The relevance of Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) use on demential interdiction exams in judicial proceedings / A importância do Miniexame do Estado Mental (MEEM) nos exames de interdição demencial em processos judiciais

ABSTRACT Objective To highlight the important role of Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) use on judicial interdiction assessments. Methods On this paper, we present a case in which we have used the Mini mental state examination (MMSE) for screening an initial dementia diagnosis, suggested by clinical and mental state examination. Results The relevance of using a screening test for demencial states on judicial interdictions assessments, as MMSE, in order to provide more objective findings to the court, has been demonstrated. Also, we review the current evidence for using MMSE on this setting and the importance of its use on demential interdiction exams in judicial proceedings. Conclusions Judicial evidence is a critical element in decision making. Judicial interdiction assessment is usually performed by expert psychiatrists. As psychiatric diagnosis relies on clinical history and mental state examination, it is composed of subjective elements, varying also according to the examiner's personal technical orientation and impressions. Neuroimaging exams are helpful on a minority of cases, in which specific findings are present. In such cases, clinical screening questionnaires play an important role - providing objective elements of neuropsychic functioning of an individual, thus limiting the subjective realm of the expert forensic report.

RESUMO Objetivo Destacar a importância do uso do Miniexame do Estado Mental (MEEM) nas perícias de interdição judicial por demência. Métodos Neste artigo, apresentamos um caso no qual aplicamos o MEEM para rastreamento de demência inicial, cujo diagnóstico foi sugerido por meio de história clínica e exame do estado mental. Resultados Foi demonstrada a importância de usar um teste de rastreamento para demência, no caso o MEEM, nas perícias de interdição por esse diagnóstico, a fim de fornecer elementos mais objetivos ao juízo. Ainda, fornecemos uma revisão das evidências atuais para a aplicação do MEEM nesse contexto, bem como a importância do uso dele nas perícias de interdição por demência. Conclusões A prova pericial é um elemento crítico para a tomada de decisão judicial. A perícia de interdição judicial por demência é usualmente realizada por especialistas em psiquiatria. Como o diagnóstico psiquiátrico baseia-se na história clínica e no exame do estado mental, é composto de elementos subjetivos, variando de acordo com a técnica e impressão individual do examinador. Exames de neuroimagem são úteis em uma minoria de casos, nos quais achados específicos estão presentes. Assim, questionários clínicos para rastreamento de doenças mostram-se importantes, pois fornecem elementos objetivos do funcionamento neuropsíquico do indivíduo, diminuindo o papel da subjetividade no laudo pericial.

Prevalence of Risk Factors for Dementia in Elderly Population in a Tribal Area of Central India – A Community-Based Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Approximately 50 million people worldwide are suffering from dementia, it is the 7th leading cause of death among the elderly. In India, more than 4 million people have some form of dementia 3. According to the World Health Organization, India’s population of those aged over 65, which was 40 million in 1997, is set to increase to 108 million by 2025 and 240 million by 2050.Aim and Objective: The aim of the study was to study the prevalence of risk factors of dementia among the elderly population residing in a tribal area of Central India.Materials and Methods: A door to door cross-sectional study was conducted in the rural/tribal area with a pre-designed case record form that investigated the prevalence of risk factors along with measurement of anthropometry and mini-mental state examination was used to categorize subjects according to their mental status.Results: This study reports high prevalence of risk factors such as hypertension (31.8%), tobacco chewing (25.43%), high waist-hip ratio (24.57%), smoking habit (15.03%), head injury (11%), overweight (9.54%), alcohol intake (9.25%), 71–80 age (9.25%), diabetics (9%), stroke (4.62%), family history of dementia (2.6%), obesity (2.31%), coronary artery disease (CAD) (1.73%), and depression (1.45%).Conclusions: This study highlights a significant burden of undiagnosed cases of hypertension, diabetes, depression, and CAD all of which are important risk factors for dementia in the community, most of them are poorly controlled. There is a need to identify the large pool of undiagnosed cases of the mentioned morbidities by screening and offer early treatment to avoid complications.

acupuncture method for mild cognitive impairment: a randomized controlled trial / 中国针灸

