title: Neuropsychological deficits associated with Alzheimer's disease in the very-old: discrepancies in raw vs. standardized scores.
abstract: The profiles of neuropsychological deficits associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) in Young-Old (M age and 70) and Very-Old (M age > 80) patients were compared, along with possible modifying effects of apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype on these profiles. A comprehensive battery of neuropsychological tests was administered to the two AD patient groups (Young-Old: n = 33; Very-Old: n = 48) and their respective age-matched normal control (NC) groups who remained free of dementia on follow-up examinations over a 1 to 10 year period (Young-Old: n = 43; Very-Old: n = 36). AD and NC groups did not differ in education levels or gender distributions. Young-Old AD and Very-Old AD groups were comparable in education, gender, dementia severity, and disease duration. Results showed that both AD groups achieved comparable raw scores on all the neuropsychological measures. However, when scores were standardized on the basis of performance of their respective NC groups (i.e., age-corrected z scores), Very-Old AD patients significantly outperformed Young-Old AD patients on tests of executive functions, visuospatial skills, and delayed memory. Furthermore, the relationship between age and memory and executive function deficits in AD was modified by APOE genotype. These data suggest that the profile of neuropsychological deficits associated with AD in the Very-Old lacks the disproportionate saliency of episodic memory and executive function deficits typical of the Young-Old.
authors.affiliation: VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, California 92161, USA. mbondi@ucsd.edu
authors.forename: Mark W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Bondi
authors.forename: Wes S
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Houston
authors.forename: David P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Salmon
authors.forename: Jody
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Corey-Bloom
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Katzman
authors.forename: Leon J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Thal
authors.forename: Dean C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Delis
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over / Q000523:psychology*; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology*; D001057:Apolipoproteins E / Q000235:genetics; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D004493:Education; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D012016:Reference Values; D012727:Sex Characteristics
chemical_list: D001057:Apolipoproteins E