Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Influence Of Age, Gender, And Thiol Repletion In An In Vivo Model Of Lewy Body Disorders, Daniel Mason

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Lewy body disorders are a family of neurological brain disorders associated with olfactory, motor, and cognitive deficits and are collectively defined as α-synucleinopathies, as they are characterized by hallmark “Lewy bodies” composed of aggregated, fibrillar α-synuclein. It is not certain but often posited that fibrillar α-synuclein seeds the progressive, self-propagating spread of Lewy pathology through neuroanatomical circuitry. Furthermore, the site of disease induction is still debated. In Aim I, we developed a novel protocol for generating reproducible and robust α-synucleinopathy in the limbic temporal lobe following infusions of preformed α-synuclein iv fibrils into the mouse olfactory bulb, which is frequently …

The Manzano Movement Method (M3): Development Of A Dance/Movement Therapy-Influenced Seated Ballroom Dance Program For Adult Day Services For Persons With Dementia, Joshua Reese "Zano" Manzano

Creative Arts Therapies Theses

The purpose of this thesis was to develop a dance/movement therapy (DMT)-influenced seated ballroom dance program for adult day services for persons with dementia. This program development project, named the Manzano Movement Method (M3), aims to support quality of life by encouraging creative expression, reminiscence and socialization. M3 explored how seated ballroom dance can support the quality of life for this population via six different lessons of the following dances: waltz, cha cha, rumba, tango, foxtrot and swing. It also explored how the program can be utilized by care providers that are not dance/movement therapists. With collaborator help—stakeholders at an …

Effects Of A Robotic Cat On Agitation And Quality Of Life In Individuals With Dementia In A Long-Term Care Facility, Jillian Nicole Marsilio, Samantha Virginia Mckittrick, Lisa Renee Umbell, Melissa Ann Garner, Sharon Maiewski, Jeanne Wenos

Physician Assistant Capstones, 2016 to 2019

Study Objective: The purpose of this study is to determine whether introducing a robotic companion cat into a long term care facility may improve affect and, subsequently, increase participation for residents with dementia, and to determine potential benefits for caregiver roles and relationships with individuals with dementia.

Background: The number of people with dementia is growing, and the behavioral and psychological side effects are negatively affecting the quality of life for these people as well as their caregivers. Additional research is needed to help develop and confirm the use of nonpharmacological treatment for dementia with therapeutic robots.

Study Subjects: Research …

Comparison Of The Rowland Universal Dementia Assessment Scale And Mini-Mental State Examination For Dementia Detection, Lauren Fry, Daniel Wolfe

Physician Assistant Capstones, 2016 to 2019

Objective: To assess the ability of the Rowland Universal Dementia Assessment Scale (RUDAS) in comparison to the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) to detect signs of dementia in a diverse elderly population. Design: Systematic literature review. Methods: Searches were done in PubMed, utilizing the terms MMSE, RUDAS, and dementia. Results: Using the keywords mentioned on PubMed,two articles met the inclusion and exclusion criteria: Limpawattana et al and T. R. Nielsen et al. One other article was found by searching under the “Related Articles” section on PubMed: D. Basic et al. Conclusion: The RUDAS performs just as well as …

A Review Of Attention, Memory, Word Finding, And Executive Function To Support Client Rehabilitation In A Group Therapy Setting, Anna Uftring, Michelle Estand, Annie Heineman, Samantha Marusiak

Graduate Independent Studies - Communication Sciences and Disorders

This paper is a review of attention, memory, word finding, and executive function to support individuals with deficits in these areas seen in a rehabilitative speech-language therapy setting. Each chapter contains a definition of the domain and describes the subdomains included. The chapters also include the neurology associated with the domain and common disorders that include deficits in the areas of attention, memory, word finding, and executive functioning. At the end of each chapter, recommended treatment principles are provided to guide therapy with each domain. This paper was created to accompany a therapy manual titled “Providing Connections Through Group Therapy” …

Let's Talk About Dementia: The Effects Of Dementia On Communicative Functions, Mary Kate Hoeve

Honors Projects

A general outline and presentation designed for a seminar setting aimed toward an audience of medical staff in skilled nursing facilities. The purpose of this training is to educate frequent communication partners of those with dementia about effective communication tactics, as well as, a brief definition of dementia. Additionally, a small portion is dedicated to dysphagia. The possible role of a speech-language pathologist in dementia care is also discussed throughout the training.

