Attitudes of Family Members and Caregivers Regarding Alzheimer's Disease Pre-Symptomatic Screening.

Background: In recent years, studies have examined the acceptability and attitudes that influence the intention to early screen for Alzheimer's disease (AD) in the general population, older people, carers, and asymptomatic individuals who report a family history of AD. However, it remains unclear what specific factors promote or reduce the acceptability of pre-symptomatic screening. Objective: The aim of this study is to explore the attitudes of family and non-family members as well as caregivers and non-caregivers toward the pre-symptomatic screening of AD. Methods: A total of 213 participants completed the Perceptions regarding pRE-symptomatic Alzheimer's Disease Screening (PRE-ADS) Questionnaire. Group comparisons using t-test and one-way ANOVA were used to examine differences in attitudes toward pre-symptomatic screening regarding age, family history, knowing someone with AD, influence of depression, and feelings of anxiety. The subscale "Acceptability of Screening" was developed to investigate the willingness to undergo pre-symptomatic screening. Results: Participants with a family history showed greater acceptance of pre-symptomatic screening while both caregivers and non-caregivers had similar attitudes. People with a family history as well as those with personal connections to dementia indicate a greater need for knowledge. The findings suggest that younger adults appear to perceive less harm from testing, whereas those who experience higher levels of anxiety and depression seem to perceive more testing harms. Conclusions: Comparing the attitudes of people with and without a family history as well as caregivers and non-caregivers toward pre-symptomatic screening of AD is critical to understand the differences between these groups and develop comprehensive screening programs.

A Protocol for the Development and Assessment of a Non-Pharmacological Intervention Designed to Improve Cognitive Skills of Adults with Intellectual Disabilities: A Mixed Method Design.

Aim: This paper describes the steps of a protocol for developing and assessing a non-pharmacological intervention, specifically a Serious Game, with the goal of improving eight cognitive skills in adults with Intellectual Disabilities. Serious games that focus on one deficit and/or are restricted to one disorder have been developed to improve the cognitive skills of people with Intellectual Disabilities. There is a lack of a single tool that targets various cognitive skills as well as a broader spectrum of disorders. Purpose: The presentation of the protocol which describes the steps of developing a new Serious Game that will be evaluated in a randomised control trial intervention. Participants and Methods: The protocol is divided into three stages: identification of cognitive deficits and development of the Serious Game, randomised control trial intervention- follow up assessment, and evaluation of the Serious Game by trainers and caregivers. The participants of the intervention are adults with Intellectual Disabilities. Results: The protocol's results are expected to cover the development of a new Serious Game for specific cognitive functions of a mixed group of adults with Intellectual Disabilities, evaluating the structure and content of the game through neuropsychological assessments for participants and specific questionnaires for trainers and caregivers, evaluating the improvement of specific cognitive abilities in participants in the intervention; and measuring the possible improvement of the quality of life and social interaction of people with Intellectual Disabilities. Conclusion: This is the first study to develop a protocol and implement and assess this new Serious Game. This Serious Game is expected to assist people with Intellectual Disabilities in cognitive and social aspects.

Attitudes, Motivations, and Barriers to Pre-Symptomatic Alzheimer's Disease Screening: Development and Validation of the 'Perceptions regarding pRE-symptomatic Alzheimer's Disease Screening' (PRE-ADS) Questionnaire.

BACKGROUND: Pre-symptomatic screening methods for detecting a higher risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD) are gaining popularity; thus, more people are seeking these tests. However, to date, not much is known about the attitudes toward pre-symptomatic AD screening. OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study is to examine the psychometric properties of a tool for assessing the attitudes, barriers, and motivations to pre-symptomatic AD screening. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study performed on 208 Greek participants (189 students and 19 caregivers) provided with an online questionnaire. Psychometric properties were assessed through the examination of its construct validity (principal component analysis) and internal consistency. RESULTS: Exploratory factor analysis revealed the presence of four factors. The first factor is labeled as "Perceived harms of testing" (10 items), the second "Acceptance of testing" (5 items), the third "Perceived benefits of testing" (6 items), and the fourth factor "Need for knowledge" (4 items). The reliability (internal consistency) of each factor separately was acceptable to good (0.70-0.87) while the internal consistency of the overall questionnaire (25 items) was good (Cronbach's α=0.82). CONCLUSION: PRE-ADS is a valid questionnaire that might help in the research of peoples' attitudes related to the pros and cons of pre-symptomatic screening for AD, and the development of effective counseling programs and prevention strategies. However, future research is required in the target population.

