title: Similar neurocognitive performance of adults with and without a history of parental Alzheimer's disease: a pilot study.
abstract: The first reported 20-year prospective follow-up of middle-aged children of Alzheimer patients failed to find statistically significant neurocognitive decline. Because that report did not include a comparison group, the current study compared the 20-year follow-up scores with scores obtained on the same 8 measures by an age-comparable sample of healthy adults without a family history of Alzheimer's disease. Both were convenience samples (n = 24). Statistical analyses (correcting for age) yielded no significant group differences in neurocognitive scores but did show a significantly higher mean score for the comparison group on the Mini-Mental State Examination (29.5 vs 28.8, P = .003, controlling for age). Even though this finding suggests that adult children of a parent with Alzheimer's disease performed well on a limited neurocognitive battery and on the Mini-Mental State Examination, the findings are preliminary and require confirmation on large representative samples with appropriate controls and long-term follow-up.
authors.affiliation: University of California, Los Angeles, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences & Neuropsychiatric Institute and Hospital, Los Angeles, CA, USA. lercoli@mednet.ucla.edu
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ercoli
authors.forename: Prabha
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Siddarth
authors.forename: Tracy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Harrison
authors.forename: Elvira
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Jimenez
authors.forename: Lissy F
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Jarvik
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000235:genetics*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008609:Mental Status Schedule; D008875:Middle Aged; D010375:Pedigree; D012307:Risk Factors