Kan grad av degenerativ hjärnsjukdom prediceras med hjälp av mått på kognitiv försämring?
Can degree of degenerative brain disease be predicted with the help of measurements of cognitive deterioration?Alzheimer?s disease progresses through nerve cell break down in the brain and the simultaneous deterioration of the individual?s cognitive function. This disease is common among elderly persons. This thesis examines if the level of deterioration of cognitive function is associated with different biochemical and clinical markers for degenerative brain diseases. In addition, this thesis examines if the level of decline in cognitive functions vary between groups with different levels of degenerative brain disease. These studies are based on the level of cognitive deterioration (difference between current and original cognitive function) and measures of the degree of the disease (for example beta-amyloid in the Cerebrospinal fluid, CSF, and the Mini-Mental Test, MMT) in four groups of patients with different degrees of cognitive deterioration. The results show statistically significant relations between the degree of cognitive deterioration and both MMT and beta-amyloid respectively. The results support the conclusion that cognitive deterioration can predict the level of disease in degenerative brain disease.