Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews, Cognitive Issues / 21.12.2013

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Alan B. Zonderman PhD Cognition Section Laboratory of Personality and Cognition, NIA Gerontology Research Center Baltimore, MD 21224-6825 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Zonderman: In a prospective population-based 5-year follow-up study the authors examined the rate at which participants converted from mild cognitive impairment to dementia or reverted from mild cognitive impairment to normal cognitive performance.  As has been common, they found elevated risk for dementia associated with mild cognitive impairment, but also found elevated risk for dementia among those who reverted (temporarily) to normal cognitive performance.
Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews, Cognitive Issues, Mayo Clinic / 20.12.2013

Dr. Ronald C. Petersen M.D., Ph.D. Division of Epidemiology Department of Health Sciences Research; Department of Neurology Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MNMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Ronald C. Petersen M.D., Ph.D. Division of Epidemiology Department of Health Sciences Research; Department of Neurology Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Petersen: The diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment increases the likelihood of developing dementia.
Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews / 17.12.2013

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Lieke Smits drs. L.L. Smits VU University Medical Center Department of Neurology - Alzheimer Center 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands MedicalResearch.com:  What are the main findings of the study? Answer: In this study we used two visual ratings scales to estimate atrophy of the medial temporal lobe (MTA) and posterior atrophy (PA) on MRI in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. We assessed associations between MTA and PA with cognitive impairment. We found that MTA was associated with worse performance in memory, language and attention, while PA was associated with worse performance in viuso-spatial functioning and executive functioning. Further stratification for age at diagnosis revealed that in late onset (>65 years old) MTA was associated with impairment in memory, language, visuo-spatial functioning and attention. In early onset patients (<65 years old), worse performance on visuo-spatial functioning almost reached significance.
Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews, Nature / 05.12.2013

Alessandra d’Azzo PhD Department of Genetics, St Jude Children’s Research Hospital 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, Tennessee 38105MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Alessandra d’Azzo PhD Department of Genetics, St Jude Children’s Research Hospital 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, Tennessee 38105 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. d’Azzo: We have discovered a connection between a rare childhood disorder and Alzheimer’s disease that usually affects older people. The culprit is a metabolic enzyme called NEU1 that normally controls the recycling or disposal of proteins in a specific cell compartment, the lysosome. When NEU1 is defective, children develop the severe metabolic disease, sialidosis. Our study suggests that NEU1 also plays an important role in the development of Alzheimer’s disease. Based on this discovery, we decided to increase NEU1 enzyme activity in the brain of an Alzheimer’s disease mouse model that shows features characteristic of the human disease, namely the accumulation of toxic protein aggregates or plaques. Remarkably, we could significantly diminish the number of plaques in the brain of these mice by increasing NEU1 enzyme activity.
Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews, Blood Pressure - Hypertension / 23.11.2013

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dan Nation Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology at University of Southern California Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer:   The main study findings indicate that high blood pressure, specifically pulse pressure (systolic - diastolic pressure), is associated with increased markers of Alzheimer's disease in the cerebral spinal fluid of healthy middle-aged adults.  These results suggest a connection between blood pressure and Alzheimer's disease prior to the onset of any symptoms of the disease.
Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews / 24.10.2013

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Andrew S. Lim MD MMSc FRCPC DABPN Assistant Professor and Clinician Scientist Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre University of Toronto MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Lim: Alzheimer disease (AD) is the result of a confluence of genetic, behavioral, and environmental risk factors.  The Apolipoprotein E (APOE) e4 allele is the most common and well established genetic risk factor for Alzheimer Disease.  10-20% of the US population carries the high risk APOE e4 allele, which confers up to a 30% lifetime risk of AD. Meanwhile, previous work had suggested that poor sleep may be a risk factor for AD and that APOE genotype and poor sleep may amplify each other's negative cognitive effects. We asked the question whether good sleep consolidation (i.e. sound sleep without repeated awakenings) may reduce the effect of APOE on the risk of incident AD and the burden of AD pathology.  We studied 698 individuals without dementia participating in the Rush Memory and Aging Project - a longitudinal cohort study of aging and risk factors for AD.  We measured sleep consolidation using wrist-watch like devices called actigraphs, and followed participants for up to 6 years, examining them annually for the development of AD.  Autopsies were perfumed on 201 participants who died during the follow-up period and we quantified the burden of AD pathology. During the follow-up period, 98 participants developed AD.  As expected, carrying the APOE e4 allele was associated with a higher risk of AD, faster cognitive decline, and a higher burden of AD pathology (amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles) at death. However, better sleep at baseline significantly reduced the negative impact of APOE e4 on the risk of AD, rate of cognitive decline, and burden of neurofibrillary tangle pathology.
Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews / 03.10.2013

