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Association of dietary fat composition with cognitive performance and brain morphology in cognitively healthy individuals.
Matura, S, Prvulovic, D, Mohadjer, N, Fusser, F, Oertel, V, Reif, A, Pantel, J, Karakaya, T
Acta neuropsychiatrica. 2021;(3):134-140
Abstract
BACKGROUND Dietary lipids (omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3) PUFAs) and saturated fatty acids (SFA) seem to play an important role in brain health. (n-3) PUFAs have been shown to improve cerebral perfusion and to promote synaptogenesis. In this study, we investigated the relationship between dietary fat composition, cognitive performance and brain morphology in cognitively healthy individuals. METHODS A total of 101 cognitively healthy participants (age: 42.3 ± 21.3 years, 62 females) were included in this study. Verbal memory was assessed using the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT). Intake of (n-3) PUFA and SFA was calculated from food-frequency questionnaire-derived data (EPIC-FFQ). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data were obtained (Siemens Trio 3T scanner) and grey matter volumes (GMV) were assessed by voxel-based morphometry (VBM/SPM8). We examined the association of SFA/(n-3) PUFA ratio and memory performance as well as GMV using regression models adjusted for age, sex, education, body mass index, apolipoprotein E (APOE) status and alcohol consumption. For VBM data, a multiple regression analysis was performed using the same covariates as mentioned before with intracranial volume as an additional covariate. RESULTS A high SFA/(n-3) PUFA ratio was significantly (p < 0.05) correlated with poorer verbal memory performance and with lower GMV in areas of the left prefrontal cortex that support memory processes. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that a diet rich in PUFAs is likely to exert favourable effects on brain morphology in brain areas important for memory and executive functions. This could constitute a possible mechanism for maintaining cognitive health in older age.
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Association of Cognitive Function and Retinal Neural and Vascular Structure in Type 1 Diabetes.
Fickweiler, W, Wolfson, EA, Paniagua, SM, Yu, MG, Adam, A, Bahnam, V, Sampani, K, Wu, IH, Musen, G, Aiello, LP, et al
The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism. 2021;(4):1139-1149
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Abstract
CONTEXT Cognitive dysfunction is a growing and understudied public health issue in the aging type 1 diabetic population and is difficult and time-consuming to diagnose. Studies in long duration type 1 diabetes have reported the presence of proliferative diabetic retinopathy was associated with cognitive dysfunction. OBJECTIVE This study assessed whether structural and vascular abnormalities of the retina, representing an extension of the central nervous system, are associated with cognitive impairment and other complications of type 1 diabetes. METHODS An observational cross-sectional study of individuals with 50 or more years of type 1 diabetes (Joslin Medalist Study) was conducted at a university hospital in the United States. The study included 129 participants with complete cognitive testing. Validated cognitive testing measures included psychomotor speed, and immediate, and delayed memory. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) and OCT angiography (OCTA) were performed to obtain neural retinal layer thicknesses and vascular density for superficial (SCP) and deep retinal capillary plexus (DCP). Multivariable modeling was adjusted for potential confounders associated with outcomes in unadjusted analyses. RESULTS Decreased vessel density of the SCP and DCP was associated with worse delayed memory (DCP: P = .002) and dominant hand psychomotor speed (SCP: P = .01). Thinning of the retinal outer nuclear layer was associated with worse psychomotor speed both in nondominant and dominant hands (P = .01 and P = .05, respectively). Outer plexiform layer thickness was associated with delayed memory (P = .04). CONCLUSION These findings suggest that noninvasive retinal imaging using OCT and OCTA may assist in estimating the risks for cognitive dysfunction in people with type 1 diabetes.
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Interindividual differences in attentional vulnerability moderate cognitive performance during sleep restriction and subsequent recovery in healthy young men.
