bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Advancing Dementia Care: AI Simulations in Managing Everyday Challenges
Authors: Yuan Fengpei , Bible Bryce , Zhao Xiaopeng 
Published: January 2025

AbstractBackgroundThe prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) presents a growing public health challenge. This study introduces an innovative approach to dementia care through the development of AI agents that simulate the interactions between people living with dementia (PLWD) and their caregivers during activities of daily living (ADLs).MethodThe study employs ChatGPT (GPT4) large language models to create AI agents representing both PLWD and interventionists. These agents are designed to mimic real‐world verbal and nonverbal interactions in a simulated environment. A key component of the research is the development of a reinforcement learning (RL) framework. This framework is instrumental in formulating optimal assistive strategies that are personalized for PLWD. The performance of the RL‐guided interventionists is compared with that of naive interventionists across various scenarios. The focus is on tasks such as grocery shopping, highlighting the potential challenges and assistance required in such daily activities.ResultThe AI agents successfully replicated the nuanced dynamics of dementia care. The RL framework demonstrated its potential in optimizing personalized care strategies, highlighting the significant role of AI in dementia management. Comparisons revealed that RL‐guided interventionists outperformed their naive counterparts, indicating the effectiveness of AI in enhancing caregiving approaches. The study also emphasizes the need for future research to include more complex scenarios and integrate real‐world data to further enhance the simulation’s accuracy and relevance.ConclusionThis research represents a groundbreaking step in applying AI to dementia care. It showcases the capability of AI agents in understanding and replicating complex human interactions within the context of caregiving. The study opens new pathways for research in AI’s role in healthcare, especially in addressing the challenges of eldercare and dementia management. It suggests a future where AI can not only assist in understanding and managing dementia but also support caregivers, thereby improving the quality of life for both PLWD and those who care for them. The integration of professional expertise and real‐world data in future studies could further refine these AI‐based care strategies, making them more effective and personalized.
Positive Tau and Amyloid Burden as Potential Predictors for Financial Capacity in Pre‐ Dementia Stages of Alzheimer’s Disease
Authors: Le Kayla , Bieger Andrei , Schlickmann Thomas Hugentobler , Gehres Sarah Wehle , de Bastiani Marco Antônio , Borelli Wyllians Vendramini , Zimmer Eduardo R. ,   ADNI
Published: January 2025

AbstractBackgroundAmyloid and tau pathologies are the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Previous research indicated notable connections between financial capacity and AD biomarkers. Here, we aimed to understand whether financial capacity is affected by the cerebral accumulation of tau and amyloid. We hypothesized that amyloid and tau positivity will lead to a lower FCI‐Score.MethodCU and MCI participants who had completed Financial Capacity Instrument ‐ Short Form (FCI‐SF) assessment, amyloid‐ and tau‐PET scans were selected from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI). Linear regression analysis was employed to investigate associations between Amyloid and Tau positivity with FCI‐Score, adjusted for age, gender, education and race (Table 1). Finally, a stepwise regression analysis was conducted to identify the predictors of financial capacity.ResultUpon conducting a linear regression model on the positive amyloid and tau burden (a+t+), a highly significant negative association between a+t+ and FCI Score was observed (Figure 1). Stepwise regression analysis reiterated these results and both positive amyloid and tau burden (p < 0.01) demonstrated a significant predictive value of the FCI‐Score.ConclusionOur results align with previous studies on neurocognitive factors of financial capacity in pre‐ dementia stages, lending additional support for the significant influence of both amyloid and tau positivity in the decline of financial capacity. A decline in financial capacity may indicate pathological buildup and serve as an early warning sign for Alzheimer’s disease. Therefore, future research should continue to investigate the longitudinal relationship between tau, amyloid, financial capacity and other instrumental activities of daily living.
Your Beautiful Brain: Art Workshops for Ethnic Diversity in Dementia Research
Authors: Bauermeister Sarah 
Published: January 2025

