bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Individualized and ecological analyses of the needs of family caregivers of older adults with dementia: The phenomenological approach
Authors: Ho‐yin Lai Frank 
Published: June 2023

AbstractBackgroundDementia is a worldwide public health challenge. Caring for a person with dementia affects their caregivers in different ways.ObjectivesUsing an integration of the Model of Human Occupation (MOHO) and Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory (EST), this study aimed at exploring the needs of and stress arising in family members who are caregivers of people with dementia and identifying the coping strategies these family members use in caring.MethodsUsing the purposeful sampling strategy and a blend of closed‐and‐open‐ended questions, four focus groups were conducted in four different districts. A phenomenological explanation approach was used to examine participants’ caring experience and their needs.ResultsEighty family caregivers (FCGs) of people with dementia, who are their family members, were recruited. Seeking understanding, stabilization, preparation, implementation, and adaptation are the themes that were identified for analysis. The results indicated caregiving is a demanding task, both mentally and physically.ConclusionBeing older, having a lower socioeconomic status and having lower levels of informal support were related to higher levels of care stress and poorer coping strategies in FCGs. Moreover, active service provision can be started in the early stages of caring and this should accompany with the active involvement of service in the volitional aspects of the FCGs.
Clustering patients with vascular cognitive impairment using quantitative magnetic resonance imaging data and a finite mixture model
Authors: Murtagh Ryan D , Schultz Susan , Kindy Mark Stephen , Taheri Saeid 
Published: June 2023

AbstractBackgroundBlood‐brain barrier (BBB) leakage is a marker of vascular cognitive impairment and dementia (VCID). The advance of in vivo imaging enabled us to quantify the degree of BBB transfer rates in VCID patients. However, a consensus has not been reached on the role of BBB in the differential diagnosis of VCI subtypes. The objective of this work was to use neuroinflammatory and in vivo imaging data on BBB health to identify clusters of VCID patients with distinct underlying pathologies.MethodPatients included were on average 61 (SD = 15.94, M/F = 27/34) years old. The MRI data were collected by using a 1.5 Tesla Siemens Sonata scanner. Pixel‐by‐pixel BBB transfer rate (Ki) was calculated using Patlak compartmental analysis on dynamic contrast‐enhanced T1 maps. The mean BBB transfer rate was calculated for the brain section above the ventricular zone (sampled by six consecutive slices). MR Spectroscopy was used to investigate N‐Acetylaspartate (NAA), Creatine (Cr), and Choline (Cho) levels. Moreover, Active MMP3 data were used in patients clustering. Thirty‐eight patients enrolled in the study have all data for three entities; NAA, mean Ki, and active MMP3 used for clustering. A multi‐parametric model‐based classification method was used to blindly classify VCID data based on Ki, NAA, and active MMPs.ResultBBB leakage increased by age, which is more pronounced in patients diagnosed with cognitive impairment when compared with 17 controls, r2 = 0.060, P = 0.021. Statistical classifiers identified three clusters in VCID patients. Identified VCID clusters are similar to the distinction that was made on this VCID cohort based on the clinical scores and psychological entities that we have published earlier.ConclusionThe results suggest that a statistical combination of imaging and inflammatory attributes renders a tool to blindly separate VCID patients into distinct groups that may have different underlying pathology.
Terminalia catappa fruit extract effect on biochemical parameters of the brain like oxidative stress, amyloid beta and Acetylcholinesterase
Authors: Joshi Ankur , Malviya Neelesh 
Published: June 2023