Mathew, GM, Strayer, SM, Ness, KM, Schade, MM, Nahmod, NG, Buxton, OM, Chang, AM
Scientific reports. 2021;(1):19147
Abstract
We investigated whether interindividual attentional vulnerability moderates performance on domain-specific cognitive tasks during sleep restriction (SR) and subsequent recovery sleep. Fifteen healthy men (M ± SD, 22.3 ± 2.8 years) were exposed to three nights of baseline, five nights of 5-h time in bed SR, and two nights of recovery sleep. Participants completed tasks assessing working memory, visuospatial processing, and processing speed approximately every two hours during wake. Analyses examined performance across SR and recovery (linear predictor day or quadratic predictor day2) moderated by attentional vulnerability per participant (difference between mean psychomotor vigilance task lapses after the fifth SR night versus the last baseline night). For significant interactions between day/day2 and vulnerability, we investigated the effect of day/day2 at 1 SD below (less vulnerable level) and above (more vulnerable level) the mean of attentional vulnerability (N = 15 in all analyses). Working memory accuracy and speed on the Fractal 2-Back and visuospatial processing speed and efficiency on the Line Orientation Task improved across the entire study at the less vulnerable level (mean - 1SD) but not the more vulnerable level (mean + 1SD). Therefore, vulnerability to attentional lapses after SR is a marker of susceptibility to working memory and visuospatial processing impairment during SR and subsequent recovery.
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Associations of Alcohol Consumption with Cerebrospinal Fluid Biomarkers of Alzheimer's Disease Pathology in Cognitively Intact Older Adults: The CABLE Study.
Wang, ZT, Li, KY, Tan, CC, Xu, W, Shen, XN, Cao, XP, Wang, P, Bi, YL, Dong, Q, Tan, L, et al
Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD. 2021;(3):1045-1054
Abstract
BACKGROUND The relationship between alcohol consumption and Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology is unclear. Amyloid-β (Aβ) and tau biomarkers in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) have been proven valuable in establishing prognosis in pre-clinical AD. OBJECTIVE We sought to examine the associations between alcohol consumption and CSF AD biomarkers in cognitive intact subjects. METHODS A total of 806 cognitively intact participants who had measurements of CSF Aβ, pTau, and total Tau proteins and drinking characteristics were included from the Chinese Alzheimer's Biomarker and Lifestyle (CABLE) study. Linear and logistic regression analyses were utilized to explore the associations of alcohol consumption with CSF AD biomarkers. We examined the interaction effects of age, gender, and apolipoprotein epsilon (APOE) ɛ4 status on the relationships between the frequency of drinking and CSF biomarkers. RESULTS The multiple linear regression analyses revealed significant differences in CSF AD biomarkers between infrequent drinking (< 1 times/week) and frequent drinking groups (≥1 times/week). Participants in frequent drinking group had higher CSF p-tau/Aβ42 and tTau/Aβ42. Frequent drinking was significantly associated with greater pTau and tTau abnormalities compared to the infrequent drinking group in older (> 65 years) participants. CONCLUSION The present study showed significant associations between drinking frequency and CSF AD biomarkers in cognitively intact older adults. Alcohol consumption may have an influence on AD by modulating amyloid deposition and tau phosphorylation in the preclinical stage.
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Breakfast and Exercise Improve Academic and Cognitive Performance in Adolescents.
Kawabata, M, Lee, K, Choo, HC, Burns, SF
Nutrients. 2021;(4)
Abstract
This study examined the combined effects of breakfast and exercise on short-term academic and cognitive performance in adolescents. Eighty-two adolescents (64 female), aged 14-19 years, were randomized to four groups over a 4-hour morning: (i) a group who fasted and were sedentary (F-S); (ii) a group who ate breakfast but were sedentary (B-S); (iii) a group who fasted but completed a 30-min exercise bout (F-E); and (iv) a group who ate breakfast and completed a 30-min exercise bout (B-E). Individuals completed academic and cognitive tests over the morning. Adolescents in B-E significantly improved their mathematics score (B-E: 15.2% improvement on correct answers, vs. F-S: 6.7% improvement on correct answers; p = 0.014) and computation time for correct answers (B-E: 16.7% improvement, vs. F-S: 7.4% improvement; p = 0.004) over the morning compared with the F-S group. The B-E group had faster reaction times for congruent, incongruent and control trials of the Stroop Color-Word Task compared with F-S mid-morning (all p < 0.05). Morning breakfast and exercise combine to improve short-term mathematical task performance and speed in adolescents.
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Serum metabolomic biomarkers of perceptual speed in cognitively normal and mildly impaired subjects with fasting state stratification.
