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Early Diagnosis Of Alzheimer’S Disease In The Primary Care Setting, Raymond R. Romano

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

The burden of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) affects not just the individual but also families, providers, and society. Early recognition and diagnosis of AD may reduce cost by reducing interaction with the health care system, earlier initiation of treatment, and prolonging time to long- term care. Primary care providers, the first contact for diagnosis of patients with AD, are not fulfilling the potential of early diagnosis for a variety of reasons. Biomarkers of AD emerge on average 15 to 20 years before clinical diagnosis, yet currently established biomarkers are not easily available in the primary care setting. A growing body of …

Bilingualism/Multilingualism To Protect Against Cognitive Decline In Alzheimer’S Disease And Other Forms Of Dementia: A Systematic Review, Kirsten L. May

Honors Thesis

Given a growing incidence of Alzheimer’s disease and lack of treatments, prevention is a popular topic in both research literature (Angevaren et al., 2008; Orrell & Sahakian, 1995) and in news articles (Iacono et al., 2009). A cognitive reserve is a skill that improves cognitive functioning in executive controls. Bilingualism is believed to be a practice that increases cognitive reserve, which could delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.

The purpose of this project was to analyze the possibility that bilingualism or multilingualism could create a cognitive reserve to delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia-related diseases. This systematic …