Document Type : Literature Reviews

Authors

1 Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation Research Center, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran

2 Student Research Committee, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran

3 Department of Audiology, School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran

4 Student Research Committee, School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran

5 Department of Physiotherapy, School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran

6 Student research committee, School of Medicine, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of medical sciences, Ahvaz, Iran

7 Department of Audiology, School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran and Rehabilitation Sciences Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Science, Shiraz, Iran.

Abstract

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia which, in addition to affecting memory, cognition, language, and other functions, also appears to be associated with hearing loss and vestibular function. In this paper, the neural pathology of AD, relation to neuroplasticity, and associations between AD and auditory and vestibular dysfunction have been reviewed. In this narrative study, articles published between 2000 and 2021 were reviewed. Fifty articles, related mostly to hearing and vestibular disorders in AD, were selected from a review of 200 English articles. The keywords Alzheimer’s disease, neuroplasticity, auditory and vestibular rehabilitation, auditory and vestibular disorders were searched in PubMed, ScienceDirect, Scopus, ProQuest and Google Scholar databases. Recent studies have shown an association between AD and auditory and vestibular function. Hearing loss can cause dementia and reduced communication skills in patients with AD. It has also been observed that some patients with AD lose their vestibular function, leading to an imbalance in the body and an increased risk of falling. It seems neuroplasticity of the brain is a good treatment for degenerative diseases such as AD, which is possible through auditory and vestibular rehabilitation. Hearing and vestibular evaluation in people with AD can be effective in identifying related problems, so that in cases where the disorder is observed, through the phenomenon of neuroplasticity and the use of auditory and vestibular rehabilitation,therapists can take effective steps in improving the performance and quality of life of these patients.