Borkowski, K, Taha, AY, Pedersen, TL, De Jager, PL, Bennett, DA, Arnold, M, Kaddurah-Daouk, R, Newman, JW
Scientific reports. 2021;(1):18964
Abstract
Cognitive decline is associated with both normal aging and early pathologies leading to dementia. Here we used quantitative profiling of metabolites involved in the regulation of inflammation, vascular function, neuronal function and energy metabolism, including oxylipins, endocannabinoids, bile acids, and steroid hormones to identify metabolic biomarkers of mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Serum samples (n = 212) were obtained from subjects with or without MCI opportunistically collected with incomplete fasting state information. To maximize power and stratify the analysis of metabolite associations with MCI by the fasting state, we developed an algorithm to predict subject fasting state when unknown (n = 73). In non-fasted subjects, linoleic acid and palmitoleoyl ethanolamide levels were positively associated with perceptual speed. In fasted subjects, soluble epoxide hydrolase activity and tauro-alpha-muricholic acid levels were negatively associated with perceptual speed. Other cognitive domains showed associations with bile acid metabolism, but only in the non-fasted state. Importantly, this study shows unique associations between serum metabolites and cognitive function in the fasted and non-fasted states and provides a fasting state prediction algorithm based on measurable metabolites.
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Vascular risk factors are associated with a decline in resting-state functional connectivity in cognitively unimpaired individuals at risk for Alzheimer's disease: Vascular risk factors and functional connectivity changes.
Köbe, T, Binette, AP, Vogel, JW, Meyer, PF, Breitner, JCS, Poirier, J, Villeneuve, S, ,
NeuroImage. 2021;:117832
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Resting-state functional connectivity is suggested to be cross-sectionally associated with both vascular burden and Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology. However, evidence is lacking regarding longitudinal changes in functional connectivity. This study includes 247 cognitively unimpaired individuals with a family history of sporadic AD (185 women/ 62 men; mean [SD] age of 63 [5.3] years). Plasma total-, HDL-, and LDL-cholesterol and systolic and diastolic blood pressure were measured at baseline. Global (whole-brain) brain functional connectivity and connectivity from canonical functional networks were computed from resting-state functional MRI obtained at baseline and ~3.5 years of annual follow-ups, using a predefined functional parcellation. A subsample underwent Aβ- and tau-PET (n=91). Linear mixed-effects models demonstrated that global functional connectivity increased over time across the entire sample. In contrast, higher total-cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol levels were associated with greater reduction of functional connectivity in the default-mode network over time. In addition, higher diastolic blood pressure was associated with global functional connectivity reduction. The associations were similar when the analyses were repeated using two other functional brain parcellations. Aβ and tau deposition in the brain were not associated with changes in functional connectivity over time in the subsample. These findings provide evidence that vascular burden is associated with a decrease in functional connectivity over time in older adults with elevated risk for AD. Future studies are needed to determine if the impact of vascular risk factors on functional brain changes precede the impact of AD pathology on functional brain changes.
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Associations of Green Tea Consumption and Cerebrospinal Fluid Biomarkers of Alzheimer's Disease Pathology in Cognitively Intact Older Adults: The CABLE Study.
Ma, YH, Wu, JH, Xu, W, Shen, XN, Wang, HF, Hou, XH, Cao, XP, Bi, YL, Dong, Q, Feng, L, et al
Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD. 2020;(1):411-421
Abstract
BACKGROUND Green tea has been widely recognized in ameliorating cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease (AD), especially the progression of cognitive dysfunction. But the underlying mechanism is still unclear. OBJECTIVE This study was designed to determine the role of green tea consumption in the association with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers of AD pathology and to ascertain whether specific population backgrounds showed the differences toward these relationships. METHODS Multivariate linear models analyzed the available data on CSF biomarkers and frequency of green tea consumption of 722 cognitively intact participants from the Chinese Alzheimer's Biomarker and LifestylE (CABLE) database, and we additionally detected the interaction effects of tea consumption with APOEɛ4 status and gender using a two-way analysis of covariance. RESULTS Frequent green tea consumption was associated with a decreased level of CSF total-tau protein (t-tau) (p = 0.041) but not with the levels of CSF amyloid-β 42 (Aβ42) and CSF phosphorylated tau. The more pronounced associations of green tea consumption with CSF t-tau (p = 0.007) and CSF t-tau/Aβ42 (p = 0.039) were observed in individuals aged 65 years or younger. Additionally, males with frequent green tea consumption had a significantly low level of CSF t-tau/Aβ42 and a modest trend toward decreased CSF t-tau. There were no interaction effects of green tea consumption with APOEɛ4 and gender. CONCLUSION Collectively, our findings consolidated the favorable effects of green tea on the mitigation of AD risk. The constituents of green tea may improve abnormal tau metabolism and are promising targets in interventions and drug therapies.