AbstractBackgroundEthnic diversity communities are frequently underrepresented in dementia research. Reasons include lack of identification with dementia research studies, promotional material for dementia prevention and accessibility. The result of this underrepresentation means that new developments for dementia treatments will be not be trialled on these communities. This means that any ethnic differences in dementia or dementia progression will not be taken into account. It is, however, important to understand outreach and education and not to assume that ‘one size fits all’ when it comes to providing information on maintaining a healthy lifestyle for dementia prevention. The aim of Your Beautiful Brain art workshops was to provide a fun activity which was culturally appropriate, for teaching about brain health and dementia prevention. Using art as a medium has a two fold benefit. Firstly, art is fun and secondly, art is a creative activity which is good for the brain, and in the context of the workshops, is also sociable.MethodThe workshops were held and consisted of:1. A brief talk on healthy lifestyle for a healthy brain2. Provision of colouring sheets showing Black African and Caribbean community members taking part in healthy activities (e.g., jogging, walking, eating healthy food).3. Art stationery was provided and included: Art workbook, colouring pencils, pens and pastels, and stickers.4. A ‘free art’ session was facilitated where participants created any art piece which depicted their understanding of the talk in the morning.5. Refreshments were provided and the workshops were open to adults aged 50 years and over, both with and without dementia.Result6 workshops were held across the United Kingdom, attended by over 50 participants and carers. Feedback from the attendees was that the workshops were very enjoyable and they had learned things about the brain and keeping healthy that they did not know before. Requests to return to provide more workshops were received.ConclusionThe Your Beautiful Brain art workshops funded by Alzheimer’s Research UK (ARUK) and supported by Dementias Platform UK (DPUK) showed that ethnic communities can be reached through the medium of a fun workshop activity.
Exploring Mild Cognitive Impairment and Cognitive Rehabilitation in a cohort from the Alzheimer Center of the School of Medicine of the University of Buenos Aires
Authors: Olivar Natividad , Barreto Maria Dolores , Mendez Vanesa Roxana , Pasqua Patricia Alejandra , Estigarribia Karina Irene , Brusco Luis Ignacio 
Published: January 2025

AbstractBackgroundMild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a condition that affects a growing number of individuals worldwide, representing a transition between normal aging and dementia. As the world’s population ages, understanding and addressing MCI becomes increasingly crucial for both patients and healthcare professionals.Method15 participants (13 women and 2 men) with MCI with an MMSE score of 24/30 were included in a cognitive rehabilitation workshop. The workshop was held during the year 2023, with a frequency of twice a week. A neuropsychological battery was applied to each participant at the beginning and at the end of the workshop with the following tests: semantic and phonological verbal fluency, Trail A and B tasks, Boston test, Digit‐symbol test and the Rey’s verbal test. The Beck Depression Inventory and the Katz and Lawton and Brody scales were also administered to evaluate activities of daily and instrumental living.Result73% of patients showed an improvement in MMSE scores. They also showed similar but significantly better performance in the neuropsychological tests administered. 66% showed a reduction in abnormally high Beck Depression Inventory scores, while activities of daily living and instrumental living improved.ConclusionEarly and group intervention can help mitigate the effects of MCI and promote healthy cognitive aging by improving sociability, mood, and quality of life.
Loneliness, social isolation in older adults and their association with incident dementia in men and women: 3 years of follow‐up on population‐based study
Authors: Sánchez Brenda Sarai Miranda , Acosta‐Castillo Isaac , Sosa Ana Luisa 
Published: January 2025

