Alzheimer disease with cerebrovascular disease and vascular dementia: clinical features and course compared with Alzheimer disease
- 1 February 2009
- journal article
- research article
- Published by BMJ in Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry
- Vol. 80 (2) , 133-139
- https://doi.org/10.1136/jnnp.2007.137851
Abstract
Objective: Vascular dementia (VaD) and Alzheimer disease with cerebrovascular disease (AD+CVD) are the leading causes of dementia after Alzheimer disease alone (AD). Little is known about the progression of either VaD or AD+CVD. The aim of this study was to compare demographic features, cognitive decline and survival of patients with VaD, AD+CVD and AD alone attending a memory clinic. Methods: This study included 970 patients who were followed at the Lille-Bailleul memory clinic, France. Cognitive functions were measured with the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Dementia Rating Scale (DRS). Survival rate was analysed with a left-truncated Cox model. Analyses were adjusted for age, sex, education, hypertension, diabetes and baseline MMSE and DRS. Results: Of 970 patients, 141 had VaD, 663 AD alone and 166 AD+CVD. The latter were significantly older than AD or VaD patients at onset (71 (SD 7) vs 69 (9) and 68 (9) years, p = 0.01) and at first visit (75 (6) vs 73 (8) and 72 (8) years, p = 0.0002). Baseline MMSE and DRS evaluations were highest for VaD compared with AD alone or AD+CVD patients (pConclusion: This clinical cohort study shows that patients with VaD, AD+CVD and AD present different characteristics at baseline and during follow-up, and underlines the need to distinguish between them.Keywords
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