Cognitive Impairment And The Mediterranean Diet: A Canadian Perspective, Ivan Culum

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Global life expectancy has increased steadily over the past century and is projected to continue increasing. Life expectancy increases are co-occurring with a reduction of fertility rates in many economically developed countries, which is resulting in an aging population, meaning that the proportion of older adults within the total world population will continue to increase. This is of particular concern as there is a rise of chronic neurodegenerative diseases among older adults, such as dementia, where the number of global deaths more than doubled since the turn of the century, making dementia the fifth leading cause of death worldwide. Dementia …

Protein Aggregates And Polyglutamine Tracts In Neurodegenerative Disease, John Mack

Senior Honors Theses

The incidence of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease, Huntington's Disease and other Polyglutamine Diseases is projected to dramatically increase throughout the developed world, and yet the pathology of these diseases remains poorly understood. One pathway that these neurodegenerative diseases share is the accumulation of pathologic proteins which are not only harmful in their soluble form but may go on to form toxic aggregates. In many cases, a consensus has yet to be reached concerning the mechanism for protein aggregation. Therefore, the exploration of the roles of these proteins and their possible mechanisms, along with potential techniques for …

Hyperhomocysteinemia As A Risk Factor For Vascular Contributions To Cognitive Impairment And Dementia, Brittani R. Price, Donna M. Wilcock, Erica M. Weekman

Physiology Faculty Publications

Behind only Alzheimer’s disease, vascular contributions to cognitive impairment and dementia (VCID) is the second most common cause of dementia, affecting roughly 10–40% of dementia patients. While there is no cure for VCID, several risk factors for VCID, such as diabetes, hypertension, and stroke, have been identified. Elevated plasma levels of homocysteine, termed hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy), are a major, yet underrecognized, risk factor for VCID. B vitamin deficiency, which is the most common cause of HHcy, is common in the elderly. With B vitamin supplementation being a relatively safe and inexpensive therapeutic, the treatment of HHcy-induced VCID would seem straightforward; however, …

Effect Of Aspirin On Disability-Free Survival In The Healthy Elderly, John J Mcneil, Robyn L Woods, Mark R Nelson, Christopher M Reid, Brenda Kirpach, Rory Wolfe, Elsdon Storey, Raj C Shah, Jessica E Lockery, Andrew M Tonkin, Anne B Newman, Jeff D Williamson, Karen L Margolis, Michael E Ernst, Walter P Abhayaratna, Nigel Stocks, Sharyn M Fitzgerald, Suzanne G Orchard, Ruth E Trevaks, Lawrence J Beilin, Geoffrey A Donnan, Peter Gibbs, Colin I Johnston, Joanne Ryan, Barbara Radziszewska, Richard Grimm, Anne M Murray

Journal Articles

BACKGROUND: Information on the use of aspirin to increase healthy independent life span in older persons is limited. Whether 5 years of daily low-dose aspirin therapy would extend disability-free life in healthy seniors is unclear.

METHODS: From 2010 through 2014, we enrolled community-dwelling persons in Australia and the United States who were 70 years of age or older (or ≥65 years of age among blacks and Hispanics in the United States) and did not have cardiovascular disease, dementia, or physical disability. Participants were randomly assigned to receive 100 mg per day of enteric-coated aspirin or placebo orally. The primary end …

Ipad Use To Enhance Conversations Between Persons With Dementia And Their Family Caregivers, Kelsey Dynes

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Electronic conversational memory notebooks, a more current application of previous hardcopy versions, consist of personally relevant photographs and accompanying sentences. The notebooks help persons with dementia access memories during conversations. Person-centred communication (PCC) recognizes the individual, accommodating for personal beliefs and intentions. The purpose of the current study was to determine whether persons with dementia and their family caregivers could be educated and trained to use PCC while using an iPad-based electronic conversational memory notebook. Seven persons with mild to moderate dementia and their family caregiver completed the six-week study. Participants were educated and trained to use PCC while conversing …

An Evaluation Of Alzheimer's Disease-Related Pathology In Two Different Models Of Diabetes In Immune-Challenged Mice, Andrew Scott Murtishaw

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and metabolic syndrome are related disorders with wide-ranging and devastating effects that can be observed throughout the body. One important and understudied organ of damage is the brain. Clinical and epidemiological studies have found that T2DM, and more specifically hyperinsulinemia, significantly increases the risk of cognitive decline and increases the likelihood of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other forms of dementia in the elderly. Insulin has slightly different functions in the peripheral body than in the central nervous system and the dysregulation of these functions may contribute to the onset and progression of late-life neurodegenerative …