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Long-Term Outcomes of Cerebral Blood Flow and Neurotransmitter Receptor Function on Iodine-123-Iomazenil Single-Photon Emission Computed Tomography and Cognitive Assessments After Parent Artery Occlusion Combined with Cerebral Revascularization for Internal Carotid Artery Aneurysms.
Kubo, Y, Koji, T, Murakami, T, Yoshida, K, Matsumoto, Y, Ogasawara, K
World neurosurgery. 2020;:e199-e205
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Many studies of external-internal carotid artery (EC-IC) bypass as cerebral revascularization for unclippable internal carotid artery (ICA) aneurysms have reported surgical outcomes, including bypass patency and aneurysm resolution. However, no previous studies have assessed the long-term outcomes of cerebral blood flow (CBF), brain neural density, and cognition. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the long-term outcomes of CBF and neurotransmitter receptor function using early and late images of iodine-123 (123I)-iomazenil (IMZ) single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and the cognitive function of patients who had undergone EC-IC bypass for symptomatic aneurysms in the cavernous portion of the ICA. METHODS We performed a prospective observational study of 11 patients who had undergone superficial temporal artery-middle cerebral artery bypass or bypass using a saphenous vein graft for symptomatic aneurysms in the cavernous portion of the ICA. One patient experienced extensive infarction and, therefore, did not undergo postoperative testing. 123I-IMZ SPECT was performed with scanning at 23 minutes (early) and 180 minutes (late) after tracer administration before and after surgery. The preoperative and follow-up neuropsychological test scores from 6 patients were also analyzed. RESULTS None of 10 patients who had undergone EC-IC bypass showed reductions in CBF and brain neural density. In addition, the neuropsychological test scores had not changed significantly from preoperatively to postoperatively. CONCLUSION Using early and late 123I-IMZ SPECT, the present study has demonstrated that patients undergoing uncomplicated cerebral revascularization for unclippable ICA aneurysms will not experience reductions in CBF or neurotransmitter receptor function, and their cognitive function was not impaired.
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Early Life Experiences and Trajectories of Cognitive Development.
McCormick, BJJ, Caulfield, LE, Richard, SA, Pendergast, L, Seidman, JC, Maphula, A, Koshy, B, Blacy, L, Roshan, R, Nahar, B, et al
Pediatrics. 2020;(3)
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BACKGROUND Multiple factors constrain the trajectories of child cognitive development, but the drivers that differentiate the trajectories are unknown. We examine how multiple early life experiences differentiate patterns of cognitive development over the first 5 years of life in low-and middle-income settings. METHODS Cognitive development of 835 children from the Etiology, Risk Factors, and Interactions of Enteric Infections and Malnutrition and the Consequences for Child Health and Development (MAL-ED) multisite observational cohort study was assessed at 6, 15, 24 (Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development), and 60 months (Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence). Markers of socioeconomic status, infection, illness, dietary intake and status, anthropometry, and maternal factors were also assessed. Trajectories of development were determined by latent class-mixed models, and factors associated with class membership were examined by discriminant analysis. RESULTS Five trajectory groups of cognitive development are described. The variables that best discriminated between trajectories included presence of stimulating and learning resources in the home, emotional or verbal responsivity of caregiver and the safety of the home environment (especially at 24 and 60 months), proportion of days (0-24 months) for which the child had diarrhea, acute lower respiratory infection, fever or vomiting, maternal reasoning ability, mean nutrient densities of zinc and phytate, and total energy from complementary foods (9-24 months). CONCLUSIONS A supporting and nurturing environment was the variable most strongly differentiating the most and least preferable trajectories of cognitive development. In addition, a higher quality diet promoted cognitive development while prolonged illness was indicative of less favorable patterns of development.