A Typical Communication Pattern of People With Alzheimer's Disease

The first statistical analysis of saving appearance responses (SARs) in people with dementia published in PLoS One determined that such responses are common in people with Alzheimer's disease (AD), leading to recommendations that doctors and caregivers develop a more respectful attitude toward such people, reports EurekAlert . The researchers argue SARs suggest conflicted feelings about questions that persons cannot answer correctly. Most observations on SARs are based on the experiences and impressions of medical personnel and lack sufficient numerical data. The Kumamoto University team compared the appearance frequency of SARs seen during cognitive function assessments using definitions from earlier research for four pathological conditions that cause dementia, including AD, AD with cerebrovascular disease, Lewy body dementia, and mild cognitive impairment. More than 50 percent of the AD cohort had SARs, which occurred much more often compared to Lewy body dementia and mild cognitive dysfunction. Specifically, AD was 4.24 times more likely than Lewy body dementia and 3.48 times more likely than mild cognitive impairment to produce SARs. "The reason more SARs are seen in AD may be because even though the memory function of the brain is in decline, thinking and judgment abilities are barely compromised," says Kumamoto University's Dr. Masateru Matsushita. "Attention to SARs might be helpful for more accurate dementia diagnosis. We expect that a better understanding of the characteristics of SARs, particularly in AD, will lead to earlier detection and better medical care for people suffering from dementia."