Keywords

  1. Gauthier S, Rosa-Neto P, Morais JA, & Webster C. 2021. World Alzheimer Report 2021: Journey through the diagnosis of dementia. London, England: Alzheimer’s Disease International.
  2. World Health Organization. (‎2008)‎. WHO global report on falls prevention in older age. World Health Organization. https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/43811
  3. Huang LK, Chao SP, Hu CJ. Clinical trials of new drugs for Alzheimer disease. J Biomed Sci. 2020 Jan 6;27(1):18.
  4. Ralli M, Gilardi A, Stadio AD, Severini C, Salzano FA, Greco A, Vincentiis M. Hearing loss and Alzheimer's disease: A Review. Int Tinnitus J. 2019 Sep 4;23(2):79-85.
  5. Martini A, Castiglione A, Bovo R, Vallesi A, Gabelli C. Aging, cognitive load, dementia and hearing loss. Audiol Neurotol. 2014;19(Suppl. 1):2–5.
  6. Phillips SL, Gordon-Salant S, Fitzgibbons PJ, Yeni-Komshian G. Frequency and temporal resolution in elderly listeners with good and poor word recognition. J Speech, Lang Hear Res. 2000;43(1):217–28.
  7. Shen Y, Ye B, Chen P, Wang Q, Fan C, Shu Y, Xiang M. Cognitive Decline, Dementia, Alzheimer's Disease and Presbycusis: Examination of the Possible Molecular Mechanism. Front Neurosci. 2018 Jun 8;12:394. 
  8. 8. Leirer VM, Glöckner F, Elbert T, Kolassa IT. An auditory computer-based training for mild cognitive impairment and mild Alzheimer's disease -German prototype of the brain fitness program. ACM Int Conf Proceeding Ser. 2009 Jun 9;1-4.
  9. Anson E, Jeka J. Perspectives on aging vestibular function. Front Neurol. 2016;6:269.
  10. Redfern MS, Jennings JR, Martin C, Furman JM. Attention influences sensory integration for postural control in older adults. Gait Posture. 2001;14(3):211–6.
  11. Deveze A, Bernard-Demanze L, Xavier F, Lavieille J-P, Elziere M. Vestibular compensation and vestibular rehabilitation. Current concepts and new trends. Neurophysiol Clin Neurophysiol. 2014;44(1):49–57.
  12. Wei EX, Oh ES, Harun A, Ehrenburg M, Xue QL, Simonsick E, Agrawal Y. Increased Prevalence of Vestibular Loss in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer's Disease. Curr Alzheimer Res. 2019;16(12):1143-1150.
  13. Parham K, Lin FR, Coelho DH, Sataloff RT, Gates GA. Comprehensive management of presbycusis: central and peripheral. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2013 Apr;148(4):537-9.
  14. Lee JY. Relationship between vestibular dysfunction and dementia in elderly patients: Peripheral vertigo or central vertigo: Human neuropathology/clinico‐pathologic correlations. Alzheimer’s Dement. 2020 Dec;16:e040102.
  15. Harun A, Oh ES, Bigelow RT, Studenski S, Agrawal Y. Vestibular Impairment in Dementia. Otol Neurotol. 2016 Sep;37(8):1137-42.
  16. Benoudiba F, Toulgoat F, Sarrazin JL. The vestibulocochlear nerve (VIII). Diagn Interv Imaging. 2013 Oct;94(10):1043-50. doi: 10.1016/j.diii.2013.08.015. Epub 2013 Oct 1. PMID: 24095603.
  17. Swords GM, Nguyen LT, Mudar RA, Llano DA. Auditory system dysfunction in Alzheimer disease and its prodromal states: A review. Ageing Res Rev. 2018 Jul;44:49-59.
  18. Long JM, Holtzman DM. Alzheimer Disease: An Update on Pathobiology and Treatment Strategies. Cell. 2019 Oct 3;179(2):312-339.
  19. Arshavsky YI. Alzheimer's Disease: From Amyloid to Autoimmune Hypothesis. Neuroscientist. 2020 Oct-Dec;26(5-6):455-470.
  20. Hanseeuw BJ, Betensky RA, Jacobs HIL, Schultz AP, Sepulcre J, Becker JA, et al. Association of Amyloid and Tau With Cognition in Preclinical Alzheimer Disease: A Longitudinal Study. JAMA Neurol. 2019 Aug 1;76(8):915-924.
  21. Binder LI, Frankfurter A, Rebhun LI. The distribution of tau in the mammalian central nervous system. J Cell Biol. 1985 Oct;101(4):1371-8.
  22. Avila J, Lucas JJ, Perez M, Hernandez F. Role of tau protein in both physiological and pathological conditions. Physiol Rev. 2004 Apr;84(2):361-84.
  23. Spires-Jones TL, Hyman BT. The intersection of amyloid beta and tau at synapses in Alzheimer's disease. Neuron. 2014 May 21;82(4):756-71. 
  24. Park SY, Kim MJ, Kim HL, Kim DK, Yeo SW, Park SN. Cognitive decline and increased hippocampal p-tau expression in mice with hearing loss. Behav Brain Res. 2018 Apr 16;342:19-26.
  25. Picciotti PM, Fetoni AR, Paludetti G, Wolf FI, Torsello A, Troiani D, et al. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression in noise-induced hearing loss. Hear Res. 2006 Apr;214(1-2):76-83.
  26. Klatt BN, Ries JD, Dunlap PM, Whitney SL, Agrawal Y. Vestibular Physical Therapy in Individuals with Cognitive Impairment: A Theoretical Framework. J Neurol Phys Ther. 2019 Apr;43 Suppl 2(Suppl 2 Spec International Conference on Vestibular Rehabilitation):S14-S19.
