Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD
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Behavioral and psychological signs and symptoms of dementia (BPSD) belong to the core symptoms of dementia and are also common in mild cognitive impairment (MCI). ⋯ Depressive symptoms in MCI appear to be predictors for progression to AD.
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Silent or asymptomatic lacunar infarcts (LACI) are common in elderly individuals, but it remains largely unclear how these often neglected silent brain infarcts lead to multiple domain cognitive deficits and even Alzheimer's disease (AD). In this study, we investigated the difference between patients with silent LACI in basal ganglia region and healthy controls for the structural and functional changes in the aspects of alterations of gray matter (GM) volume and intra-/inter-default mode network (DMN) and salience network (SN) connectivity. Thirty patients with silent LACI in the basal ganglia region and thirty healthy controls participated in the study. ⋯ The connectivity within and between two networks was also reduced in patients. Importantly, the disrupted connectivity correlated with the patients' cognitive performance. Our findings support the hypothesis that silent lacunar infarcts result in cognitive decline, GM, and functional connectivity loss.
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Review
Influence of anesthetics on Alzheimer's disease: biophysical, animal model, and clinical reports.
Since the finding in the 1880 s that elderly patients may experience cognitive decline following surgery, the search for an understanding of this phenomenon has been underway. In the last decade, evidence from biophysical (light scattering and nuclear magnetic resonance), in vitro, in vivo animal studies, retrospective evaluations of human registries, and recently prospective randomized trials have explored the idea that various anesthetic agents play a role in this phenomenon by interacting with the biochemical mechanisms that are also responsible for the development of Alzheimer's disease. In the current review, we examine the evidence available and conclude that there is significant evidence to suggest an important role for this mechanism.
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The aim of this study was to investigate the neuronal network characteristics in physiological and pathological brain aging. A database of 378 participants divided in three groups was analyzed: Alzheimer's disease (AD), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and normal elderly (Nold) subjects. ⋯ Furthermore, the analysis of eLORETA cortical connectivity suggested that for the normalized Characteristic Path Length (λ) the pattern differences between normal cognition and dementia were observed in the theta band (MCI subjects are find similar to healthy subjects), while for the normalized Clustering coefficient (γ) a significant increment was found for AD group in delta, theta, and alpha 1 bands; finally, the small world (σ) parameter presented a significant interaction between AD and MCI groups showing a theta increase in MCI. The fact that AD patients respect the MCI subjects were significantly impaired in theta but not in alpha bands connectivity are in line with the hypothesis of an intermediate status of MCI between normal condition and overt dementia.
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To determine whether jugular venous reflux (JVR) is associated with cerebral white matter changes (WMCs) in individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD), we studied 12 AD patients 24 mild cognitive impairment (MCI) patients, and 17 elderly age- and gender-matched controls. Duplex ultrasonography and 1.5T MRI scanning was applied to quantify cerebral WMCs [T2 white matter (WM) lesion and dirty-appearing-white-matter (DAWM)]. Subjects with severe JVR had more frequently hypertension (p = 0.044), more severe WMC, including increased total (p = 0.047) and periventricular DAWM volumes (p = 0.008), and a trend for increased cerebrospinal fluid volumes (p = 0.067) compared with the other groups. ⋯ These JVR-WMC association patterns were not seen in the control and MCI groups. Therefore, this pilot study suggests that there may be an association between JVR and WMCs in AD patients, implying that cerebral venous outflow impairment might play a role in the dynamics of WMCs formation in AD patients, particularly in the periventricular regions. Further longitudinal studies are needed to confirm and validate our findings.