Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD
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To evaluate whether genetically increased serum uric acid levels influence the risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD), we used genome-wide significant single nucleotide polymorphisms for uric acid as the instrumental variables, and undertook a Mendelian randomization (MR) study to estimate the effect of uric acid on the risk of AD. The MR method prevents bias due to reverse causation (e.g., uric acid changes because of AD) and minimizes bias due to confounding of both measured and unmeasured confounders. We used the summary statistics from The International Genomics of Alzheimer's Project Consortium that is the largest AD genome-wide association study of 74,046 individuals of European ethnicity including 25,580 AD cases. ⋯ The MR analyses did not support a causal role of genetically elevated serum uric acid on AD risk (odds ratio: 1.02, 95% confidence interval: 0.93-1.12, p = 0.65). Sensitivity analyses, including MR-Egger regression, suggested no strong evidence of bias due to pleiotropy. In conclusion, lifelong genetically increased serum uric acid levels have no protective effect on the risk of AD.
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Meta Analysis
The Association between Social Engagement, Loneliness, and Risk of Dementia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
It has been reported that social engagement may be associated with dementia risk. We searched PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, LILACS, Biomed Central, Scopus, and Web of Science from January 2012 - May 2017, supplemented by extraction from previous reviews. We included cohort and case-control studies examining the association between social engagement or loneliness and dementia risk, pooling data using a random-effects model. ⋯ In long-term studies (≥10 years), good social engagement was modestly protective (RR = 0.88, 95% CI 0.80-0.96; I2 = 0.00%). Loneliness was non-significantly associated with increased risk (RR = 1.38, 95% CI 0.98-1.94; I2 = 45.32). Our findings encourage interventions targeting social isolation and disengagement for dementia prevention.
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The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is used to evaluate multiple cognitive domains in elderly individuals. However, it is influenced by demographic characteristics that have yet to be adequately considered. ⋯ We developed a formula to provide demographically adjusted standard scores for the MoCA in a German-speaking population. A comparison with other MoCA normative studies revealed considerable differences with respect to selection of volunteers and methods used to establish normative data.
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There are currently no questionnaires to measure the knowledge of nurses about dementia or Alzheimer's disease care in the Spanish language. ⋯ The DKAT2-Sp is a reliable and valid questionnaire to measure knowledge about dementia in both nursing professionals and nursing students in Spanish-speaking contexts.
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The overlap between frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and primary psychiatric disorders has been brought to light by reports of prominent neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) in FTD-related genetic mutations, particularly among C9orf72 and GRN carriers. It has been recently demonstrated that early neuroanatomical changes in genetic FTD may be different across the major disease-causing mutations. ⋯ Neuroanatomical correlates of NPS appear to be distinct across the main forms of genetic FTD. Overall, our findings support overlapping brain structural changes between FTD and primary psychiatric disorders.