AbstractBackgroundDementia is a syndrome highly prevalent in elderly. Genetic and health factors have been reported to be associated with their onset. There is evidence that some psychosocial factors may have a differential effect by sex, beyond biological or hormonal explanations, as loneliness and social isolation(SI). Loneliness is defined as the feeling of being alone and can be reported as persistent, unavoidable, unpleasant or bothersome. SI is understood as limited or no contact with family or social networks, as well as low social contact, which may include friendly, religious or recreational activitiesObjectiveto analyze the association between loneliness and social isolation with the risk of incident dementia in older adults, men and women from a population‐based sample.MethodThe analytical sample include 1,517 participants aged ≥65 years evaluated within Dementia Research Group 10/66 in Mexico, between 2006‐2010, from urban and rural areas. Loneliness was assessed based on three items: admits to feeling lonely, with or without emotional discomfort. SI was identified by: friends, relatives and neighbors contacts; living alone and social gatherings attendance. All participants had information for incident dementia, sex, age, education, marital status, residence, occupation, household assets, income, mild cognitive impairment(MCI), neuropsychiatric symptoms(NPS), diabetes, disability, hypertension, cerebral vascular accident(CVA), hearing and visual difficulties, falls and use of health services.ResultTotal prevalence of loneliness and SI were 33.6% and 39.1%, respectively. Women were lonelier, older, not married, without own income, with more hypertension and NPS, than men (see table 1).In multivariable competing risk models (with death and disability as competing events), loneliness with or without emotional discomfort (RR = 1.63 95% CI:1.03‐2.57) and with emotional discomfort (RR = 1.65 95% CI:1.05‐2.59) showed to be a risk factor for incident dementia in women. Social isolation did not show this effect as well any model for men (see table 2).ConclusionLoneliness was shown as a risk factor only in women, effect that was maintained with and without emotional discomfort. We believe that expanding the study of psychosocial factors as well as their usefulness in predicting incident dementia is important, also considering that some of these factors play a different role between men and women.
Detection of presymptomatic cerebral amyloid angiopathy, CAA, using diffusion MRI analysis of cortical grey matter in hereditary mutation carriers
Authors: Chance Steven A , Hardingham Ian , Valotti Michele , van Rooden Sanneke , van der Grond Jeroen 
Published: January 2025

AbstractBackgroundHCHWA‐D mutation carriers experience highly heritable early onset of cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA). Diffusion MRI appears to be sensitive to CAA and detects punctate cortical lesions in CAA cases post‐mortem. DTI of white matter tracts was found to be sensitive to alterations in symptomatic HCHWA‐D carriers but did not show alterations in presymptomatic carriers (Schouten et al. DOI: 10.1161/JAHA.118.011288.). The diffusion signal from cortical grey matter microstructure may yet detect presymptomatic cases.MethodCDM (cortical disarray measurement) quantifies DTI parameters related to the vertical minicolumnar microstructure of cortical grey matter that is disrupted in neurodegeneration. AngleR is the angle between the principal diffusion direction and the cortical minicolumn axis. PerpPD+ and ParlPD are the components parallel and perendicular to the minicolumn axis.Participants from an existing dataset (Schouten et al.), included 12 symptomatic and 11 asymptomatic HCHWA‐D mutation carriers and 24 non‐carrier controls (based on: genotype, clinical status, and age). Diffusion MRI had been acquired at a single time point from a Philips Achieva 3T scanner at Leiden University Medical Center.Statistical GLM used multivariate ANOVA, classifying patients by Mutation status (carrier vs non‐carrier) and Clinical status (non‐carrier control, asymptomatic carrier, symptomatic carrier), covarying for age.ResultFor the whole brain cortical average PerpPD+ was significantly increased in mutation carriers (p<0.05) driven by a significantly increased PerpPD+ in symptomatic carriers compared to both asymptomatic groups (controls and carriers) (p<0.05).At the regional level some measures in prespecified regions of interest were significantly altered in symptomatic carriers and, notably, significantly different in mutation carriers (p<0.05), both symptomatic and asymptomatic groups, compared to controls.ConclusionDiffusion MRI analysis of cerebral cortex detects microstructural differences related to clinical symptoms of CAA in HCHWA‐D mutation carriers and particular measures of the microstructure organisation differentiate the CAA group, including presymptomatic, from controls.
The association of cardiovascular disease risk and renal function to cognition in middle‐aged to older adult Black Americans: Findings from the African Americans Fighting Alzheimer’s in Midlife (AA‐FAIM) study
Authors: Ennis Gilda E. , Norton Derek L. , Salazar Hector , Carter Fabu P. , Jonaitis Erin M. , Langhough Rebecca E. , Chin Nathaniel A. , Zuelsdorff Megan L. , Asthana Sanjay , Johnson Sterling C. , Gleason Carey E. 
Published: January 2025