OBJECTIVE@#To observe the clinical efficacy of acupuncture method for mild cognitive impairment in the elderly.@*METHODS@#A total of 96 patients were randomly divided into an observation group, a control group and a waiting group, 32 cases in each group. The patients in the observation group were treated with acupuncture at Baihui (GV 20), Shenting (GV 24), Yintang (GV 29) and Sishencong (EX-HN 1), etc, while the patients in the control group were treated with nonpenetrating sham acupuncture at the same acupoints as the observation group. The treatment was given once every other day, three times a week for 8 weeks. The patients in the waiting group only received health guidance for 8 weeks. Montreal cognitive assessment scale (MoCA) and mini-mental state examination (MMSE) were used before and after 8-week treatment in all three groups. The observation group and the control group were followed up for 2 months and evaluated with MoCA and MMSE.@*RESULTS@#The MoCA scores in the observation group after treatment and during follow-up were higher than before treatment (0.05). The MoCA scores in the control group after treatment and during follow-up were higher than before treatment (0.05). The difference before and after treatment in the observation group was higher than the control group and waiting group (0.05). The MMSE scores after treatment and during follow-up were higher than before treatment in the control group (0.05). The difference before and after treatment the observation group and control group was not significant (>0.05), and those in the two groups were higher than the waiting group (<0.01). The difference between follow-up and before treatment in the observation group was higher than the control group (<0.01), and the difference between follow-up and after treatment was lower than the control group (<0.01).@*CONCLUSION@# acupuncture method could improve cognitive impairment in elderly patients with mild cognitive impairment.

Clinical observation of Sweet Dream Oral Liquid curing deficiency of spleen and kidney style MCI / 中草药

Objective To observe the clinical effect of Sweet Dream Oral Liquid on the mild cognitive impairment (MCI) patients of spleen and kidney deficiency. Methods A total of 102 patients with MCI were randomly divided into two groups, the treatment group with 53 patients and the control group with 49 patients. Both groups were given Citicoline Sodium Tablets for 8 weeks. The treatment group was given Sweet Dream Oral Liquid extra. Mini-mental state examination (MMSE), Transcranial Doppler (TCD) and Traditional Chinese Medicine Syndrome Score (TCMSS) were performed before and after the treatment. Compliance and adverse reactions for both groups were observed during the treatment. Results MMSE improved after the treatment for both groups; Especially, MMSE of the treatment group improved more obviously (P < 0.01); The difference between the two groups was significant (P < 0.05); For treatment group, the average blood flow velocity (Vm) of the cerebral arteries was increased significantly after the treatment(P < 0.01); Compared with the control group, the difference was obvious (P < 0.05); The total effective rate of the treatment group on spleen and kidney deficiency syndrome was 96.23%. It was 18.37% for the control group. Difference between the two groups was significant (P < 0.01). After the treatment, TCMSS of the treatment group was significantly reduced (P < 0.01); It was a significant difference comparing with the control group (P < 0.01). During the treatment, both groups had a good compliance, no adverse reactions and no shedding patients. Conclusion Sweet Dream Oral Liquid can improve the cognitive function and living quality of the patients with deficiency of spleen and kidney style MCI by reducing TCMSS, improving cerebral hemodynamics and rising MMSE score.

Application of MoCA and MMSE in screening for cognitive impairment in acute ischemic stroke / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

Objective To compare the applicability of the Beijing Version of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) in screening for cognitive impairment in patients with acute ischemic stroke for 2-3 weeks.Methods MoCA and MMSE were conducted in 201 patients with acute ischemic stroke within 2 to 3 weeks after the onset of stroke.With MoCA＜23 and MMSE ＜26 as the cut off value,we assessed the clinic effect of the MoCA and MMSE and explored the correlation between two instruments.Results The average scores of MoCA and MMSE scale were (20.5±4.3) and (25.4±3.5) points.The prevalence of cognitive impairment evaluated with MoCA and MMSE were 57.2％and 43.3％,respectively.MoCA showed significant correlation with MMSE score (Pearson's correlation coefficient=0.833,P＜0.001),and an agreement with Kappa values of 0.532 (P＜0.01) in screening for cognitive impairment.Conclusions The prevalence of cognitive impairment assessed with MoCA is higher than that of with MMSE when using MoCA＜23 and MMSE＜26 as the cut off values.Both instruments show a good agreement for screening cognitive impairment in acute ischemic stroke within 2 to 3 weeks following the disease onset.

The Correlation between Cognitive Function and Glaucoma

PURPOSE: To compare mini-mental state examination (MMSE) score between glaucoma group and normal control group and to evaluate the correlation between MMSE score and spectral domain-optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) values in both groups. METHODS: This prospective study includes thirty glaucoma patients (eleven primary open angle glaucoma and nineteen normal tension glaucoma) and thirty normal controls. Retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) and Ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer (GC-IPL) thickness were measured with SD-OCT, and the average values of both eyes were used. The cognitive function was evaluated with MMSE by a single examiner. RESULTS: The mean MMSE scores of glaucoma group and normal group were 26.07 ± 2.95, and 27.00 ± 1.68 respectively (p = 0.137). MMSE score of less than 24 only showed in glaucoma group. MMSE score and RNFL thickness showed statistically no signifance in correlation (R² = 0.236; p = 0.070), however, MMSE score and GC-IPL showed statistically significant correlation (R² = 0.256; p = 0.048). CONCLUSIONS: Glaucoma patients tend to show low cognitive function even though the correlation between glaucoma patient and low cognitive function was not statistically significant. Therefore, the aspect of cognitive depression should be concerned, when facing glaucoma patients.