AbstractBackgroundThe present research deals with the assessment of Anti‐Alzheimer affect Terminalia catappa fruit extracts (TCFE) in Alzheimer diseased (AD) rat and also propose its probable mechanism of action.MethodAlzheimer disease was induced by administering streptozotocin i.e. STZ (3 mg/kg) by Intracerebroventricular injection (i.c.v. injection) day 1st and 3rd day, after surgery. Stereotaxic apparatus was used for surgery. Anesthetized rats were used for surgery. Streptozotocin induced Alzheimer diseased rats were treated with hydroalcoholic extract of TCFE (100 and 200 mg/kg, p.o.) for 14 days. Effects of TCFE in Alzheimer diseased rats were assessed for biochemical parameter in the brain tissue oxidative stress parameters (SOD, CAT, GSH and TBARS), amyloid β peptide (Aβ) and acetylcholinesterase (AchE)ResultTCFE significantly (p<0.01) decreases the Aβ1‐40, Aβ1‐42 peptides. Acetylcholinesterase level in the rats brain tissue reduced compared to Alzheimer diseased rats. TCFE significantly decreases the oxidative stress level in Alzheimer diseased rats.ConclusionEffect of TCFE on superoxide dismutase, catalase, reduced glutathione and Thiobarbituaric acid reactive species in the brain tissue of STZ treated AD rats were shown in Table 1.TCFE significantly increased level of antioxidants in brain tissues ((P< 0.01)). β amyloid level of Aβ1‐40 and Aβ1‐42 in the brain tissue decreased significantly (p<0.01) in TCFE treated group compared to AD rats (Negative control group)(Table 2) STZ administration produced significant elevation in brain AchE activity compared to control group of rats. However, TCFE significantly inhibited (P< 0.01) of AchE activity in brain tissue as compared with the negative control group of rats.
Cognitive, clinical and genetic characterization of dementia in Cali, Colombia: A pilot study in a diverse population
Authors: Zapata‐Restrepo Lina Maria , Ibanez Agustin , Allen Isabel Elaine , Kosik Kenneth S. , Possin Kate L 
Published: June 2023

AbstractBackgroundThe aging population and the prevalence of dementia are rapidly growing in Latin America. People with dementia are underdiagnosed and not well characterized in this region. The scenario is complicated by limited options for culturally proper testing and Latinos' socio‐biological and phenotypic diversity, which affect dementia presentation. In Cali, frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is misdiagnosed as a psychiatric disorder in >70% of cases. Delay in the accurate diagnosis and misdiagnosis of dementia affects genetic counseling, treatment, prognosis, and caregiver burden. Furthermore, most of the discovery efforts in genetics are based on data from populations of European ancestry. This bias in representation can exacerbate existing disease and healthcare disparities. Innovative technology for neuropsychological assessment could help make an early and accurate diagnosis. Genetic analysis is novel in this region, and the proposed work lays the basis for the genomic studies we advocate for.MethodWe will evaluate the accuracy of the TabCAT cognitive tests for the identification of cognitive impairment in participants previously diagnosed with FTD (N = 20), AD (N = 20), and healthy controls (N = 40). We also will assess the NPI. In addition, we will collect family history information for neurodegenerative diseases, genome sequencing of the sample.ResultWe hypothesize that the TabCAT evaluation will show sensitivity and specificity >.80 for detecting cognitive impairment, exceeding the accuracy of standard cognitive screenings, such as the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). The assessment will be similarly accurate for detecting cognitive impairment in AD and bvFTD, each separately compared to controls. For participants with bvFTD, the NPI will improve the classification of bvFTD from controls and AD, above and beyond the cognitive tests. We hypothesize that 10‐20% of the participants will have a family history of dementia and be identified with genetic risk for neurodegenerative diseases.ConclusionThis pilot lays the groundwork to establish a new site for ReDLat, a consortium of multiple partners to expand dementia research in Latin America and the Caribbean. Assessing this underrepresented population, we will contribute to an accurate characterization of dementia in Colombia, which will improve dementia diagnosis and reduce health inequities in this region.
Sleep parameters might affect the attrition of leukocyte telomere length
Authors: Kwon Hyuk Sung , Koh Seong‐Ho , Park Hyun‐Hee , Lee Eun‐Hye , Hwang Min A , Baek Jeong Min , Lee Eun Ji , Ryu Ye Jin 
Published: June 2023