Ca2+, Astrocyte Activation And Calcineurin/Nfat Signaling In Age-Related Neurodegenerative Diseases, Pradoldej Sompol, Christopher M. Norris

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

Mounting evidence supports a fundamental role for Ca²⁺ dysregulation in astrocyte activation. Though the activated astrocyte phenotype is complex, cell-type targeting approaches have revealed a number of detrimental roles of activated astrocytes involving neuroinflammation, release of synaptotoxic factors and loss of glutamate regulation. Work from our lab and others has suggested that the Ca²⁺/calmodulin dependent protein phosphatase, calcineurin (CN), provides a critical link between Ca²⁺ dysregulation and the activated astrocyte phenotype. A proteolyzed, hyperactivated form of CN appears at high levels in activated astrocytes in both human tissue and rodent tissue around regions of amyloid and …

The Preferences Of Toileting Habits And Routines In Older Adults, Deanna Orr, Courtney Madary, Bethany Robinson

Older Adult

This abstract will be avaiable for download after an embargo period

Metabolic And Vascular Imaging Biomarkers In Down Syndrome Provide Unique Insights Into Brain Aging And Alzheimer Disease Pathogenesis, Elizabeth Head, David K. Powell, Frederick A. Schmitt

Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences Faculty Publications

People with Down syndrome (DS) are at high risk for developing Alzheimer disease (AD). Neuropathology consistent with AD is present by 40 years of age and dementia may develop up to a decade later. In this review, we describe metabolic and vascular neuroimaging studies in DS that suggest these functional changes are a key feature of aging, linked to cognitive decline and AD in this vulnerable cohort. FDG-PET imaging in DS suggests systematic reductions in glucose metabolism in posterior cingulate and parietotemporal cortex. Magentic resonance spectroscopy studies show consistent decreases in neuronal health and increased myoinositol, suggesting inflammation. There are …

Art Therapy And The Person-Centered Approach: A Method For Breaking Down Creative Resistance With Dementia Patients, Kimberly Nelson

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This Capstone explores the use of art therapy with a geriatric population on a psychiatric unit of a small, rural southern hospital. Most of the patients experience symptoms of dementia and are over the age of 55. Many patients presented with resistance to creative pursuits and this researcher utilized the person-centered approach to counter this “creative resistance”. In other words, the patients were met where they were at and accepted unconditionally, through empathy and congruence. The materials that were offered to this population were explored through the creative resistance as well, and a simple number two pencil produced successful results …

The Impact Of Depressive Symptoms On Cognitive Decline And Risk For Dementia, Katheryn Conde

Doctoral Dissertations

As of 2011, the life expectancy for Latinos in the U.S. was 81.6 years, which is higher compared to non-Hispanic Blacks (75.3 years), non-Hispanic Whites (79 years), and Hispanic Black populations (74.9 years; Arias, 2011; Arias, 2015). Latinos have higher age specific prevalence of dementia, which is higher than African Americans and non-Hispanic Whites (Gurland et al.,1999). Latinos experience Alzheimers disease symptoms 6.8 years earlier, with the average onset of 67.6 years which is younger than non-Hispanic Whites (73.1 years; Clark et al., 2005). Furthermore, older Latinos tend to experience depression at a rate of 13% and 35% with the …

Implementation Of An Evidence-Based Intervention To Improve The Wellbeing Of People With Dementia And Their Carers: Study Protocol For 'Care Of People With Dementia In Their Environments (Cope)' In The Australian Context., Lindy Clemson, Kate Laver, Yun-Hee Jeon, Tracy A. Comans, Justin Scanlan, Miia Rahja, Jennifer Culph, Lee-Fay Low, Sally Day, Monica Cations, Maria Crotty, Susan Kurrle, Catherine V. Piersol, Laura N Gitlin

Department of Occupational Therapy Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: There are effective non-pharmacological treatment programs that reduce functional disability and changed behaviours in people with dementia. However, these programs (such as the Care of People with dementia in their Environments (COPE) program) are not widely available. The primary aim of this study is to determine the strategies and processes that enable the COPE program to be implemented into existing dementia care services in Australia.

METHODS: This study uses a mixed methods approach to test an implementation strategy. The COPE intervention (up to ten consultations with an occupational therapist and up to two consultations with a nurse) will be …

Interlace: Designing An Inclusionary Architecture For Alzheimer's Sufferers, Alexander Fashinasi

Bachelor of Architecture Theses - 5th Year

This thesis intends to address the increasing challenges the Alzheimer’s disease poses for our growing American population. The research begins by looking at the brain as a combination of components which make up the individual. Following this, the research compiles information on the Alzheimer’s disease and its symptoms, followed by an analysis of the built environments effects on the condition.

