Background: A core element of the Strengthening Responses to Dementia in Developing Countries (STRiDE) programme was to generate novel data on the prevalence, cost and impact of dementia in low- and middle-income countries, to build better health policy. Indonesia and South Africa are two middle-income countries in need of such data.Aims: To present the STRiDE methodology and generate estimates of dementia prevalence in Indonesia and South Africa.Method: We conducted community-based, single-phase, cross-sectional studies in Indonesia and South Africa, randomly sampling participants aged 65 years or older in each country. Dementia prevalence rates for each country were generated by using the 10/66 short schedule and applying its diagnostic algorithm. Weighted estimates were calculated with national sociodemographic data.Results: Data were collected between September and December 2021 in 2110 people in Indonesia and 408 people in South Africa. The adjusted weighted dementia prevalence was 27.9% (95% CI 25.2–28.9) in Indonesia and 12.5% (95% CI 9.5–16.0) in South Africa. Our results indicate that there could be >4.2 million people in Indonesia and >450 000 people in South Africa who have dementia. Only five participants (0.2%) in Indonesia and two (0.5%) in South Africa had been previously diagnosed with dementia.Conclusions: Despite prevalence estimates being high, formal diagnosis rates of dementia were very low across both countries (<1%). Further STRiDE investigations will provide indications of the impact and costs of dementia in these countries, but our results provide evidence that dementia needs to be prioritised within national health and social care policy agendas.

Aim Stroke is one of the leading causes of adult disability and functional impairment worldwide. Cognitive impairments including memory dysfunction are common after stroke and may have a negative impact to the functional status and activities of daily living (ADL). The study aimed to determine the impact of working memory impairment after stroke on ADL. Methods This cross-sectional study involved post-stroke patients who underwent neurologic examination and mini mental state examination (MMSE), forward digit span (FDS) and backward digit span (BDS) to assess cognitive function, and assessment of daily life activities (ADL) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) scales. Results This study included 38 patients, 23 (60.5%) males and 15 (39.5%) females. The mean MMSE, FDS and BDS scores were 24.60±4.49, 4.87±1.166 and 3.47±1.158, respectively. There were 17 (44.7%) patients with cognitive impairment (MMSE Score was lower than 24). The mean ADL and IADL scores were significantly higher in patients with cognitive impairment, showing greater dependency in this group of patients. There was a significant negative correlation between global cognitive function, working memory and ADL and IADL scores in post-stroke patients. Conclusion Cognitive impairment has a negative impact on daily life activities in post-stroke patients.

BACKGROUND: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is an epidemic worldwide, despite the marked benefits of antiretroviral therapy (ARV) in reducing severe HIV-associated dementia. A milder form of neurocognitive disorders are still prevalent and remain a challenge.AIM: This study aimed to determine the correlation between plasma cluster of differentiation 4 (CD4) lymphocyte, duration of ARV treatment, opportunistic infections, and cognitive function in HIV-AIDS patients.METHODS: A cross-sectional study involving 85 HIV-AIDS patients was conducted at Adam Malik General Hospital Medan, Indonesia. All subjects were subjected to physical, neurologic examination and Montreal Cognitive Assessment-Indonesian Version (MoCA-INA) to assess cognitive function and measurement of lymphocyte CD4 counts.RESULTS: Out of the 85 subjects evaluated, the proportion concerning sexes include 52 males (61.2 %) and 33 females (38.8%). The mean age was 38.53 ± 9.77 years old. There was a significant correlation between CD4 lymphocyte counts and MoCA-INA score (r = 0.271, p = 0.012), but there was no significant correlation between duration of ARV treatment and MoCA-INA score. There was also no difference in MoCA-INA score based on the presence of opportunistic infection.CONCLUSION: Lymphocyte CD4 count was independently correlated with cognitive function in HIV-AIDS patients.

Background: Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA) is a degenerative condition characterized by progressive loss of language function. Studies on PPA patients in Indonesia are still limited, and none has reported clinical and linguistic profiles of PPA patients who speak Bahasa Indonesia. This study aimed to describe clinical and linguistic profiles and challenges in the diagnosis of PPA patients from referral hospitals in Medan, Indonesia. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical records of patients diagnosed with PPA based on the 2011 diagnostic criteria during the 2022-2023 period and described clinical characteristics data and linguistic profiles using descriptive analysis. Results: We included 6 cases that fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for PPA. There were 3 cases categorized as nfvPPA, 1 case as svPPA, and 2 cases as lvPPA. There was female predominance (83.3%) and the mean age at onset was 59±2.96 years. The first symptom reported in the nfvPPA group was effortful, non-fluent speech; in svPPA, it was impaired naming and single word comprehension, while in lvPPA, it was impairment in word retrieval. Challenges in diagnosis included the availability of a standardized language tool aimed specifically for PPA in Bahasa Indonesia and the expertise needed to make such a diagnosis. Conclusion: The main clinical features of the PPA reported were similar to previous findings with specific characteristics of Bahasa Indonesia. Determining language profiles of each variant of PPA in Bahasa Indonesia is crucial to establishing a correct diagnosis. Language assessment tool in Bahasa Indonesia is urgently needed to facilitate better assessment and management planning to improve quality of life.

تهدف هذه الدراسة إلى تحديد تأثير التناول المزمن للمنشطات من نوع الأمفيتامين بجرعات متفاوتة على الالتهاب والإجهاد التأكسدي في فئران ويستار. تم إعطاؤهم ميثيلفينيديت وتم تقسيمهم إلى 4 مجموعات علاجية. علاوة على ذلك ، تم إجراء تجميع عشوائي بسيط لتقسيم العينات إلى 5 مجموعات ، تتكون كل مجموعة من 9 فئران. تضمنت هذه المجموعات الفئران التي أعطيت فقط الماء المقطر كعناصر تحكم ، بالإضافة إلى تلك التي أعطيت ميثيلفينيديت بجرعات 10 مجم / كجم من وزن الجسم ، و 20 مجم / كجم من وزن الجسم ، و 40 مجم / كجم من وزن الجسم لمدة 4 أسابيع كمجموعات تجريبية. ثم تم إجراء التحليل الإحصائي باستخدام GraphPad Prism لمقارنة تأثيرات الإجهاد التأكسدي والالتهاب الجهازي و BDNF والذاكرة المكانية لفئران Wistar. أدى الاستخدام المزمن للمنشطات إلى انخفاض كبير في مستويات الجلوتاثيون بيروكسيديز وكذلك زيادة في إطلاق IL-6 وعامل نخر الورم ألفا مقارنة بمجموعة التحكم. بناءً على النتائج ، لعبت المسارات المتورطة في الضعف الإدراكي ، والتي كانت مرتبطة باستخدام المنشطات من نوع الأمفيتامين ، دورًا في معالجة التأثير الضار لتعاطي المخدرات والأمراض المصاحبة لها.