Brain Aging

Recommended Prerequisites

Degree / Integrated Medicine or Dentistry MSc.

Teaching Methods

Tutorial/Face to face.

Learning Outcomes

1. Characterisation of " Brain ageing", considering the main histological/patological, neurotransmission and  respective manifestations in the motor system and cognition;

2. Identification and characterisation of pathological cognitive decline: a) Mild Cognitive Impairment; b) Dementia

3. Recognizing the main ancillary exams recommended for the diagnosis of the cognitive decline and main symptomatic interventions

4. Be able to identify the  brief cognitive tests normalized for the screening of cognitive decline in the Portuguese population: aplication methodology, scoring, diagnostic acuity and limitations.

 

Work Placement(s)

No

Syllabus

1-Aging-related  brain changes

1.a - Aging-related brain morphological alterations

1.b – Biological biomarkers of brain aging

1.c – Neurotransmission changes in brain aging

1.d – Aging-related changes in motor system

 

2 – Aging-related cognitive changes:

2.a - Language

2.b - Atention

2.c - Memory

2.d – Visuo-perceptual and construtive functions

 

3. Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI):

1.a – Diagnostic Criteria

1.b – Carachterizatrion

1.c – Prognosis.

 

4. Dementia:

4-a-.Classification

4-b. Diagnostic criteria

4-c. Major forms of Degenerative dementia

4-d - Recomendations of the portuguese national burreau for the diagnosis and intervention in dementia (Norma nº 053/2011 de 27/12/2011 da DGS: Abordagem Terapêutica das Alterações Cognitivas)

 

5. Cognitive dcline and  dementia screening instruments:

5-a.Minimental State Examination (MMSE)

5 -b. Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA).

Head Lecturer(s)

Maria Isabel Jacinto Santana

Assessment Methods

Assessment
Exam: 100.0%

Bibliography

- Escalas e Testes na Demência In M. R. Simões & Isabel Santana (Eds.). Edição do Grupo de Estudos de Envelhecimento Cerebral e Demência/Novartis (2015)

- Envelhecimento Cerebral e Demência (Santana, I., Duro). In T. Veríssimo (Ed.), Geriatria – saber e praticar. Editora Lidel Edições Técnicas, Lda. (2014).

- Demências - Manual para Médicos (Isabel Santana e Luis Cunha)

- Freitas, S et al. (2011). Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA): Normative study for the Portuguese population. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 33(9), 989-996.

 - Freitas S et al (2012) Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA): Validation study for Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer´s Disease. Alzheimer Dis Assoc Disord:. 27(1): 37-43.

- Santana I et al. 2015 [The Epidemiology of Dementia and Alzheimer Disease in Portugal: Estimations of Prevalence and Treatment-Costs]. Acta Med Port. 2015 Mar-Apr;28(2):182-8.