AbstractBackgroundNon‐Hispanic Black Americans (BA) have increased prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors and elevated risk for end‐stage renal disease (ESRD). CVD risk factors, and potentially ESRD, heighten dementia risk; however, the association of CVD risk and kidney function to cognition in cognitively unimpaired (CU) BA adults remains understudied. We tested whether global CVD risk, individual CVD risk factors, and less healthy kidney function moderated associations between age and cognitive performance in middle‐aged to older adult BAs who were CU at baseline.MethodBAs were enrolled in AA‐FAIM, an ancillary study of the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (WI‐ADRC) and Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer’s Prevention (WRAP) (longitudinal N = 192; cross‐sectional N = 323; Table 1). Exclusion criteria included baseline MCI/dementia, stroke, heart attack, or heart failure history. Baseline CVD risk measures were tested as moderators of age‐related cognitive change in mixed models: Framingham Heart Study (FHS) 10‐year CVD risk, systolic blood pressure (SBP), American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association BP classification (normal, elevated, stage 1 and 2 hypertension), waist circumference, and triglyceride/HDL ratio. Cognitive outcomes included processing speed, fluency, executive function, language, episodic memory, attention, working memory, and non‐verbal learning/memory. Regression tested whether average prior SBP and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) moderated the association between age and cognition. See Table 2 for models. Benjamini Hochberg (BH) correction applied.Result24.1% had high CVD risk (FHS CVD > .20). Results suggested a relationship between elevated (vs. normal) BP and greater aging‐related decline in processing speed, and in older adults, an association between higher average prior SBP and lower language scores (Figure 1). Tested without age x risk interaction, results suggested relationships between FHS CVD risk and worse attention and working memory and relationships between lower eGFR and worse fluency, processing speed, and working memory. Latter two eGFR results survived comparisons’ correction but all others did not (Table 2).ConclusionResults suggest elevated BP and CVD risk and less healthy kidney function had deleterious effects on cognition in the AA‐FAIM sample; however, most findings did not survive comparisons’ correction, perhaps due to insufficient power. The impact of kidney function on neural structure requires further investigation.
International Practices of Speech‐Language Pathologists Working with Bilingual Speakers with Primary Progressive Aphasia
Authors: Grasso Stephanie M , Gallée Jeanne , Cartwright Jade , Jokel Regina , Lavoie Monica , McGowan Ellen , Pozzebon Margaret , Beber Bárbara Costa , Duboisdindien Guillaume , Montagut Núria , Norvik Monica , Sugimoto Taiki , Townsend Rosemary , Unger Nina , Wisnes Ingvild E. Wisnes E. , Volkmer Anna 
Published: January 2025