Ethical, legal, and social implications in research biobanking: A checklist for navigating complexity.

Biobanks' activity is based not only on securing the technology of collecting and storing human biospecimen, but also on preparing formal documentation that will enable its safe use for scientific research. In that context, the issue of informed consent, the reporting of incidental findings and the use of Transfer Agreements remain a vast challenge. This paper aims to offer first-hand tangible solutions on those issues in the context of collaborative and transnational biobanking research. It presents a four-step checklist aiming to facilitate researchers on their compliance with applicable legal and ethical guidelines, when designing their studies, when recruiting participants, when handling samples and data, and when communicating research results and incidental findings. Although the paper reflects the outcomes of the H2020 B3Africa project and examines the transfers from and to the EU as a case study, it presents a global checklist that can be used beyond the EU.

Attitudes toward pre-symptomatic screening for Alzheimer's dementia in five European countries: a comparison of family members of people with Alzheimer's dementia versus non-family members.

Introduction: Pre-symptomatic screening is getting more attention in healthcare as it detects the risk for developing neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's disease (AD), which is very useful for treatment or prevention. AD screening could play an important role in individuals with at least one affected first-degree relative, but also without family history. As the demand for screening is rising worldwide, it is important to consider possible cross-cultural differences in attitudes toward pre-symptomatic screening in order to tailor healthcare services to the needs of each country. Objective: This study aims to investigate the attitudes of family members and non-family members of people with dementia toward pre-symptomatic screening and explore possible differences in attitudes across five European countries (Belgium, Germany, Greece, Spain, Turkey) using translated versions of the "Perceptions regarding pRE-symptomatic Alzheimer's Disease Screening" questionnaire (PRE-ADS). Methods: The multicultural sample (N = 650) was recruited from samples that were previously used in validation studies of the translated PRE-ADS versions. The subscale "Acceptability of Screening", consisting of five PRE-ADS items to specifically explore willingness to undergo screening, was created. Ιnternal consistency was measured, and structural validity was determined using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). Group comparisons were performed to investigate differences in attitudes toward pre-symptomatic AD screening regarding family history and country of origin using the PRE-ADS and the "Acceptability of Screening" mean scores. Results: Construct validity was acceptable for the PRE-ADS. Both the PRE-ADS (α = 0.76) and its subscale "Acceptability of Screening" (α = 0.90) had good internal consistency. Overall, 56.9% of the total sample expressed a positive intention toward pre-symptomatic AD screening. T-tests showed significantly higher mean scores of participants with an affected family member. An international comparison revealed differences in the "Acceptability of Screening" mean score across the five European countries. No cross-cultural differences were found for the PRE-ADS mean score after adjusting for confounding variables. Conclusion: The PRE-ADS and its subscale are reliable tools for assessing pre-symptomatic AD screening attitudes. Variations in the acceptability of screening seem to be linked to family history and cultural influences. Further research with larger samples is needed to explore underlying relationships.

Memory Clinics and Day Care Centers in Thessaloniki, Northern Greece: 30 Years of Clinical Practice and Experience.

Background: This review describes the diagnostic and interventional procedures conducted in two university memory clinics (established network of G. Papanikolaou Hospital: 1988-2017 and AHEPA hospital: 2017-today) and 2 day care centers (established network of DCCs: 2005-today) in North Greece and their contribution in the scientific field of dementia. The aims of this work are (1) to provide a diagnosis and treatment protocol established in the network of memory clinics and DCCs and (2) to present further research conducted in the aforementioned network during the last 30 years of clinical practice. Methods: The guidelines to set a protocol demand a series of actions as follows: (1) set the diagnosis criteria, neuropsychological assessment, laboratory examinations, and examination of neurophysiological, neuroimaging, cerebrospinal fluid, blood, and genetic markers; and (2) apply non-pharmacological interventions according to the needs and specialized psychosocial interventions of the patient to the caregivers of the patient. Results: In addition to the guidelines followed in memory clinics at the 1st and 3rd Department of Neurology and two DCCs, a database of patients, educational programs, and further participation in international research programs, including clinical trials, make our contribution in the dementia field strong. Conclusion: In the current paper, we provide useful guidelines on how major and minor neurocognitive disorders are being treated in Thessaloniki, Greece, describing successful practices which have been adapted in the last 30 years.