AbstractBackgroundThe relationship between sleep parameters and longitudinal shortening of telomere length is unclear. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between sleep parameters and the shortening of leukocyte telomere length (LTL) over two years.MethodAmong the participants in the validation cohort of the Korea Brain Aging Study for the Early Diagnosis and Prediction of Alzheimer’s Disease, participants who measured both baseline and follow‐up (two years later) of LTL were analyzed. They were dichotomized according to the degree of LTL attrition. Clinical characteristics, including sleep duration, sleep latency, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Stanford Sleepiness Scale, and Epworth Sleepiness Scale scores were compared between the two groups.ResultA total of 238 patients were analyzed in current study. Participants with faster LTL shortening had a shorter duration of sleep (P = 0.013) and longer sleep latency (P = 0.007). Among the components of the PSQI, subjective measures of sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep duration, and sleep efficiency were significantly worse in participants with faster LTL shortening. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that sleep latency (odds ratio [OR] = 1.015, confidence interval [CI] = 1.001–1.029, P = 0.029), global PSQI score (OR = 1.130, CI = 1.017–1.256, P = 0.023), shortest sleep duration (OR = 5.057, CI = 1.189–21.502; P = 0.028), and lowest sleep efficiency (OR = 8.598, CI = 1.584–46.672, P = 0.013) were independently associated with faster LTL shortening.ConclusionPoor sleep quality, specifically long sleep latency, less than 5 hours of sleep, and low sleep efficiency were associated with faster longitudinal shortening of the LTL.
The Endophenotypic Effect of the SORL1 Variant rs2298813 on Regional Brain Volume in Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease
Authors: Fuh Jong‐Ling , Chen Chun‐Yu , Lin Yung‐Shuan , Lee Wei‐Ju , Yang Albert C. 
Published: June 2023

AbstractBackgroundTwo common variants of sortilin‐related receptor 1 gene (SORL1), rs2298813 and rs1784933, have been associated with late‐onset Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in the Han Chinese population in Taiwan. However, neuroimaging correlates of these two SORL1 variants remain unknown. We aimed to determine whether the two SORL1 polymorphisms were associated with any volumetric differences in brain regions in AD patients.MethodsWe recruited 200 patients with late‐onset AD from Taipei Veterans General Hospital. All patients received a structural magnetic resonance imaging brain scan and completed a battery of neurocognitive tests at enrollment. We followed up to assess changes in Mini‐Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores in 155 patients (77.5%) at an interval of 2 years. Volumetric measures and cortical thickness of various brain regions were performed using FreeSurfer. Regression analysis controlled for apolipoprotein E status. Multiple comparisons were corrected for using the false discovery rate.ResultThe rs2298813 and rs1783933 genotypes were not associated with cognitive test performance or clinical progression. The homozygous major allele of rs2298813 was associated with larger volumes in the right putamen (p = 0.0442) and right pallidum (p = 0.0346). There was no link of the rs1784933 genotypes with any of the imaging measures. In the rs2298813 homozygous major allele carriers, the right putaminal volume was associated with verbal fluency (p = 0.008) and clinical progression (p = 0.020). In the minor allele carriers, the right putaminal and right pallidal volumes were not significantly related to cognitive test scores or clinical progression.ConclusionThe major and minor alleles of rs2298813 had differential effects on the right lentiform nucleus volume and distinctively modulated the association between the regional volume and cognitive function.
Contributions of macrostructural and microstructural white matter damage to apathy in people with Alzheimer’s disease
Authors: Manca Riccardo , Venneri Annalena ,   the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative
Published: June 2023

