Stability and severity of psychiatric symptoms in relation to cognitive,

 
   Lead Investigator:    Katherine Gifford
   Institution      :    Boston University
   E-Mail           :    katie.gifford@Vanderbilt.Edu
   Proposal ID      :    181


   Publications:


1  Haj-Hassan S, Hohman T, Liu D, Skinner J, Lu Z, Sparling J, Gifford K, Sumner E, Bell S, Jefferson A
   A-28Vascular Risk and Cognitive Decline in Older Adults with and without Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI)
   Abstract  Arch Clin Neuropsychol,29:513,2014,

   PUBLISHED





   Proposal Description:
   Depression in late-life has been linked with poorer cognitive function and increased risk of dementia. Furthermore, older adults with remitted depression show persistent cognitive impairment, and cognitively intact individuals with remitted depression are more likely to develop cognitive impairment. Individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a purported precursor to dementia, often experience neuropsychiatric symptoms, including depression, and depression increases the likelihood of conversion from MCI to dementia. The relation between fluctuations in depression and other neuropsychiatric symptoms and cognitive and functional outcomes in non-demented older adults is unclear. This project seeks to better understand how the development, remission, severity, and constellation of neuropsychiatric symptoms relate to diagnostic conversion and cognitive and functional trajectories in non-demented older adults (i.e., normal cognition and MCI).