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W Zigman

Publications and source records attributed to W Zigman.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Dementia of the Alzheimer's type and accelerated aging in Down syndrome.

This case study, of a woman with Down syndrome and dementia of the Alzheimer's type (DAT), follows the course of her decline over an 11-year period until death at age 57. Detailed neuropathological findings are also presented. This case illustrates features of premature aging that are typically associated with Down syndrome, and the progressive changes in memory and cognition that are usually associated with DAT. Although the subject's cardiovascular condition and thyroid disorder were treated, they may have contributed to the decline of her memory. This case shows the difficulty in diagnosing dementia in an individual with mental retardation who suffered comorbid episodes of depression and psychosis.

Aging↗
PubMed1997

The epidemiology of Alzheimer disease in intellectual disability: results and recommendations from an international conference.

Among adults with intellectual disability, virtually everyone with Down's syndrome (DS) over the age of 40 years has neuropathology currently viewed to be consistent with a diagnosis of Alzheimer disease (AD), while other adults with intellectual disability without DS display an increased prevalence of Alzheimer-type neuropathology after they reach the age of 65. This paper presents the results of discussions by an epidemiology workgroup, formed at an international conference convened to discuss AD among people with intellectual disability, concerning: (1) the incidence and prevalence of clinical dementia in adults with intellectual disability; (2) risk factors for the development of AD in adults with intellectual disability; and (3) a minimum data set that would be of great utility for future research on AD in adults with intellectual disability.

Aged↗
PubMed1997

Early menopause in women with Down's syndrome.

We used the AAMR's Adaptive Behavior Scale to ascertain current menstrual status in a population-based sample of 157 women with Down's syndrome (DS) and 187 women with other intellectual disability, all 40 years of age or older. The age-adjusted likelihood of menopause was twice as high in women with DS syndrome as in women with other intellectual disability (OR = 2.3; 95% CI = 1.1-4.9). Treated thyroid conditions did not influence menstrual status and did not modify the relationship between DS and menstrual status. These findings support the hypothesis that women with DS experience menopause at an earlier age and that this may be associated with accelerated aging.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Onset of dementia is associated with apolipoprotein E epsilon4 in Down's syndrome.

We examined the influence of apolipoprotein E (apoE) genotype on risk of dementia in 82 adults with Down's syndrome (DS). Compared with those with an apoE 3/3 genotype, the group of adults with DS with apoE 2/4, 3/4, and 4/4 genotypes were 5 times more likely to become demented (RR = 4.7; 95% CI = 1.2, 17.9). We hypothesize that the increased risk of dementia may be mediated by exacerbation of beta-amyloid deposition.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Alzheimer-type neuropathology and clinical symptoms of dementia in mentally retarded people without Down syndrome.

Postmortem morphometric analyses of Bielschowsky stained sections from brains of 70 mentally retarded people without Down syndrome, age 65 and over when they died, indicated Alzheimer-type neuropathology in 22 cases (31%) and a majority with at least presence of some Alzheimer-type lesions. Based upon information abstracted from clinical histories, however, old-age-associated dementia proved to be difficult to judge reliably. Nevertheless, for otherwise healthy individuals (n = 25), loss of motor skills, development of problem behaviors, and a 10-point drop in IQ appeared to be likely indicators of Alzheimer's disease. Prevalence estimates of Alzheimer-type neuropathology among nonretarded people and the present sample appear comparable, and projections must be made to address the special needs of this rapidly growing population of retarded people.

Aged↗
PubMed1979

Extended recency effect extended: blocking, presentation mode, and retention interval.

The effect of blocking of stimulus items on the free recall of EMR adolescents was examined. In Experiment 1 a multitrial free-recall list of 15 pictures was presented either simultaneously in groups of 3, or sequentially, one at a time. Consistent ordering was used in both conditions, so that on each trial, each item in each set of 3 pictures was presented contiguously with the other 2 items from that set. In addition, recall came immediately or after a filled or unfilled delay of 24.5 seconds. Results showed that simultaneous presentation led to higher recall, subjective organization, and clustering than did sequential presentation, but analysis of serial-position curves showed a much reduced extended recency effect in comparison with previous studies. Experiment 2 was designed to determine whether the cause of the reduced extended recency was the use of pictures rather than words as stimuli. Stimuli were presented either as pictures, as pictures with auditory labels, or as words with auditory labels, with both simultaneous and consistent ordering for all conditions. Results indicated a strong extended recency effect for all groups, eliminating presentation mode as a causal factor in the data of Experiment 1. We concluded that blocking leads to increased organization and recall over a variety of presentation modes, rates, and block sizes.

Adolescent↗