AbstractBackgroundApathy is the most common neuropsychiatric symptom in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) that affects patients’ quality of life and prognosis. Previous functional neuroimaging studies have found multiple cerebral alterations suggesting a conceptualisation of apathy as a symptom resulting from a communication breakdown among functional neural networks involved in motivational‐affective processing. To test this hypothesis, this study investigated the association between white matter (WM) structural connectivity and apathy in AD.MethodSixty‐one patients with (AD‐AP) and 61 without apathy (AD‐NA) were identified from the ADNI database and matched for diagnosis, cognitive status, age and education. A group of 61 matched healthy older adults (HOA) was also included. Data on cognitive performance, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers, brain volumes and mean DTI indices of 50 WM tracts were extracted for all participants. Cognitive profiles and volumetric/DTI data were compared across groups using general linear models including sex as a covariate. Post hoc analyses were performed to investigate pair‐wise differences in all outcome measures.ResultBoth patient groups showed widespread cognitive deficits and neural alterations, lower amyloid beta and higher phosphorylated tau CSF levels compared to the HOA group. The direct AD‐AP vs AD‐NA comparison showed no significant differences in CSF biomarkers and MRI outcomes, but the AD‐AP group had more severe neuropsychiatric symptoms, lower scores on the Clock Test – copy and relied more on cues in the Logical Memory test – delayed recall. When the patient groups were compared to the HOA independently, the AD‐AP group had more extensive WM damage: 1) reduced WM and larger WM hyperintensity volume; 2) increased radial diffusivity and reduced fractional anisotropy primarily in the cingulum, superior longitudinal and inferior fronto‐occipital fasciculi and genu of the corpus callosum.ConclusionAD‐AP patients had WM damage mildly more severe than that observed in AD‐NA, especially in associative tracts in the frontal lobes and the cingulum. Such disruption in structural connectivity might affect crucial functional inter‐network communication resulting in motivational deficits and worse cognitive decline. These findings warrant further investigations to ascertain the relationship between WM damage and disruption of functional brain network dynamic interactions in AD patients with apathy.
Mitochondrial dynamic modulators improve cognitive function in rats with myocardial infarction
Authors: Jinawong Kewarin , Apaijai Nattayaporn , Piamsiri Chanon , Maneechote Chayadom , Arunsak Busarin , Pintana Hiranya , Chattipakorn Nipon , Chattipakorn Siriporn C 
Published: June 2023

AbstractBackgroundCognitive impairment is the most frequent mental health problem among people with heart failure (HF). Brain pathologies in HF‐induced cognitive impairment are possibly associated with the imbalance of brain mitochondrial dynamics. Therefore, therapeutic interventions targeting mitochondrial dynamics by mitochondrial fission inhibition or mitochondrial fusion enhancement would provide beneficial outcomes to the brain of HF subjects. This study aimed to test whether modulating mitochondrial dynamic improves cognitive function in HF rats via reduced brain mitochondrial dysfunction, and dendritic spine loss.MethodRats underwent either sham surgery or permanent left anterior descending coronary artery ligation‐induced myocardial infarction (MI). MI rats developed HF with reduced ejection fraction (%LVEF <50%) at 1‐week post‐operation. Then, MI rats were assigned to receive one of four following interventions: (1) DMSO as a vehicle, (2) enalapril (a positive control, 10 mg/kg/day, orally), (3) mitochondrial division Inhibitor (Mdivi‐1, 1.2 mg/kg/day, intraperitoneal (IP) injection), (4) mitochondrial fusion promotor (M1, 2 mg/kg/day, IP injection). All rats were received the intervention for 4 weeks, then, the cognitive function via NOL was assessed, and were sacrificed. Brain mitochondrial function and dendritic spine density were determined.ResultHF rats developed cognitive impairment, when compared to the sham group, and it was associated with increased brain mitochondrial oxidative stress, and dendritic spine loss in hippocampus (Figure). Treatment with Mdivi‐1 and M1 improved cognitive function similar to enalapril, as indicated by increasing %preference of NOL. Furthermore, all treatments effectively reduced brain mitochondrial ROS levels and hippocampal dendritic spine loss in HF rats (Figure).ConclusionMitochondrial fusion inhibitor and mitochondrial fusion improved cognitive function in HF rats through a reduction of mitochondrial ROS levels and preserved dendritic spine density.
Association of blood pressure and cognitive function based on MoCA‐INA and MMSE scores among ischemic stroke patients at Atma Jaya Hospital in 2014‐2019
Authors: Roliadi Yefin , Wreksoatmodjo Budi Riyanto 
Published: June 2023

