During the eighteenth century there was a growing interest in
recording, listing and documenting the world, whether for personal
interest and private consumption, or general record and the greater
...good. Such documentation was done through both the written and
printed word. Each genre had its own material conventions and
spawned industries which supported these practices. This volume
considers writing and printing in parallel: it highlights the
intersections between the two methods of communication; discusses
the medium and materiality of the message; considers how writing
and printing were deployed in the construction of personal and
cultural identities; and explores the different dimensions
surrounding the production, distribution and consumption of private
and public letters, words and texts during the eighteenth-century.
In combination the chapters in this volume consider how the
processes of both writing and printing contributed to the creation
of cultural identity and taste, assisted in the spread of knowledge
and furthered personal, political, economic, social and cultural
change in Britain and the wider-world. This volume provides an
original narrative on the nature of communication and brings a
fresh perspective on printing history, print culture and the
literate society of the Enlightenment.
Previous research has revealed similarities in the neuropathology, clinical presentation, and risk factors between persons with Alzheimer disease from the general population (GP-AD) and those with ...Down syndrome (DS-AD). Less is known, however, about the extent of similarities and differences in the cognitive profiles of these 2 populations. Fifty-one moderate to severely demented GP-AD and 59 DS-AD individuals participated in this study which compared the cognitive profiles of these 2 populations on the Severe Impairment Battery (SIB), controlling for sex as well as level of functional ability using a modified version of the Bristol Activities of Daily Living Scale. Overall, the neuropsychological profiles of the higher-functioning individuals within the DS-AD and advanced GP-AD groups, as represented by mean difference scores on the SIB as a whole and across the 9 separate cognitive domains, were very similar to one another after adjusting for sex and functional impairment. To our knowledge, this is the first study to directly compare the cognitive profiles of these 2 populations on the SIB. Findings suggest that the underlying dementia in GP-AD and DS-AD may have corresponding and parallel effects on cognition.
Memory for unfamiliar faces has received little attention in the effort to identify neuropsychological measures that could differentiate mild cognitive impairment (MCI) from normal aging and/or ...predict conversion from MCI to dementia. We used the Wechsler Memory Scale-III Faces test to investigate facial memory in normal aging (n = 58), MCI (n = 74), and mild Alzheimer's disease (n = 22). After adjustment for age, gender, and years of education, MCI patients demonstrated significantly poorer memory for unfamiliar faces than their healthy peers. Lower scores were also associated with worsening cognition and functional abilities but not an increased risk of dementia.
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The Common Objects Memory Test (COMT) was developed to assess age-related memory impairments in individuals with a range of educational, language and cultural backgrounds. The COMT is a list-learning ...protocol that uses photographs of common objects to bypass difficulties posed by written words for individuals who are illiterate or have limited education. Preliminary data are presented for 336 healthy adults and 90 patients with dementia. Their age ranged from 54 to 99 years, education ranged from 0 to 22 years, and they were from five culturally and linguistically distinct populations: Caucasian and African-American English speakers, and native Chinese, Spanish, and Vietnamese speakers. Performance on the COMT was influenced by age, but little influenced by education, and un-influenced by gender or ethnic background. Among 11 neuropsychological tests, the recall scores from the COMT best distinguished healthy individuals from patients with dementia, underscoring its clinical utility for ethnically diverse populations.
Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) has an uncertain etiology and prognosis and may be challenging for clinicians to discuss with patients and families. Amyloid imaging may aid specialists in determining ...MCI etiology and prognosis, but creates novel challenges related to disease labeling.
We convened a workgroup to formulate recommendations for clinicians providing care to MCI patients.
Clinicians should use the MCI diagnosis to validate patient and family concerns and educate them that the patient's cognitive impairment is not normal for his or her age and education level. The MCI diagnosis should not be used to avoid delivering a diagnosis of dementia. For patients who meet Appropriate Use Criteria after standard-of-care clinical workup, amyloid imaging may position specialists to offer more information about etiology and prognosis. Clinicians must set appropriate expectations, including ensuring that patients and families understand the limitations of amyloid imaging. Communication of negative results should include that patients remain at elevated risk for dementia and that negative scans do not indicate a specific diagnosis or signify brain health. Positive amyloid imaging results should elicit further monitoring and conversations about appropriate advance planning. Clinicians should offer written summaries, including referral to appropriate social services.
In patients with MCI, there is a need to devote considerable time and attention to patient education and shared decision-making. Amyloid imaging may be a tool to aid clinicians. Careful management of patient expectations and communication of scan results will be critical to the appropriate use of amyloid imaging information.
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