A comprehensive follow-up clinical and psychological study of cognitive features of mental activity in relatives of the first degree of relationship of patients with Alzheimer's disease

Objective: to determine the clinical and psychological characteristics of the cognitive sphere of mental activity, prognostically signifcant for the appearance and/or deterioration of cognitive defcits in relatives of 1st degree of relationship of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) on the basis of a 4-year clinical and psychological follow-up evaluation. Material: cohort of 236 relatives of the 1st degree of relationship of patients with AD. Methods: clinical-psychopathological, clinical-catamnestic, neuropsychological and psychometric, statistical. Results: over the period of 4-year catamnesis, the number of relatives of the frst degree of relationship of patients with AD with cognitive impairment doubled: from 22,5 to 44,9%. Of these, the incidence of MCI syndrome increased from 4,7 to 11,9%. Possible risk factors for the appearance and/or deterioration of cognitive functioning are established: 1) cognitive impairment (impaired concentration, difculties in learning new information and remembering events of the distant past), revealed by objective examination; 2) retrospective data on the presence of cognitive constitutional features (low school performance, difculties in remembering digital information, spatial orientation, mastering manual skills, reducing concentration, the presence of more than 3 types of constitutional defciency); 3) neuropsychological parameters of cognitive functions (low parameters of kinetic and spatial organization of praxis, defciency of constructive activity, shortage of short-term auditory-speech and visual memory in terms of parameters of the volume of memorization and retention of traces, reduction of neurodynamics and voluntary attention and control). The obtained data can be used as the basis for corrective and rehabilitation measures aimed at preventing the appearance and/or deterioration of cognitive functions in individuals with the highest risk of developing AD.

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