AbstractBackgroundAlthough primary progressive aphasia (PPA) is considered a rarer form of dementia, individuals living with PPA are increasingly identified by healthcare professionals. Research investigating speech‐language assessment and intervention in PPA has been conducted primarily in monolingual speakers and little is known about clinical decision‐making of speech‐language pathologists (SLPs) working with bilinguals with PPA.MethodsA comprehensive survey containing questions regarding clinician confidence, prioritization, and ratings of basic competency for Volkmer, Cartwright, Ruggero et al.’s (2023) best practice principles was constructed with questions that also queried practices pertaining to working with bilingual populations. Data was collected anonymously, via the Qualtrics survey platform and the survey was disseminated via social media and through social networks of study team members.ResultsA total of 185 participants responded with representation from 27 countries. In total, bilingual participants spoke a total of 39 different languages. The average number of languages spoken by respondents was 1.86 (SD = 1.08). Twenty‐three percent of respondents reported that they provided clinical services bilingually and 28% identified as bicultural. Respondents indicated that coursework in their training to become SLPs related to bilingual neurogenic communication disorders was covered for less than two hours (39%), less than five hours (33%), or more than five hours (28%). The majority of respondents indicated that they sometimes or typically worked with an interpreter or translator for conducting bilingual assessments (43%) or performed them independently (18%). When asked which language respondents typically assess participants in, 5% indicated the maternal language, 39% indicated the dominant/most functional language(s), and 54% indicated the language(s) the clinician felt comfortable speaking.ConclusionThis study reports, for the first time, the practices of speech‐language pathologists working with bilingual speakers with PPA. Results indicate that SLPs are likely to receive some exposure to bilingual adult neurogenic communication disorders in their training. SLPs are more likely to assess bilingual individuals with PPA in the languages clinicians speak, or in the participant’s most functional/dominant language(s). Additional international forums are needed to extend core principles and philosophies of SLP practices, particularly when individuals living with PPA speak more than one language.
The Temporal Relationship Between Physical Activity, Mood, and Sleep in Older Adults: Lead‐Lag Discovery and Replication Analyses
Authors: Kara Ryan , de la Colina Adrian Noriega , Ai Meishan , Bao Shania Fock Ka , Kramer Arthur , Tremblay‐Mercier Jennifer , Villeneuve Sylvia , Li Linda , Walker Caitlin , Geddes Maiya R. 
Published: January 2025

AbstractBackgroundAlzheimer’s disease (AD) affects about 416 million individuals across the disease continuum. An estimated 40% of dementia cases can be prevented or delayed in onset by addressing modifiable risk factors like sleep time, physical activity (PA), and mood. These three behaviors (sleep time, physical inactivity, and mood) are linked to cognitive decline, and their tridirectional link has been shown by prior research work. However, their longitudinal and potential temporal interrelatedness remain unclear.MethodThirty cognitively unimpaired (CU) sedentary older adults participating in the Daily Activity Study of Health (DASH) (Clinicaltrials.gov:NCT04315363) underwent objective PA measurement using a wrist‐worn accelerometer to monitor 24‐hour daily activity (discovery sample). Participants also completed a daily morning mood scale; through an Ecological Momentary Assessment and daily activity data, we performed a 10‐day lead‐lag analysis using moderate‐to‐vigorous PA (MVPA) time, mood, and sleep time. The temporal patterns were derived by assessing the rank order of the lead‐lag coefficients. The relationship between different time points of the variables were examined through cross‐correlations. We replicated the results in a sample of 25 CU, physically inactive older adults from the Healthy Aging Brain Study (HABS) (Clinical trials.gov:NCT06038643) with familial risk of AD. An identical methodological and analytic approach was applied to this replication sample.ResultThe lead‐lag analysis in the DASH cohort (mean age in years: 69.39±5.14, 26 female, mean education years 16.60 ± 3.03) determined positive mood change preceded increase in sleep time, and was then followed by an increase in MVPA. The relationship between positive mood change and increased MVPA was replicated in the HABS lead‐lag analysis (mean age = 69.71±3.54 years; 20 females; mean education years = 16.12±2.99).ConclusionIn this study, we found that (1) improved mood precedes the increase in physical activity and sleep time in CU sedentary older adults. We confirmed that MVPA and mood precede sleep time. We also found that (2) mood precedes MVPA time, which in turn precedes sleep time. Understanding temporal dynamics between mood, sleep time, and MVPA, can help develop better interventions targeting an increase in physical inactivity in older adults, a major risk factor of AD.