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Muscle profile and cognition in patients with Alzheimer’s disease dementia

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Abstract

Introduction

Neurodegenerative disease is one of the main contributing factors affecting muscle atrophy. However, this intriguing brain-muscle axis has been explained by the unsubstantial mechanisms. Although there have been several studies that have evaluated the muscle profile and its relation to cognition in patients with dementia, there is still lack of data using standardized methods and only few published studies on Korean populations. The objective of this study is to evaluate the relationship of muscle mass and strength to cognition in patients with Alzheimer’s disease dementia (AD).

Methods

We recruited 91 patients with probable AD without weakness. We assessed patients’ basic demographic characteristics, vascular risk, body mass index, and global cognitive assessment scores. Muscle mass was measured using body dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Muscle strength was assessed by isokinetic knee extensor using an isokinetic device at an angular velocity of 60°/s in nm/kg.

Results

The muscle mass and strength were not related to each other in both male and female groups. Only muscle strength, but not muscle mass, was negatively related to cognition. After adjusting for covariates, the relationship between muscle strength and cognition still remained in the male group, however, was attenuated in the female group.

Conclusions

In patients with AD dementia, abundant muscle mass did not mean strong power. The simple lower-extremity muscle strength assessment is more effective in predicting cognition than a muscle mass measure in male patients.

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Acknowledgement

The authors thank Hui Jin Ryu, MA, and Min Young Kim, MA, for their support and guidance in the neuropsychological evaluation of patients. Most importantly, the authors thank all those who participated in the study for their dedication to helping research in dementia. The contents of this work are solely the responsibility of the authors.

Funding

This research was supported by a grant of the Korean Society of Geriatric Neurology, Republic of Korea.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, Konkuk University Medical Center, 120-1 Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, 143-729, South Korea

    Yeonsil Moon & Seol-Heui Han

  2. Department of Neurology, Kangnam General Hospital, Yongin, Kyunggido, South Korea

    Ye-Ji Choi

  3. Department of Neurology, Eulji University College of Medicine, Daejeon, South Korea

    Jin Ok Kim

  4. Center for Geriatric Neuroscience Research, Institute of Biomedical Science, Konkuk Medical Science Research Center, Seoul, South Korea

    Seol-Heui Han

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  1. Yeonsil Moon
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Correspondence to Seol-Heui Han.

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All the patients provided written informed consent to the use of the data obtained in this study, and this study was approved through the Institutional Review Board of Konkuk University Medical Center

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Moon, Y., Choi, YJ., Kim, J.O. et al. Muscle profile and cognition in patients with Alzheimer’s disease dementia. Neurol Sci 39, 1861–1866 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-018-3505-0

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