title: Clinical and autonomic profile of patients with Alzheimer's disease and mixed dementia patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To analyze the clinical and autonomical profile of patients with Alzheimer's disease or mixed dementia (MD).
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-four patients with indication for cholinesterase inhibitors use were evaluated through clinical examination, rest electrocardiogram, and spectral analysis of heart rate (HR) variability through digital Holter system recordings.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, 61.1% of patients were female and were, on average, 77.1 years of age, 3.3 years of schooling and scored 16.4 points on the Mini Mental State Examination. The gap between symptom onset and diagnosis was 26.2 months. Almost all patients (90.7%) presented at least one clinical comorbidity, and each patient took, on average, 3.7 drugs to control them. Thirty-one patients had some alteration on the electrocardiogram and nine (16.6%) had orthostatic hypotension (OH). The latter was associated with the diagnosis of MD (p=0.001), with lower values of low (LF) and high (HF) frequency components of the spectral analysis in the supine position (p=0.000 and p=0.017, respectively) and with lower values of LF in the orthostatic position (p=0.006). Diagnosis of MD was associated with lower values of LF in both positions (p=0.003 and p=0.007).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This sample of patients had frequent comorbidities, which resulted in the prescription of multiple drugs. Signs of autonomic dysfunction resulting in OH were found mainly in those with MD.
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Aplicadas à Saúde do Adulto, Departamento de Clínica Médica, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil. Electronic address: filipileles@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Filipi Leles da Costa
authors.initials: FL
authors.lastname: Dias
authors.forename: Rose Mary Ferreira Lisboa da
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.forename: Edgar Nunes de
authors.initials: EN
authors.lastname: Moraes
authors.forename: Paulo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Caramelli
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology; D001341:Autonomic Nervous System / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003704:Dementia / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D007024:Hypotension, Orthostatic / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011581:Psychological Tests; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric
chemical_list: D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors
keywords: Alzheimer's disease; Autonomic nervous system; Doença de Alzheimer; Hipotensão ortostática; Orthostatic hypotension; Sistema nervoso autônomo