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Color perception differentiates Alzheimer's Disease (AD) from Vascular Dementia (VaD) patients

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 March 2017

N. A. Arnaoutoglou Open the ORCID record for N. A. Arnaoutoglou [Opens in a new window] ,
M. Arnaoutoglou ,
P. Nemtsas ,
V. Costa ,
S. J. Baloyannis  and
K. P. Ebmeier
N. A. Arnaoutoglou
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University Of Oxford, Oxford, UK
M. Arnaoutoglou*
Affiliation:
First Department of Neurology, AHEPA Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
P. Nemtsas
Affiliation:
First Department of Neurology, AHEPA Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
V. Costa
Affiliation:
First Department of Neurology, AHEPA Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
S. J. Baloyannis
Affiliation:
First Department of Neurology, AHEPA Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
K. P. Ebmeier
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University Of Oxford, Oxford, UK
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Arnaoutoglou Nikitas, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Warneford Hospital, Warneford Ln, Oxford OX3 7JX, UK. Phone: + 44 (0)1865 223635; Fax: + 44 (0)1865 793101. Email: nikitas.arnaoutoglou@psych.ox.ac.uk.
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Abstract

Background:

Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and Vascular Dementia (VaD) are the most common causes of dementia in older people. Both diseases appear to have similar clinical symptoms, such as deficits in attention and executive function, but specific cognitive domains are affected. Current cohort studies have shown a close relationship between αβ deposits and age-related macular degeneration (Johnson et al., 2002; Ratnayaka et al., 2015). Additionally, a close link between the thinning of the retinal nerve fiber (RNFL) and AD patients has been described, while it has been proposed that AD patients suffer from a non-specific type of color blindness (Pache et al., 2003).

Methods:

Our study included 103 individuals divided into three groups: A healthy control group (n = 35), AD (n = 32) according to DSM-IV-TR, NINCDS-ADRDA criteria, and VaD (n = 36) based on ΝΙΝDS-AIREN, as well as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) results. The severity of patient's cognitive impairment, was measured with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and was classified according to the Reisberg global deterioration scale (GDS). Visual perception was examined using the Ishihara plates: “Ishihara Color Vision Test - 38 Plate.”

Results:

The three groups were not statistically different for demographic data (age, gender, and education). The Ishihara color blindness test has a sensitivity of 80.6% and a specificity of 87.5% to discriminate AD and VaD patients when an optimal (32.5) cut-off value of performance is used.

Conclusions:

Ishihara Color Vision Test - 38 Plate is a promising potential method as an easy and not time-consuming screening test for the differential diagnosis of dementia between AD and VaD.

Keywords

dementiaAlzheimer's Disease (AD)Vascular Dementia (VaD)neuropsychological testingscreening
Type
Research Article
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 29 , Issue 8 , August 2017 , pp. 1355 - 1361
Copyright
Copyright © International Psychogeriatric Association 2017 

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