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Keiichi Yamamoto, MD, PhD Department of Geriatric Medicine and Neurology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine Osaka, Japan. MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: Aβ is normally bound to and transported by albumin in blood. We therefore hypothesized that decreased blood levels of Albumin-Aβ complexes may be associated with decreased Aβ removal from brain to blood, resulting in Aβ accumulation in the brain. This is the first study demonstrated that decreased serum level of albumin-Aβ complexes was strongly associated with a higher prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). This association was independent of age, sex, and ApoE4 allele. In addition, decreased serum level of albumin-Aβ complexes was correlated with decreased levels of Aβ42 in the CSF and increased levels of p-tau in the CSF, findings that have been shown to be associated with specific neuropathologic findings and AD progression.
Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews, Cognitive Issues / 30.09.2013

Teppo Särkämö PhD Institute of Behavioural Sciences PL 9 (Siltavuorenpenger 1A), 363 FI-00014, HELSINGIN YLIOPISTO FinlandMedicalResearch.com: Teppo Särkämö PhD Institute of Behavioural Sciences PL 9 (Siltavuorenpenger 1A), 363 FI-00014, HELSINGIN YLIOPISTO Finland MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: We found that caregiver-implemented musical leisure activities, such as singing and music listening, are beneficial for elderly persons with mild-moderate dementia (PWD). Compared to standard care, regular singing and music listening improved mood, orientation level, episodic memory and to a lesser extent, also attention and executive function and general cognition. Singing also enhanced verbal working memory and caregiver well-being, whereas music listening had a positive effect on quality of life.
Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews, Cognitive Issues / 22.09.2013

Argonde van Harten From the Alzheimer Center School for Mental Health and Neurosciences, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, the Netherlands.MedicalResearch.com Interview Invitation Argonde van Harten From the Alzheimer Center School for Mental Health and Neurosciences, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, the Netherlands. MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: We found cerebrospinal fluid biomarker evidence of preclinical Alzheimer's disease (AD) predicted cognitive decline in patients with subjective complaints. These patients have cognitive complaints, but are cognitively normal at baseline. Preclinical AD predicted decline in memory performance, executive functions and global cognition over time. Most patients, however, had no evidence of preclinical AD and their cogntive functions generally remained stable over two years. Their memory performance improved.
Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews, CMAJ, JAMA, Mayo Clinic, Parkinson's / 18.09.2013

Rodolfo Savica, MD, MSc Department of Neurology, College of Medicine Division of Epidemiology, Department of Health Sciences Research, College of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MinnesotaMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Rodolfo Savica, MD, MSc Department of Neurology, College of Medicine Division of Epidemiology, Department of Health Sciences Research, College of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota   MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of this study? Dr. Savica: This study is the first in North America to explore the incidence of DLB and PDD in a population based sample. We found that the overall incidence of dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), considered the second leading cause of neurodegenerative dementia after Alzheimer`s disease, is lower than that of Parkinson`s disease (PD), increases steeply with age, and is markedly higher in men than in women.
Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews, Genetic Research, JAMA / 30.08.2013

Ekaterina Rogaeva, PhD Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, CanadaDepartment of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, CanadaCambridge Institute for Medical Research and Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, EnglandMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Ekaterina Rogaeva, PhD Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, CanadaDepartment of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, CanadaCambridge Institute for Medical Research and Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, England MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: We tested the hypothesis that late-onset Alzheimer disease (AD) might be in part explained by the homozygosity of unknown loci. In a genome-wide study of a Caribbean Hispanic population with noticeable inbreeding and high risk of AD we assessed the presence of long runs of homozygosity (ROHs) – regions where the alleles inherited from both parents are identical. Our results suggest the existence of recessive AD loci, since the mean length of the ROH per person was significantly longer in AD cases versus controls, and this association was stronger in familial AD.
Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews, Genetic Research, Mental Health Research / 16.08.2013