A Comparison of the Performances on the MMSE, HDS-R, and MoCA According to the CDR Sum of Boxes in Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment and Vascular Mild Cognitive Impairment

BACKGROUND: O'Bryant et al. (2008) argued that the CDR Sum of Boxes (CDR-SB) can be used to distinguish MCI from very early dementia in patients with CDR-GS of 0.5. They reported that the optimal CDR-SB cut-off score was 2.5. The present study was conducted to examine whether the subgroups classified with CDR-SB scores showed the corresponding group differences on the cognitive tests. METHODS: The subjects were 45 amnestic multi-domain MCI (amMCI) and 53 vascular MCI (VaMCI) with CDR-GS of 0.5. Each patient group was classified into "mild (0.5-2.0)" and "severe (2.5-4.0)" subgroups based on the CDR-SB. As the result, 4 groups were formed such as mild amMCI (n=23), severe amMCI (n=22), mild VaMCI (n=29), and severe VaMCI (n=24). The subjects were given the MMSE, HDS-R, and MoCA. The MANCOVA was conducted separately for each test with a Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons. RESULTS: Severe groups of both amMCI and VaMCI showed significantly lower performances than two mild groups in MMSE, HDS-R, and MoCA. It was found that "serial 100-7" was a good item to discriminate between the mild and severe groups in both amMCI and VaMCI. Items measuring "orientation" or "naming" showed significant subgroup differences in the amMCI, whereas items related to "memory," "visuospatial construction," or "frontal/executive function" showed significant subgroup differences in the VaMCI. CONCLUSION: These results showed that there were significant differences in cognitive functions between the two subgroups with CDR-GS of 0.5. The results about the items discriminating between subgroups in amMCI and VaMCI were consistent with the previous findings about the progression of cognitive impairments in AD and VaD. Therefore, these results support the use of CDR-SB as a guideline for distinguishing MCI from early dementia.

Study mini mental state examination and computerised tomography of brain to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease

So far, in Viet Nam, there aren't systematic research on the role of psychological and imaging tests for diagnosis of AD. Objectives: To study the role of brain MMSE and CT findings in diagnosis of AD. Methods: 35 patients with AD were diagnosed according to criteria of ICD.10 and DSM.4; Descriptive, prospective and followed up investigation was applied. Results: MMSE could be used for all patients (100%), MMSE scores coresponded with dementia severity. Reduction in scores more than 3 points per year presented in 93.3%. On CT, general atrophy of brain presented in 100% patients, temporal lobe atrophy was seen in 65.7% of patients. The difference of brain atrophy level has been significant at all patients after 2.5 to 3 years follow up. Conclusion: MMSE was considered as appropriate test to measure dementia severity and to define AD. On CT, great speed of brain atrophy after 2.5 to 3 years follow up could confirm diagnosis of AD.

Impact of cerebral vascular diseases on elderly intellectual status: A neuropsychological study / 中国康复理论与实践

@#ObjectiveTo study the impact of stroke on elderly's mental status.Methods71 elderly inpatients aged between 60 to 90 who suffered stroke(31 cases) or not(40 cases) were assessed the mental status as a whole, the evaluation of comprehension of linguistic information,and non-verbal reasoning abilities using Mini Mental State Examination(MMSE), Token Test and Raven Test.The relationships between these cognitive aspects and stroke was also analysed.ResultsThere were 68% of elderly suffering dementia symptoms in stroke group which was much higher than Non-stroke group (15%).The correlation between MMSE and Token is more close than the correlation between MMSE and Raven in stroke group. The correlations among MMSE, Token and Raven were significant different between stroke and Non-stroke groups. There is a positive correlation coefficient between age and Token scores in dementing patients; whereas a closer relationship between age, education level and Raven in Non-stroke group was found. This implied the impacts of stroke on the time-course of mental degeneration.Conclusions stroke can interrupt normal mental structure and speed up the process of degeneration of cognitive functions. Semantic dysfunction might manifestation earlier than non-linguistic functions. Token is more sensitive than Raven in detecting dementia symptoms of stroke type.