Access Type
Open Access Thesis
Date of Award
January 2011
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.A.
Department
Psychology
First Advisor
John L. Woodard
Abstract
Several sets of neuropathological criteria have been used for the postmortem diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease (AD), but few studies have examined these criteria in the oldest old. For this study, we examined a sample of centenarians, all of whom received AD assessments using four different neuropathological criteria: Khachaturian, Braak and Braak, CERAD, and NIA-R. Findings indicate that NIA-R criteria differed significantly from CERAD and Khachaturian criteria. In addition, NIA-R and CERAD criteria predicted performance on the MMSE and three FOME indices; Braak and Braak criteria predicted performance on the MMSE and one FOME index. Finally, we examined the relationship between NIA-R severity rating and the presence or absence of neuropsychological impairment. We found that neuropathological severity was not significantly related to impairment for any neuropsychological or functional measure.
Recommended Citation
Richardson, Emily Elizabeth, "Neuropathological diagnosis of alzheimer's disease: the relationship between postmortem assessment, cognitive function and functional status in centenarians" (2011). Wayne State University Theses. 177.
https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/oa_theses/177