Cognitive decline among patients with Alzheimer disease varies by age, according to an analysis of 2,793 subjects enrolled in the Alzheimer’s Disease Cooperative Study and the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative.
Researchers stratified subjects by age group from younger than 61 to older than 85, and used baseline and post-baseline cognitive assessments to determine the rate of cognitive decline.
Using the Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale–cognitive subscale (ADAS-cog) at baseline, 12-, 18-, and 24-months, investigators found rates of decline slowed in the older groups (ages 71 and older) compared with the younger groups. The results were similar on the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), but not the Clinical Dementia Rating–Sum of Boxes (CDR-SB).
Citation: Schneider LS, Kennedy RE, Wang G, Cutter GR. Differences in Alzheimer disease clinical trial outcomes based on age of the participants. Neurology. 2015;84(11):1121-7. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000001376.