[caption id="attachment_1458" align="alignleft" width="200"]Dr. Ramon Trullas Research Professor CSIC Institute of Biomedical Research of Barcelona Dr. Ramon Trullas
(left rear)[/caption] MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Ramon Trullas Research Professor CSIC Institute of Biomedical Research of Barcelona MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: The findings reported in this manuscript that we consider can be underscored are: 1) Asymptomatic subjects at risk of developing sporadic Alzheimer’s disease (AD), as well as symptomatic patients diagnosed with probable sporadic AD show a low concentration of circulating cell free mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). 2) Pre-symptomatic subjects carrying pathogenic PSEN1 gene mutations which cause early onset familial AD, also exhibit low mtDNA content in CSF. 3) Reduced mtDNA content in CSF occurs in preclinical PSEN1 mutation carriers at least one decade before patients are expected to manifest clinical signs of dementia and well before any alteration in currently known AD biomarkers. 4)  Low mtDNA content in CSF distinguishes patients diagnosed with AD from either controls or patients with fronto-temporal lobar degeneration. These findings indicate that the amount of circulating cell-free mtDNA content in CSF may be a novel biomarker for the early detection of AD in the preclinical stage of AD. Moreover, the observation that low mtDNA content in the CSF is associated with both sporadic and familial forms of AD suggests that, independently of the etiology, regulation of mtDNA content is a converging factor in the pathophysiology of AD.
Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews, Genetic Research, Nature / 16.08.2013

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Steve Estus PhD Dept. of Physiology University of Kentucky Office: Room 332 Sanders-Brown Building 800 S. Limestone Street Lexington, KY 40536-0230 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: We report evidence for the function of a Alzheimer's genetic  risk factor.  This protective allele of the polymorphism decreases the splicing efficiency of exon 2 in CD33, a receptor protein that regulates microglial activation.  Loss of exon 2 appears to produce a dormant CD33 protein, resulting in increased microglial phagocytosis activity.  Overall, these findings confirm and extend recent papers in Neuron and Nature Neuroscience  (discussed further in our report) that described decreased CD33 activity with the protective SNP allele.
Alzheimer's - Dementia, Author Interviews, JAMA, Mental Health Research, UCSF / 26.04.2013

MedicalResearch.com eInterview with Dr. David Perry UCSF School of Medicine Clinical Fellow in Neurology 675 Nelson Rising Lane San Francisco CA 94158 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Perry: We described two patients with clinical syndromes and brain imaging patterns that are consistent with Alzheimer’s disease. Both were found to have mutations in GRN, which are typically associated with inherited frontotemporal dementia. They both showed evidence of underlying Alzheimer’s pathology, in one case through autopsy confirmation (demonstrating Alzheimer’s disease in addition to TDP-43 pathology), and in the other case from a positive amyloid PET scan.
Alzheimer's - Dementia, Depression, Mental Health Research / 22.03.2013

Laura B. Zahodne, PhD Postdoctoral fellow in the cognitive neuroscience division in the Department of Neurology and the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain Columbia University Medical Center.MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Laura B. Zahodne, PhD Postdoctoral fellow in the cognitive neuroscience division in the Department of Neurology and the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain Columbia University Medical Center. MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Zahodne: Having more depressive symptoms early on in Alzheimer’s disease was associated with more rapid declines in the ability to handle tasks of everyday living, and this relationship was independent of cognitive decline. MedicalResearch.com: Were any of the findings unexpected? Dr. Zahodne: Previous studies have shown that depressive symptoms are associated with more difficulties with thinking and daily activities. This study additionally shows that depressive symptoms herald not only more rapid declines in thinking, but also daily functioning, over time.
Thank you for visiting MedicalResearch.com Senior Editor, Marie Benz MD. For more information please email: info@MedicalResearch.com

This website is certified by Health On the Net Foundation. Click to verify. This site complies with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information:
verify here.