![]() ![]() Individuals seen at the UCSF Memory and Aging Center (MAC) between August 2005 and September 2017 were considered for inclusion in this retrospective study. ![]() This prediction was based upon previous literature indicating that bilingualism may confer a delay in symptom onset in individuals with AD 5– 7, 21– 23. We predicted that bilingual speakers in each clinical variant would show a delay in age of symptom onset relative to monolingual speakers, and that effects would persist when accounting for other variables known to influence cognitive reserve. The aim of this retrospective study was to examine the effect of bilingualism on age of symptom onset in a large, historical cohort of monolingual and bilingual patients presenting with lvPPA or amnestic AD based on established clinical and imaging criteria 13, 15. Although these two variants often share AD pathology and biomarkers 16– 20, they differ in the underlying neural networks (episodic memory versus phonological) 13– 15 that are implicated. ![]() Like FTD, AD comprises distinct clinical variants, including amnestic AD, characterized by episodic memory deficits and bilateral hippocampal and mesial temporal lobe atrophy 13, and logopenic variant primary progressive aphasia (lvPPA) 14, characterized by impaired phonological processing and left temporo-parietal degeneration 15. In frontotemporal dementia (FTD), results suggest that the effects of bilingualism may differ by clinical variant 12. Bilingualism may contribute to cognitive reserve and serve as a protective factor against the onset of Alzheimer’s dementia (AD) 5– 7, but results have been mixed 8– 11. A number of activities and experiences that regularly engage cognition in a sustained and taxing fashion have been found to be contributors to cognitive reserve 3, 4. ![]() It has been postulated that individuals with high cognitive reserve can sustain a greater degree of pathological burden before displaying clinical symptoms 1, 2. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |