OBJECTIVES: To examine systemic and central nervous system (CNS) comorbidities of individuals with dementia evaluated during general autopsy. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: A large tertiary academic medical center in Los Angeles, California. PARTICIPANTS: Individuals with clinically and neuropathologically diagnosed dementia who received complete autopsies (n = 86) and individuals with dementia who received partial (brain only) autopsies (n = 132). MEASUREMENTS: Information on cause of death and systemic and CNS comorbidities was obtained from autopsy reports and clinical information as available from the medical records. Findings were tabulated with respect to type of dementia, semiquantitative assessment of the severity of cerebral amyloid angiopathy, semiquantitative assessment of the severity of cerebrovascular disease, and evidence of ischemic damage in the brain. RESULTS: Of 218 subjects with dementia, 175 (80.3%) had Alzheimer's disease alone or in combination with other lesions that might contribute to cognitive impairment, such as cerebrovascular disease and diffuse Lewy body disease (DLBD), 14 (6.4%) had frontotemporal dementia, and seven (3.2%) had isolated DLBD. The most common cause of death in participants with dementia was pneumonia (n = 57, 66.3%), followed by cardiovascular disease (n = 14, 16.3%). Eighteen subjects (20.9%) had lung disease, and 16 (18.6%) had evidence of an old or recent myocardial infarction. Clinically undiagnosed neoplasms included colonic adenocarcinoma, metastatic pulmonary neuroendocrine carcinoma, meningioma, and Schwannoma. CONCLUSION: Significant comorbidities were discovered at autopsy in individuals with dementia. Understanding the causes of death and associated comorbidities in individuals with various subtypes of dementia is important in the assessment of end-of-life care in these individuals.
OBJECTIVES: To examine systemic and central nervous system (CNS) comorbidities of individuals with dementia evaluated during general autopsy. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: A large tertiary academic medical center in Los Angeles, California. PARTICIPANTS: Individuals with clinically and neuropathologically diagnosed dementia who received complete autopsies (n = 86) and individuals with dementia who received partial (brain only) autopsies (n = 132). MEASUREMENTS: Information on cause of death and systemic and CNS comorbidities was obtained from autopsy reports and clinical information as available from the medical records. Findings were tabulated with respect to type of dementia, semiquantitative assessment of the severity of cerebral amyloid angiopathy, semiquantitative assessment of the severity of cerebrovascular disease, and evidence of ischemic damage in the brain. RESULTS: Of 218 subjects with dementia, 175 (80.3%) had Alzheimer's disease alone or in combination with other lesions that might contribute to cognitive impairment, such as cerebrovascular disease and diffuse Lewy body disease (DLBD), 14 (6.4%) had frontotemporal dementia, and seven (3.2%) had isolated DLBD. The most common cause of death in participants with dementia was pneumonia (n = 57, 66.3%), followed by cardiovascular disease (n = 14, 16.3%). Eighteen subjects (20.9%) had lung disease, and 16 (18.6%) had evidence of an old or recent myocardial infarction. Clinically undiagnosed neoplasms included colonic adenocarcinoma, metastatic pulmonary neuroendocrine carcinoma, meningioma, and Schwannoma. CONCLUSION: Significant comorbidities were discovered at autopsy in individuals with dementia. Understanding the causes of death and associated comorbidities in individuals with various subtypes of dementia is important in the assessment of end-of-life care in these individuals.
Authors: Lon White; Helen Petrovitch; John Hardman; James Nelson; Daron G Davis; G Webster Ross; Kamal Masaki; Lenore Launer; William R Markesbery Journal: Ann N Y Acad Sci Date: 2002-11 Impact factor: 5.691
Authors: H V Vinters; W G Ellis; C Zarow; B W Zaias; W J Jagust; W J Mack; H C Chui Journal: J Neuropathol Exp Neurol Date: 2000-11 Impact factor: 3.685
Authors: J T Tschanz; C Corcoran; I Skoog; A S Khachaturian; J Herrick; K M Hayden; K A Welsh-Bohmer; T Calvert; M C Norton; P Zandi; J C S Breitner Journal: Neurology Date: 2004-04-13 Impact factor: 9.910
Authors: James B Leverenz; Christina M Agustin; Debby Tsuang; Elaine R Peskind; Steven D Edland; David Nochlin; Lillian DiGiacomo; James D Bowen; Wayne C McCormick; Linda Teri; Murray A Raskind; Walter A Kukull; Eric B Larson Journal: Arch Neurol Date: 2002-07
Authors: Catherina Fu; Dennis J Chute; Emad S Farag; Justine Garakian; Jeffrey L Cummings; Harry V Vinters Journal: Arch Pathol Lab Med Date: 2004-01 Impact factor: 5.534
Authors: Geidy E Serrano; Jessica E Walker; Cécilia Tremblay; Ignazio S Piras; Matthew J Huentelman; Christine M Belden; Danielle Goldfarb; David Shprecher; Alireza Atri; Charles H Adler; Holly A Shill; Erika Driver-Dunckley; Shyamal H Mehta; Richard Caselli; Bryan K Woodruff; Chadwick F Haarer; Thomas Ruhlen; Maria Torres; Steve Nguyen; Dasan Schmitt; Steven Z Rapscak; Christian Bime; Joseph L Peters; Ellie Alevritis; Richard A Arce; Michael J Glass; Daisy Vargas; Lucia I Sue; Anthony J Intorcia; Courtney M Nelson; Javon Oliver; Aryck Russell; Katsuko E Suszczewicz; Claryssa I Borja; Madison P Cline; Spencer J Hemmingsen; Sanaria Qiji; Holly M Hobgood; Joseph P Mizgerd; Malaya K Sahoo; Haiyu Zhang; Daniel Solis; Thomas J Montine; Gerald J Berry; Eric M Reiman; Katharina Röltgen; Scott D Boyd; Benjamin A Pinsky; James L Zehnder; Pierre Talbot; Marc Desforges; Michael DeTure; Dennis W Dickson; Thomas G Beach Journal: J Neuropathol Exp Neurol Date: 2022-08-16 Impact factor: 3.148
Authors: A Calderón-Larrañaga; D L Vetrano; L Ferrucci; S W Mercer; A Marengoni; G Onder; M Eriksdotter; L Fratiglioni Journal: J Intern Med Date: 2018-11-22 Impact factor: 8.989
Authors: Janna H Neltner; Erin L Abner; Gregory A Jicha; Frederick A Schmitt; Ela Patel; Leonard W Poon; Gearing Marla; Robert C Green; Adam Davey; Mary Ann Johnson; S Michal Jazwinski; Sangkyu Kim; Daron Davis; John L Woodard; Richard J Kryscio; Linda J Van Eldik; Peter T Nelson Journal: Neurobiol Aging Date: 2015-10-19 Impact factor: 4.673
Authors: Sylvia Villeneuve; Gil D Rabinovici; Brendan I Cohn-Sheehy; Cindee Madison; Nagehan Ayakta; Pia M Ghosh; Renaud La Joie; Samia Kate Arthur-Bentil; Jacob W Vogel; Shawn M Marks; Manja Lehmann; Howard J Rosen; Bruce Reed; John Olichney; Adam L Boxer; Bruce L Miller; Ewa Borys; Lee-Way Jin; Eric J Huang; Lea T Grinberg; Charles DeCarli; William W Seeley; William Jagust Journal: Brain Date: 2015-05-06 Impact factor: 13.501
Authors: T P Zomer; T VAN DER Maaden; A B VAN Gageldonk-Lafeber; S C DE Greeff; J T VAN DER Steen; L Verhoef Journal: Epidemiol Infect Date: 2017-07-03 Impact factor: 4.434
Authors: Sang Won Seo; Marie-Pierre Thibodeau; David C Perry; Alice Hua; Manu Sidhu; Isabel Sible; Jose Norberto S Vargas; Stephanie E Gaus; Gil D Rabinovici; Katherine D Rankin; Adam L Boxer; Joel H Kramer; Howard J Rosen; Maria Luisa Gorno-Tempini; Lea T Grinberg; Eric J Huang; Stephen J DeArmond; John Q Trojanowski; Bruce L Miller; William W Seeley Journal: Neurology Date: 2018-02-16 Impact factor: 9.910
Authors: Brittney L Blevins; Harry V Vinters; Seth Love; Donna M Wilcock; Lea T Grinberg; Julie A Schneider; Rajesh N Kalaria; Yuriko Katsumata; Brian T Gold; Danny J J Wang; Samantha J Ma; Lincoln M P Shade; David W Fardo; Anika M S Hartz; Gregory A Jicha; Karin B Nelson; Shino D Magaki; Frederick A Schmitt; Merilee A Teylan; Eseosa T Ighodaro; Panhavuth Phe; Erin L Abner; Matthew D Cykowski; Linda J Van Eldik; Peter T Nelson Journal: Acta Neuropathol Date: 2020-10-24 Impact factor: 17.088