BACKGROUND Agraphia is a typical feature in the clinical course of Alzheimer's disease (AD). OBJECTIVE Assess the differences between AD and normal aging as regards kinematographic features of handwriting and elucidate writing deficits in AD. METHODS The study included 23 patients with AD (78.09 years/SD = 7.12; MMSE 21.39/SD = 3.61) and 34 healthy controls (75.56 years/SD = 5.85; MMSE 29.06/SD = 0.78). Both groups performed alphabetical and non-alphabetical writing tasks. The kinematographic as...
Last. Erin L. Abner(UK: University of Kentucky)H-Index: 53
view all 8 authors...
BACKGROUND Late-life cognitive function is heterogeneous, ranging from no decline to severe dementia. Prior studies of cognitive trajectories have tended to focus on a single measure of global cognition or individual tests scores, rather than considering longitudinal performance on multiple tests simultaneously. OBJECTIVE The current study aimed to examine cognitive trajectories from two independent datasets to assess whether similar patterns might describe longitudinal cognition in the decade p...
#2Sara Wijnant(EUR: Erasmus University Rotterdam)H-Index: 1
Last. M. Arfan Ikram(EUR: Erasmus University Rotterdam)H-Index: 106
view all 8 authors...
BACKGROUND The etiology of dementia may partly be underpinned by impaired lung function via systemic inflammation and hypoxia. OBJECTIVE To prospectively examine the association between chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and subclinical impairments in lung function and the risk of dementia. METHODS In the Rotterdam Study, we assessed the risk of incident dementia in participants with Preserved Ratio Impaired Spirometry (PRISm; FEV1/FVC≥0.7, FEV1 < 80%) and in participants with COPD (FE...
BACKGROUND Increasing evidence suggests that hypertension is a risk factor for cognitive impairment and dementia. The relationship between blood pressure and cognition in a racially and ethnically diverse population remains unclear. OBJECTIVE To study association of blood pressure with cognition cross-sectionally and longitudinally in the elderly. METHODS Participants are stroke-free individuals from the racially and ethnically diverse Northern Manhattan Study (NOMAS) (n = 1215). General linear ...
#1Rafia S Rasu(University of North Texas Health Science Center)H-Index: 1
#2Nistha Shrestha(University of North Texas Health Science Center)H-Index: 4
Last. Sid E. O'Bryant(University of North Texas Health Science Center)H-Index: 39
view all 7 authors...
BACKGROUND Polypharmacy (using≥5 medications) is associated with poor health outcomes. Mixed results from past studies surrounding chronic medication use, control of chronic conditions, and their effects on cognitive performance warrant further attention. OBJECTIVE Investigate a link between polypharmacy and cognition function in rural-dwelling adults in Texas, USA. METHODS Project FRONTIER (Facing Rural Obstacles to Healthcare Now Through Intervention, Education & Research) is a cross-sectional...
Last. Goran Šimić(University of Zagreb)H-Index: 24
view all 14 authors...
BACKGROUND The major confirmed genetic risk factor for late-onset, sporadic Alzheimer's disease (AD) is variant ɛ4 of apolipoprotein E gene (APOE). It is proposed that ApoE, a protein involved in transport of cholesterol to neurons can cause neurodegeneration in AD through interaction with metals. Previous studies mostly associated copper, iron, zinc, and calcium with ApoE4-mediated toxicity. OBJECTIVE To test the association of essential metals with APOE genotype. METHODS We compared plasma and...
BACKGROUND Hypnotics, including benzodiazepines, are extensively and inappropriately prescribed for older people to treat anxiety and sleep disorders, despite the adverse health outcomes associated with their use. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to examine the association of the use of long- and short-acting hypnotics with the risk of Alzheimer's disease. METHODS Data from 234,634 participants, derived from the Korean National Health Insurance Service National Sample Cohort from 2002 to 2013, were ex...
BACKGROUND Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by impairments in synaptic plasticity and cognitive performance. Cognitive dysfunction and loss of neuronal plasticity are known to begin decades before the clinical diagnosis of the disease. The important influence of congenital genetic mutations on the early development of AD provides a novel opportunity to initiate treatment during early development to prevent the Alzheimer-like behavior and synaptic...
Last. Sudha Seshadri(University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio)H-Index: 113
view all 8 authors...
BACKGROUND An association between chronic infectious diseases and development of dementia has been suspected for decades, based on the finding of pathogens in postmortem brain tissue and on serological evidence. However, questions remain regarding confounders, reverse causality, and how accurate, reproducible and generalizable those findings are. OBJECTIVE Investigate whether exposure to Herpes simplex (manifested as herpes labialis), Chlamydophila pneumoniae (C. pneumoniae), Helicobacter pylori...
Last. Saima Hilal(University Health System)H-Index: 22
view all 6 authors...
BACKGROUND Cerebrovascular disease (CeVD) is an underlying cause of cognitive impairment and dementia. Hypertension is a known risk factor of CeVD, but the effects of mean of visit-to-visit blood pressure (BP) on incident CeVD and functional-cognitive decline remains unclear. OBJECTIVE To determine the association between mean of visit-to-visit BP with the incidence and progression of CeVD [white matter hyperintensities (WMH), infarcts (cortical infarcts and lacunes), cerebral microbleeds (CMBs)...