Current Alzheimer Research - Volume 12, Issue 7, 2015

Reported rates of dementia differ by race, although most studies have not focused on carefully measured outcomes, confounding by education or other demographic factors, nor have they studied other outcomes other than dementia. In this review we will discuss the experience in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study evaluating racial disparities relating to stroke, subclinical brain infarction, leukoaraiosis, Read More

Purpose: Numerous studies have examined the association of physical, behavioral and social factors with cognitive decline in older adults. Less attention has been placed on factors associated with long-term maintenance of intact cognition even into very old age. A greater understanding of those factors can inform the development of activities for maintaining cognitive strength. Methods: Using a sample from the Hispanic Es Read More

The broad spectrum of economic and cultural diversity in the U.S. population correlates with and affects the study of behavioral aspects of health. The purpose of this article is to provide a selective overview of research findings from the Chicago Health and Aging Project (CHAP), which covers a socio-demographically diverse population in Chicago, with a focus on role-related psychosocial factors and observed racial/ethnic differe Read More

Background. Structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides key biomarkers to predict onset and track progression of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, most published reports of relationships between MRI variables and cognition in older adults include racially, ethnically, and socioeconomically homogenous samples. Racial/ethnic differences in MRI variables and cognitive performance, as well as health, socioe Read More

Metabolic syndrome (MetS), i.e., meeting criteria for any three of the following: hyperglycemia, hypertension, hypertriglyceridemia, low high-density lipoprotein and/or abdominal obesity, is associated with negative health outcomes. For example, MetS negatively impacts cognition; however, less is known about incremental MetS risk, i.e., meeting 1 or 2 as opposed to 3 or more criteria. We hypothesized incremental Read More

Objective: To quantify racial differences in brain structural characteristics in white and black octogenarians, and to examine whether these characteristics contribute to cognition. Methods: Cross-sectional study of 283 adults 79-89 years old (59.4% white;42.0% women) with data on gray matter integrity via diffusion tensor imaging (mean diffusivity), gray matter atrophy (GMA), white matter hyperintensities (WMH), literacy Read More

A common feature of neurodegenerative diseases is the formation of misfolded, mostly enzyme resistant proteins. These substances may form toxic assemblies according to the current concept of the neurodegenerative diseases. Overlapping of the misfolded proteins is typical in these disorders. The formation of misfolded proteins and toxic aggregates point to a common pathway of these disorders: failure in normal pr Read More

Beta-amyloid (Aβ), a neurotoxic peptide, accumulates in the brain of Alzheimer's disease (AD) subjects to initiate neuroinflammation eventually leading to memory impairment. Here, we demonstrated that Aβ-injected rats exhibited cognitive impairment and neuroinflammation with a remarkable reduction of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) levels in the hippocampus compared with that in shamoperated rats. Interestingly, the e Read More

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia worldwide. Type 2 diabetes (T2D) has been implicated as a risk factor for AD. Since T2D is a peripheral inflammatory condition, and AD brains exhibit exacerbated neuroinflammation, we hypothesized that inflammatory mechanisms could contribute to the observed link between T2D and AD. Abnormal peripheral and brain insulin concentrations have bee Read More

Positron emission tomography studies of cerebral glucose utilization and amyloid-β deposition with fluoro-deoxy-D-glucose ([18F]-FDG) and amyloid tracers have shown characteristic pathological changes in Alzheimer’s Disease that can be used for disease diagnosis and monitoring. Application of this technology to preclinical research with transgenic animal models would greatly facilitate drug discovery and further understandin Read More

Cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) is a group of diseases that originate from changes in cerebral small vessels and that cause many conditions, such as cognitive impairment. However, there is no effective therapy for these diseases. Recent studies have suggested that inflammation is associated with this disease. Cyclooxygenase-2 (cox-2) is an inflammatory mediator; however, whether a cox-2 inhibitor could protect a Read More