AbstractBackgroundCognitive impairment is a common finding among stroke patients and causing significant decline in survivors’ quality of life. Hypoperfusion is one of the mechanism of transient or permanent ischemia and cause of cognitive deficit. Hypertension causes right shift on cerebrovascular autoregulation, causing brain to be more vulnerable to hypoperfusion in hypotensive state. However, studies assessing the association of blood pressure on acute phase of stroke and cognitive function are still scarce.MethodA cross‐sectional study using secondary data from Atma Jaya Hospital Stroke Registry in 2014‐2019. Total sampling method resulted in 144 eligible samples. Blood pressure measurement was done at the time of admission, cognitive function was assessed at the time of discharge using MoCA‐INA and MMSE questionnaires. Data analysis was performed using Kruskall‐Wallis comparative test.ResultNo significant association of systolic blood pressure and cognitive function based on MoCA‐INA (p = 0,569) and MMSE (p = 0,147) scores. No significant association of diastolic blood pressure and cognitive function based on MoCA‐INA (p = 0,818) and MMSE (p = 0,184) scores.ConclusionNo significant association of blood pressure on acute phase of stroke and cognitive function based on MoCA‐INA and MMSE scores among ischemic stroke patients at Atma Jaya Hopital in 2014‐2019.
Development of an instrument to elicit patient preferences for Person‐Centered Dementia Care – insights from a formative pilot study to design a dementia‐friendly Analytic Hierarchy Process‐Survey
Authors: Mohr Wiebke , Raedke Anika , Afi Adel , Michalowsky Bernhard , Hoffmann Wolfgang 
Published: June 2023

AbstractBackgroundPerson‐Centered Care (PCC) requires knowledge about patient preferences for multiple components (criteria) of care. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is one approach to measure the importance of individual criteria from the patient perspective and to identify quantitative preferences for PCC. The AHP is expected to be suitable for People living with Dementia (PlwD) due to its simple pairwise comparisons with individual criteria of a complex decision problem. The aim of this pilot study was to design a dementia‐friendly assisted AHP‐survey with PlwD.MethodWe conducted two expert panels with n = 4 Dementia Care Managers and n = 4 physicians to ensure content validity, as well as individual “thinking aloud”‐interviews with n = 11 PlwD and n = 3 informal caregivers (CGs) to ensure face validity. Interviews followed a semi‐structured interview guide. Participants were asked to assess the survey’s appropriateness, coherence, and to provide information about the motivation for their answers. Main source of data were field notes. Interviews were recorded and partially transcribed. To follow an iterative constant comparative approach, data were analyzed and patient’s feedback incorporated on a continuous basis by two reviewers until the patients had no further comments and no struggles with completion of the survey. Survey data were analyzed with Microsoft®Excel and ExpertChoice Comparion®, to i.a. assess consistency ratios (CRs).ResultThree main categories with several sub‐categories emerged from data analysis: 1) content including clear introduction, description of (sub)criteria, homogeneity of criteria, appropriateness of (sub)criteria, inclusion of re‐test questions, sociodemographic questions to consider heterogeneity of respondents, 2) format including structure of an AHP‐survey for PlwD, sequence of pairwise‐comparison questions, length of survey, visual formatting (incl. AHP‐scale), explanation of survey procedure, assistance during survey, perspective during completion of survey, and 3) layout including easy wording, avoidance of long sentences, and use of ICONs as visual aids. Individual CRs ranged from 0.08 to 0.859, whilst the consolidated CR was 0.038.ConclusionOur study provides insights from a formative pilot study to design a dementia‐friendly AHP‐Survey. Consideration of our findings may contribute to content‐ and face validity, acceptability, feasibility and internal consistency, as well as reproducibility in future dementia‐focused quantitative preference research.