Spanish version of the Mattis Dementia Rating Scale-2 for early detection of Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to analyse the clinical utility of the Mattis Dementia Rating Scale (MDRS-2) for early detection of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in a sample of Spanish older adults. METHODS: A total of 125 participants (age = 75.12 ± 6.83, years of education =7.08 ± 3.57) were classified in three diagnostic groups: 45 patients with mild AD, 37 with amnestic MCI-single and multiple domain and 43 cognitively healthy controls (HCs). Reliability, criterion validity and diagnostic accuracy of the MDRS-2 (total and subscales) were analysed. The MDRS-2 scores, adjusted by socio-demographic characteristics, were calculated through hierarchical multiple regression analysis. RESULTS: The global scale had adequate reliability (α = 0.736) and good criterion validity (r = 0.760, p < .001) with the Mini-Mental State Examination. The optimal cut-off point between AD patients and HCs was 124 (sensitivity [Se] = 97% and specificity [Sp] = 95%), whereas 131 (Se = 89%, Sp = 81%) was the optimal cut-off point between MCI and HCs. An optimal cut-off point of 123 had good Se (0.97), but poor Sp (0.56) to differentiate AD and MCI groups. The Memory and Initiation/Perseveration subscales had the highest discriminative capacity between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: The MDRS-2 is a reliable and valid instrument for the assessment of cognitive impairment in Spanish older adults. In particular, optimal capacity emerged for the detection of early AD and MCI. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Deterioro de la memoria no verbal en la demencia tipo Alzheimer: ¿olvido o adquisición? / Non-verbal memory impairment in Alzheimer-type dementia: Forgetting or acquisition?

El estudio pretende comparar el rendimiento de pacientes, diagnosticados de enfermedad de Alzheimer temprana (EA) y depresión mayor unipolar (D), con un grupo de sujetos sanos control (SC) en diferentes tareas de memoria no verbal (MNV), recuerdo de posición y reconocimiento de dibujos abstractos. Todos los participantes completaron un protocolo integral para el diagnóstico de la demencia. Los pacientes con EA (n= 27) y depresión unipolar (n= 19) fueron comparados con el grupo SC (n= 30) en un test estandarizado de aprendizaje visoespacial. Los pacientes con EA rindieron significativamente más bajo en MNV en comparación con el grupo SC y D, pero no hubo diferencias entre EA y D en el recuerdo de posición. Asimismo, el grupo de EA no mostró una tasa de olvido mayor en el recuerdo de posición o reconocimiento de dibujos en comparación con los grupos SC y D. Estos resultados son interpretados en función de los procesos neurocognitivos que explican el deterioro de la MNV en la EA y la depresión (AU)

The research aims to compare patients diagnosed with early Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and unipolar major depression (D) with a healthy control group (HS) on diverse nonverbal memory tasks (NVM), recall of position, and recognition of abstracts designs. All participants completed a global protocol for diagnosis of dementia. The patients with early AD (n= 27) and D (n= 19) were compared with the healthy subject group (n= 30) on a standardised visuospatial learning test. The AD patients scored significantly lower than HS and D on NVM tasks, but there were no significant differences between AD and D on position recall. Furthermore, the AD group did not show faster forgetting rates on position recall or design recognition in comparison to HS and D groups. These results are interpreted in terms of neurocognitive processes that explain NVM impairment in AD and depression (AU)

[Non-verbal memory impairment in Alzheimer-type dementia: Forgetting or acquisition?]. / Deterioro de la memoria no verbal en la demencia tipo Alzheimer: ¿olvido o adquisición?

Non-verbal memory impairment in Alzheimer-type dementia: Forgetting or acquisition?. The research aims to compare patients diagnosed with early Alzheimer's disease (AD) and unipolar major depression (D) with a healthy control group (HS) on diverse nonverbal memory tasks (NVM), recall of position, and recognition of abstracts designs. All participants completed a global protocol for diagnosis of dementia. The patients with early AD (n= 27) and D (n= 19) were compared with the healthy subject group (n= 30) on a standardised visuospatial learning test. The AD patients scored significantly lower than HS and D on NVM tasks, but there were no significant differences between AD and D on position recall. Furthermore, the AD group did not show faster forgetting rates on position recall or design recognition in comparison to HS and D groups. These results are interpreted in terms of neurocognitive processes that explain NVM impairment in AD and depression.

Resiliencia y el modelo Burnout-engagement en cuidadores formales de ancianos / Resilience and the burnout-engagement model in formal caregivers of the elderly

Este artículo investiga en Cuidadores Formales de Ancianos la relación entre Resiliencia y aspectos mentales negativos y positivos del bienestar psicológico (Burnout-Engagement). La muestra estaba formada por 265 cuidadores de diversas residencias geriátricas de las comunidades de Extremadura y de Castilla y León. Los instrumentos utilizados fueron: Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey y Utrecht Work Engagement Scale. Los hallazgos más significativos demuestran que los cuidadores con altas puntuaciones en Resiliencia, frente a los de bajas puntuaciones, obtuvieron mayores niveles de eficacia y compromiso laboral (Engagement), además exteriorizaron menor agotamiento emocional y cinismo. No se puede concluir que los cuidadores más resilientes no llegan a quemarse (Burnout), sino que logran mayores habilidades y competencias de compromiso laboral (vigor, dedicación y absorción), y en la medida que refuerzan estos atributos personales, mitigan la vulnerabilidad al Burnout

This paper investigates the relationship between resilience and positive/negative mental aspects of psychological well-being in formal caregivers for the elderly. The sample consisted of 265 caregivers who work in different residential homes in Extremadura and Castilla y León (Spain). The instruments used included the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale. The most significant findings show that caregivers with higher levels of resilience also have higher levels of professional efficacy and job engagement (vigor, dedication and absorption) and appear to be less emotionally exhausted or cynical than caregivers with lower levels of resilience. It cannot be concluded that more resilient caregivers will not get burned out, but they develop better engagement skills. As they strengthen these personal attributes, they become less vulnerable to burnout

[Resilience and the burnout-engagement model in formal caregivers of the elderly]. / Resiliencia y el modelo burnout-engagement en cuidadores formales de ancianos.

This paper investigates the relationship between resilience and positive/negative mental aspects of psychological well-being in formal caregivers for the elderly. The sample consisted of 265 caregivers who work in different residential homes in Extremadura and Castilla y León (Spain). The instruments used included the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale , the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale. The most significant findings show that caregivers with higher levels of resilience also have higher levels of professional efficacy and job engagement (vigor, dedication and absorption) and appear to be less emotionally exhausted or cynical than caregivers with lower levels of resilience. It cannot be concluded that more resilient caregivers will not get burned out, but they develop better engagement skills. As they strengthen these personal attributes, they become less vulnerable to burnout.