Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD
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Delirium is associated with dementia and thus biomarkers reflecting neurodegeneration are of interest. Fatty acid-binding protein 3 (FABP3) is a cytoplasmic neuronal protein that has been isolated from the brain. It is released following brain injury and concentrations in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) are also higher in neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). ⋯ CSF FABP3 concentrations were higher in hip fracture patients compared with cognitively normal older adults, indicating ongoing age-related neurodegeneration in these patients. There were no differences of CSF FABP3 concentrations across delirium groups, suggesting that neuronal damage or degeneration reflected by FABP3 may not be directly linked to delirium pathophysiology.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
A Pilot Double-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial of Cognitive Training Combined with Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation for Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment.
There is currently no effective intervention for improving memory in people at increased risk for dementia. Cognitive training (CT) has been promising, though effects are modest, particularly at follow-up. ⋯ This study found that CT+Active tDCS did not produce greater memory improvement compared to CT+Sham tDCS. Large-sized memory improvements occurred in both conditions at follow-up. One possible interpretation, based on recent novel findings, is that low intensity tDCS (used as 'sham') may have contributed biological effects. Further work should use a completely inert tDCS sham condition.
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Sex differences in pain have been shown to exist in older adults with normal cognition and people with Alzheimer's disease. It is unknown if sex differences in pain in older adults exist in a range of communicative older adults with varying cognitive ability from no impairment to moderately severe cognitive impairment. ⋯ Between-group findings suggest that patterns of responses to thermal stimulus intensity may differ between males and females with worsening cognition with females reporting significantly less unpleasantness with the percept of moderate pain and males reporting significantly higher unpleasantness with moderate pain perception.
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Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an age-related progressive form of dementia that features neuronal loss, intracellular tau, and extracellular amyloid-β (Aβ) protein deposition. Neurodegeneration is accompanied by neuroinflammation mainly involving microglia, the resident innate immune cell population of the brain. During AD progression, microglia shift their phenotype, and it has been suggested that they express matricellular proteins such as secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC) and Hevin protein, which facilitate the migration of other immune cells, such as blood-derived dendritic cells. ⋯ SPARC is highly expressed in AD brain and collocates to Aβ protein deposits, thus contributing actively to cerebral inflammation and subsequent tissue repair, and Hevin may be downregulated in the diseased state. However, further research is needed to reveal the exact roles of SPARC and Hevin proteins and associated signaling pathways in AD-related neuroinflammation. Nevertheless, normalizing SPARC/Hevin protein expression such as interdicting heightened SPARC protein expression may confer a novel therapeutic opportunity for modulating AD progression.
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Increased expression of the astroglial Ca2+-binding protein S100B has been observed in various neurodegenerative diseases and also seems to play a role in the unfolding of pathophysiological events at early stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD). ⋯ Our data suggest that CSF S100B may have a diagnostic value particularly at early stages of AD reflecting the significance of neuroinflammatory/astroglial processes. Thus, CSF S100B may complement the established array of available AD biomarkers to improve early stage diagnosis.