Through analysis of precedent cases and the combined Alzheimer’s research, I chose to propose an experimental community in which those with Alzheimer’s can live a life with greater autonomy while simultaneously slowing the progression of the disease. I place this …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of A Formal Dementia Care Training Program: Abilities Care Experts™, Carmen Joaquin, Michelle D'Amato, April Perez, Louiza Alexandria Villarina, Sophie E. Miller

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

Overview: Abilities Care Experts™ (ACE™) is an educational training program for nursing staff who care for individuals with dementia in skilled nursing facilities (SNF). The objective of the program is to provide the nursing staff with knowledge, and methods to engage residents’ remaining abilities in order to maximize occupational participation using a stage-specific dementia care approach. ACE™ training has yet to be evaluated for effectiveness in a controlled study design.

Objectives: This study sought to evaluate the effectiveness of the ACE™ training.

Design: The study employed a quantitative, cross-sectional, quasi-experimental design.

Participants: A total of 29 CNAs, 13 ACE™ trained …

Dementia Care: Confronting Myths In Clinical Management, Shirley M. Neitch Md, Charles Meadows Md, Eva Patton-Tackett Md, Kevin W. Yingling Md

Kevin W. Yingling

Enormous challenges of this pervasive life-changing condition. Seeking help, often grasping at straws, victims, and their care providers are confronted with misinformation and myths when they search the internet or other sources. When Persons with Dementia (PWD) and their caregivers believe and/or act on false information, proper treatment may be delayed, and ultimately damage can be done. In this paper, we review commonly misunderstood issues encountered in caring for PWD. Our goal is to equip Primary Care Practitioners (PCPs) with accurate information to share with patients and families, to improve the outcomes of PWD to the greatest extent possible.

While …

Dementia Care: Confronting Myths In Clinical Management, Shirley M. Neitch Md, Charles Meadows Md, Eva Patton-Tackett Md, Kevin W. Yingling Md

Shirley M. Neitch

Enormous challenges of this pervasive life-changing condition. Seeking help, often grasping at straws, victims, and their care providers are confronted with misinformation and myths when they search the internet or other sources. When Persons with Dementia (PWD) and their caregivers believe and/or act on false information, proper treatment may be delayed, and ultimately damage can be done. In this paper, we review commonly misunderstood issues encountered in caring for PWD. Our goal is to equip Primary Care Practitioners (PCPs) with accurate information to share with patients and families, to improve the outcomes of PWD to the greatest extent possible.

While …

Individualized Music Improves Social Interaction Of Women, But Not Men, With Dementia, Emily Farrer, Diana Hilycord

Butler Journal of Undergraduate Research

Dementia is tragic both for patients with the disease and for their family members. As this neurodegenerative disorder progresses, cognitive functions deteriorate, agitation and aggression increase, and mood worsens (McDermott, Orrell, et al., 2014; Spiro, 2010; Vasionyté & Madison, 2013). Non-pharmacological approaches, such as active music therapy or passive music listening, can be effective in reducing these symptoms. However, no past studies have examined how music listening affects the social interactions of patients with dementia. As such, this study examined whether nursing home residents with dementia are more engaged and interactive if they listen to individually selected music for 15 …

Synergic Trial (Synchronizing Exercises, Remedies In Gait And Cognition) A Multi-Centre Randomized Controlled Double Blind Trial To Improve Gait And Cognition In Mild Cognitive Impairment, Manuel Montero-Odasso, Quincy J. Almeida, Amer M. Burhan, Richard Camicioli, Julien Doyon, Sarah Fraser, Karen Li, Teresa Liu-Ambrose, Laura Middleton, Susan Muir-Hunter, William Mcilroy, José A. Morais, Frederico Pieruccini-Faria, Kevin Shoemaker, Mark Speechley, Akshya Vasudev, G. Y. Zou, Nicolas Berryman, Maxime Lussier, Leanne Vanderhaeghe, Louis Bherer

Bone and Joint Institute

© 2018 The Author(s). Background: Physical exercise, cognitive training, and vitamin D are low cost interventions that have the potential to enhance cognitive function and mobility in older adults, especially in pre-dementia states such as Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). Aerobic and progressive resistance exercises have benefits to cognitive performance, though evidence is somewhat inconsistent. We postulate that combined aerobic exercise (AE) and progressive resistance training (RT) (combined exercise) will have a better effect on cognition than a balance and toning control (BAT) intervention in older adults with MCI. We also expect that adding cognitive training and vitamin D supplementation to …

