Neuropsychological Differentiation between Alzheimer's Disease and Vascular Dementia

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Neuropsychological Differentiation between Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia has been controversial. The aim of this study was to detect neuropsychological differences between Alzheimer's disease (AD) and vascular dementia (VD). METHODS: Twenty one patients who met the criteria for probable AD according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and the Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association (NINCDS-ADRDA) and 22 patients who met criteria for probable VD according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and the Association Internationale pour la Recherche et l'Enseignement en Neurosciences (NINDS-AIREN), were included in this study. These two dementia groups were matched for age, sex, education, Mini-Mental State Examination score, and severities of dementia. All patients underwent the Seoul Neuropsychological Screening Battery (SNSB). RESULTS: Patients with VD showed greater deficits in verbal fluency (P<.05) than AD patients. However, AD patients, compared with VD patients, showed greater deficits in verbal memory functions including the 3 words recall task. Otherwise, no significant between-group differences were found in task results. CONCLUSIONS: Neuropsychologically, patients with VD differ from patients with AD only in a few cognitive domains. (J Korean Neurol Assoc 19(2):143~148, 2001)