  27. Jang SS, Chung HJ. Emerging Link between Alzheimer's Disease and Homeostatic Synaptic Plasticity. Neural Plast.2016:7969272:1-19.
  28. Sinha UK, Hollen KM, Rodriguez R, Miller CA. Auditory system degeneration in Alzheimer's disease. Neurology. 1993 Apr;43(4):779-85.
  29. Chang M, Kim HJ, Mook-Jung I, Oh SH. Hearing loss as a risk factor for cognitive impairment and loss of synapses in the hippocampus. Behav Brain Res. 2019 Oct 17;372:112069.
  30. Cardin V. Effects of Aging and Adult-Onset Hearing Loss on Cortical Auditory Regions. Front Neurosci. 2016 May 11;10:199. 
  31. Tye-Murray N. Foundations of aural rehabilitation: Children, adults, and their family members. Plural Publishing; 2020.5th ed.pp.105.
  32. Shankar A, Hamer M, McMunn A, Steptoe A. Social isolation and loneliness: relationships with cognitive function during 4 years of follow-up in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Psychosom Med. 2013 Feb;75(2):161-70. 
  33. Johnson JCS, Marshall CR, Weil RS, Bamiou DE, Hardy CJD, Warren JD. Hearing and dementia: from ears to brain. Brain. 2021 Mar 3;144(2):391-401.
  34. Lin FR, Ferrucci L, An Y, Goh JO, Doshi J, Metter EJ, Davatzikos C, Kraut MA, Resnick SM. Association of hearing impairment with brain volume changes in older adults. Neuroimage. 2014 Apr 15;90:84-92.
  35. Lee YW, Lee H, Chung IS, Yi HA. Relationship between postural instability and subcortical volume loss in Alzheimer's disease. Medicine (Baltimore). 2017 Jun;96(25):e7286.
  36. Previc FH. Vestibular loss as a contributor to Alzheimer's disease. Med Hypotheses. 2013 Apr;80(4):360-7. 
  37. Gates GA. Central presbycusis: an emerging view. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2012 Jul;147(1):1-2.
  38. Gates GA, Anderson ML, McCurry SM, Feeney MP, Larson EB. Central auditory dysfunction as a harbinger of Alzheimer dementia. Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2011 Apr;137(4):390-5. 
  39. Wei EX, Oh ES, Harun A, Ehrenburg M, Xue QL, Simonsick E, Agrawal Y. Increased Prevalence of Vestibular Loss in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer's Disease. Curr Alzheimer Res. 2019;16(12):1143-1150. 
  40. Sarant J, Harris D, Busby P, Maruff P, Schembri A, Lemke U, Launer S. The Effect of Hearing Aid Use on Cognition in Older Adults: Can We Delay Decline or Even Improve Cognitive Function? J Clin Med. 2020 Jan 17;9(1):254.
  41. Pereira-Jorge MR, Andrade KC, Palhano-Fontes FX, Diniz PRB, Sturzbecher M, Santos AC, Araujo DB. Anatomical and Functional MRI Changes after One Year of Auditory Rehabilitation with Hearing Aids. Neural Plast. 2018 Sep 10;2018:9303674.
  42. Pinheiro MM, Iório MC, Miranda EC, Dias KZ, Pereira LD. The influence of cognitive aspects and auditory processes on the hearing aid acclimatization in the elderly. J Soc Bras Fonoaudiol. 2012;24(4):309-15. English, Portuguese. 
  43. Mosnier I, Vanier A, Bonnard D, Lina-Granade G, Truy E, Bordure P, Godey B, Marx M, Lescanne E, Venail F, Poncet C, Sterkers O, Belmin J. Long-Term Cognitive Prognosis of Profoundly Deaf Older Adults After Hearing Rehabilitation Using Cochlear Implants. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2018 Aug;66(8):1553-1561. 
  44. Parada JC, Hillyer J, Parbery-Clark A. Performance on the standard and hearing-impaired Montreal Cognitive Assessment in cochlear implant users. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2020 Apr;35(4):338-347. 
  45. Glick HA, Sharma A. Cortical Neuroplasticity and Cognitive Function in Early-Stage, Mild-Moderate Hearing Loss: Evidence of Neurocognitive Benefit From Hearing Aid Use. Front Neurosci. 2020 Feb 18;14:93.
  46. Samartsev IN, Zhivolupov SA. The significance of neuroplastic mechanisms in compensation of statodynamic impairments during vestibular disorders. Zhurnal Nevrologii i Psikhiatrii Imeni SS Korsakova. 2021 Jan 1;121(5):165-72.
  47. Shamsi N, Ghahraman MA, Hoseinabadi R, Aghamollaii V, Jalaie S. Vestibular evoked myogenic potentials: early predictors of Alzheimer’s disease? Audit Vestib Res. 2018 Mar 7;27(2):80-5.
  48. Lacour M, Bernard-Demanze L. Interaction between vestibular compensation mechanisms and vestibular rehabilitation therapy: 10 recommendations for optimal functional recovery. Front Neurol. 2015 Jan 6;5:285.
  49. Kaveh MH, Bahadori F, Doosti A, Asadollahi A. The Effect of Balance Exercise Training on Balance Status, and Quality of Life in Elderly Women: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Science. 2021; 17. 2636-9346.
  50. Lacroix E, Deggouj N, Salvaggio S, Wiener V, Debue M, Edwards MG. The development of a new questionnaire for cognitive complaints in vertigo: the Neuropsychological Vertigo Inventory (NVI). Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol. 2016 Dec;273(12):4241-49.