Bilateral Carotid Artery Stenosis Causes Unexpected Early Changes In Brain Extracellular Matrix And Blood-Brain Barrier Integrity In Mice, Jill M. Roberts, Michael E. Maniskas, Gregory J. Bix

Neuroscience Faculty Publications

Bilateral carotid artery stenosis (BCAS) is one experimental model of vascular dementia thought to preferentially impact brain white matter. Indeed, few studies report hippocampal and cortical pathology prior to 30 days post-stenosis; though it is unclear whether those studies examined regions outside the white matter. Since changes in the blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability precede more overt brain pathology in various diseases, we hypothesized that changes within the BBB and/or BBB-associated extracellular matrix (ECM) could occur earlier after BCAS in the hippocampus, cortex and striatum and be a precursor of longer term pathology. Here, C57Bl/6 mice underwent BCAS or sham surgeries …

Melodies, Memories, And Meaning: The Use Of Music Therapy For Persons With Dementia, Emily A. Carl

Selected Honors Theses

Dementia is a growing public health issue, as there are 24.3 million people currently diagnosed worldwide. Being that there is no cure, non-pharmacological interventions are important to optimize quality of life for this population. Music therapy is a nonpharmacological intervention with fine usability for dementia patients. This thesis will examine the positive effects of music therapy on the behavioral symptoms, mood management, self-esteem, language skills, cognition, and reminiscence for the individual with dementia based on existing literature and will provide practice recommendations for the clinical use of music therapy and research. A short literature review will focus on the field …

Driving Predictability For Individuals With Neurological Disorders: Occupational Therapy Services, Julie Roy, Caroline Dunn

Thinking Matters Symposium Archive

Driving is an essential occupation of most individuals; from work to school to medical needs and everyday activities, people need to drive, safety and predictably. This evidence-based project utilized published, scholarly and peer-reviewed studies, both quantitative and qualitative, to attempt to answer the question, ‘Do Occupational Therapy services for people with dementia or progressive neurological conditions predict the ability for the individual to remain safely engaged in the occupation of driving?’ Exclusion material was any articles found that were driving programs. This evidence-based projects ended up with a total of 11 articles; four level I articles, three level II articles, …

Assessing Dementia And Mild Cognitive Impairment Within The Home, Kate Sobanik, Melinda Blais

Thinking Matters Symposium Archive

What are useful assessments which can be administered by occupational therapists for homebound adults with dementia or mild cognitive impairment that will influence practice patterns?

Vascular Neurocognitive Disorders And The Vascular Risk Factors, Carmen V. Albu, Vlad Padureanu, Mihail V. Boldeanu, Ana M. Bumbea, Anca S. Enescu, Dana M. Albulescu, Cristian A. Silosi, Aurelia Enescu

Journal of Mind and Medical Sciences

Dementias are clinical neurodegenerative diseases characterized by permanent and progressive transformation of cognitive functions such as memory, learning capacity, attention, thinking, language, passing judgments, calculation or orientation. Dementias represent a relatively frequent pathology, encountered at about 10% of the population of 65-year olds and 20% of the population of 80-year olds.

This review presents the main etiological forms of dementia, which include Alzheimer form of dementia, vascular dementia, dementia associated with alpha-synucleionopathies, and mixed forms. Regarding vascular dementia, the risk factors are similar to those for an ischemic or hemorrhagic cerebrovascular accident: arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, smoking, obesity, age, …

Peripheral Blood Epi-Signature Of Claes-Jensen Syndrome Enables Sensitive And Specific Identification Of Patients And Healthy Carriers With Pathogenic Mutations In Kdm5c, Laila C Schenkel, Erfan Aref-Eshghi, Cindy Skinner, Peter Ainsworth, Hanxin Lin, Guillaume Paré, David I Rodenhiser, Charles Schwartz, Bekim Sadikovic

Paediatrics Publications

Background

Claes-Jensen syndrome is an X-linked inherited intellectual disability caused by mutations in the

Results

Genome-wide DNA methylation analysis of 7 male patients affected with Claes-Jensen syndrome and 56 age- and sex-matched controls identified a specific DNA methylation defect (epi-signature) in the peripheral blood of these patients, including 1769 individual CpGs and 9 genomic regions. Six healthy female carriers showed less pronounced but distinctive changes in the same regions enabling their differentiation from both patients and controls. Highly specific computational model using the most significant methylation changes demonstrated 100% accuracy in differentiating patients, carriers, and controls in the training cohort, …