Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD
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Modern analysis of electroencephalographic (EEG) rhythms provides information on dynamic brain connectivity. To test the hypothesis that aging processes modulate the brain connectivity network, EEG recording was conducted on 113 healthy volunteers. They were divided into three groups in accordance with their ages: 36 Young (15-45 years), 46 Adult (50-70 years), and 31 Elderly (>70 years). ⋯ The correlation between age and λ showed that higher ages corresponded to higher λ in delta and theta and lower in the alpha2 band; this pattern reflects the age-related modulation of higher (alpha) and decreased (delta) connectivity. The Normalized Clustering coefficient (γ) and small-world network modeling (σ) showed non-significant age-modulation. Evidence from the present study suggests that graph theory can aid in the analysis of connectivity patterns estimated from EEG and can facilitate the study of the physiological and pathological brain aging features of functional connectivity networks.
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Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) may contribute to the development of postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). ⋯ Our results show that the presence of MCI is not the leading cause of either early or long-term POCD in patients undergoing CABG. Further research should focus on the contribution of important clinical factors, including progression of atherosclerosis and adherence, to post-CABG POCD.
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Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers have recently been included in the criteria for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Since interpretation of CSF profile requires the combination of three parameters, biological data are not always conclusive and isolated elevation of phosphorylated tau (P-tau) or reduction of amyloid-β (Aβ)42 alone can be observed. In these cases, Aβ42/Aβ40 ratio could be more relevant than Aβ42 absolute values by considering inter-individual variations in the total amyloid load. ⋯ Our results support the use of the Aβ42/Aβ40 ratio in addition to the usual CSF AD biomarkers for patients with ambiguous biological profiles. This method could be specifically directed to this population in order to improve the level of certainty for clinical routine practice.
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TREM2 has been reported to be associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Here, we evaluated TREM2 mRNA and protein expressions in peripheral blood from AD patients and healthy controls. ⋯ According to ROC curve analysis, the diagnostic accuracy for TREM2 protein levels on monocytes was 70%, with the sensitivity and specificity 68% and 72%, respectively. Our results indicate that TREM2 might serve as a novel noninvasive biomarker for AD diagnosis.
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Scales of global cognition and behavior, often used as endpoints for intervention trials in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI), are insufficiently responsive (i.e., relatively insensitive to change). Large patient samples are needed to detect beneficial drug effects. Therefore, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measures of cerebral atrophy have been proposed as surrogate endpoints. ⋯ Neuropsychological assessment is more responsive than MRI measures of brain atrophy for detecting disease progression in memory clinic patients with MCI or AD.