) associated with stroke in middle-aged men, whereas the high-density lipoprotein cholesterol content was low in all but young patients with stroke. High contents of cholestanol and low contents of n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids predict the development of stroke in middle-aged men and are found in both middle-aged men with stroke and elderly patients with multi-infarct dementia. Young patients with unexpected stroke had normal serum sterol, triglyceride, and fatty acid contents but markedly reduced arachidonic acid levels in the platelets, a change that was normalized by treatment with aspirin. The results emphasize that the etiopathogenesis of ischemic brain damage may vary markedly from one age group to another.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Fatty acids of plasma lipids, red cells and platelets in Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia.

Fatty acids of plasma lipids, red cells and platelets were analyzed from 38 demented patients (age 53-88 years), comprising 11 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), 19 with multi-infarct dementia (MID) and 8 with probable vascular dementia (PVD). The mean age, body mass index, duration of dementia and content of triglycerides, total cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol in plasma were similar in AD and MID. The patients with PVD were older. As compared to AD, in MID and PVD the linoleic acid (LA) and other n-6 and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) were significantly lower in red cells and tended to be lower also in serum triglycerides, cholesterol esters (CHE) and phospholipids (PL), and platelets. The LA content of red cells was significantly correlated with that of serum CHE and PL, and n-6 PUFA (including arachidonic acid) of red cells. The low LA content of red cells was associated with old age, coronary heart disease and heart failure, but not with the severity of dementia.

Aged↗
PubMed1987

Snoring and dementia.

The frequency of snoring was studied in 46 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), 37 with multiinfarct dementia (MID), and in a random sample of 124 elderly community residents without known diseases affecting higher cortical functions. The demented patients were reported to snore twice as frequently as the control subjects (P less than 0.05). No difference in the frequency of snoring was present between the patients with AD and MID. In contrast to younger populations, snoring was not significantly associated with cardiovascular morbidity in this elderly population.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Sleep apnea in multiinfarct dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

Sleep-related hypopneas and apneas were studied in 19 patients with multiinfarct dementia (MID), in 21 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), and in 26 healthy control subjects using the Static Charge-Sensitive Bed (SCSB) method. Demented patients had more apneas or hypopneas and more disturbed sleep than the control subjects. Over 10 apneas/hypopneas per hour of sleep were detected in 47.5% of the demented patients and in 19.2% of the control subjects (p less than 0.05). Restlessness comprised 46.7% of the time in bed in patients with AD and 49.6% in those with MID, but only 102.% in the control subjects (p less than 0.001, controls versus demented). The total duration of apneas and hypopneas calculated from the total sleeping time was greater than 10% in 60.0% of the demented patients and in 15.4% of the control subjects (p less than 0.001). Patients with MID tended to have more apneas/hypopneas than those with AD, and apneas/hypopneas tended to increase in direct proportion to the severity of dementia. Age had no effect on the proportion of apneas and hypopneas among demented patients or control subjects, but male controls had more apneas and hypopneas than did female controls.

Aged↗