title: The dysexecutive syndrome of Alzheimer's disease: the GREFEX study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Dysexecutive disorders are common in early-stage Alzheimer's disease (AD) but have yet to be characterized in detail.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The objectives of the present study based on validated diagnostic criteria were to determine the frequency and characterize the profile of behavioral and cognitive dysexecutive disorders in AD.
  
  
  METHODS
  102 patients with AD (mild: n = 92; moderate: n = 10; mean MMSE score: 23.2) were examined with the GREFEX battery. Neuropsychological data were interpreted within a validated framework based on the performance levels of 780 control participants from the GREFEX study.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Dysexecutive syndrome was observed in 87.5% (95%CI: 79-96) of the AD patients (p = 0.0001). The dysexecutive disorder profile was characterized by prominent impairments of planning, inhibition flexibility and generation in the cognitive domain (p = 0.0001 as compared to controls for all) and global hypoactivity in the behavioral domain (p = 0.0001 as compared to controls).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Dysexecutive syndrome is observed in over 80% of AD patients and has a distinct profile.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Laboratory of Functional Neurosciences, University Hospital of Amiens, France.
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Godefroy
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Rouen University Hospital, France.
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Martinaud
authors.affiliation: Geriatric Center, CMRR, Pitié-Salpêtrière University Hospital (AP-HP and UPMC), Paris, France.
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Verny
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, CMRR, University Hospital of Grenoble, France.
authors.forename: Chrystèle
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mosca
authors.affiliation: Department of Gerontology, Broca Hospital, AP HP, Paris Descartes University, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Hermine
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lenoir
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, General Hospital of Cholet, France.
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bretault
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Laboratory of Functional Neurosciences, University Hospital of Amiens, France.
authors.forename: Martine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Roussel
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D001288:Attention; D056344:Executive Function; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests
keywords: Alzheimer disease; attention; dementia; executive function; mild cognitive impairment