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How is mild behavioral impairment related to brain changes associated with Alzheimer’s?
Thiago Junqueira Avelino da Silva, Ph.D.
Faculdade de Medicina - Universidade de São Paulo
São Paulo, Brazil
Background
Alzheimer’s and other dementia may be associated with psychiatric symptoms such as aggression, hallucinations, and sleep difficulties. Studies have shown that these symptoms can occur early during dementia development before the initial signs of cognitive impairment and are often misdiagnosed as delirium or other psychiatric disorders. This can be exacerbated by a lack of formal training, screening assessments, and other barriers to properly diagnose dementia. Dr. Thiago Junqueira Avelino da Silva and colleagues believe a new screening classification system may help diagnose dementia in hospitalized older adults with neuropsychiatric symptoms.
Research Plan
Dr. Junqueira Avelino da Silva and the team recruit 150 hospitalized older adults. They will first collect clinical and demographic information on each participant. Next, the researchers will perform cognitive assessments for dementia screening and complete psychiatric assessments to screen for delirium and other psychiatric disorders. The team will then use the collected datasets to identify which screening tools most accurately detect dementia among individuals who also exhibit psychiatric symptoms.
Impact
If successful, this project may develop a new set of tools to improve diagnosis of dementia in hospitalized settings.
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