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Parietal Signs and Sinister Prognosis in Dementia

A Four-Year Follow-Up Study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Ronan O'Carroll*
Affiliation:
MRC Brain Metabolism Unit, Royal Edinburgh Hospital, Morningside Park, Edinburgh EH10 5HF
Janice Whittick
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Bangour Village Hospital, Dechmont, West Lothian EH52 6LW
Elizabeth Baikie
Affiliation:
Royal Victoria Hospital, 13 Craigleith Road, Edinburgh EH14 2DN
*
Correspondence

Abstract

Thirty elderly demented subjects were assessed in 1985 using a neuropsychological test battery which included tests of parietal lobe function that are allegedly predictive of outcome. Four years later, 29 out of the 30 subjects were followed up. Twelve had died. There were no differences between survivors and deceased in terms of age, pre-morbid intelligence, years of full-time education, or scores on parietal tests. However, proportionally more of the women had died, and those subjects with more global cognitive impairment in 1985 were significantly more likely to have died by 1989. Those who scored lower on an aphasia measure in 1985 were more likely to have died. None of the variables differentiated between survivors and deceased Alzheimer subjects.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1991 

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