BrainBlog

A report from the BBC : Brain function can start declining 'as early as age 45' BBC 5 January 2012 Last updated at 20:08 ET [snip] "The brain's ability to function can start to deteriorate as early as 45, suggests a study in the British Medical Journal. "University College London researchers found a 3.6% decline in mental reasoning in women and men aged 45-49. "They assessed the memory, vocabulary and comprehension skills of 7,000 men and women aged 45 to 70 over 10 years." [snip] Read the full article Related report from the CBC : Brain may start decline at age 45 Cognitive function may begin deteriorating earlier than previously believed CBC News Posted: Jan 5, 2012 6:45 PM ET Last Updated: Jan 6, 2012 7:14 AM ET [snip] "Memory, reasoning and comprehension skills can start to decline at age 45, research published Thursday suggests. "The findings go against previous research that had found cognitive decline starts after age 60 — and highlight ...

Subjective Cognitive Complaints of Older Adults at the Population Level: An Item Response Theory Analysis Alzheimers Disease and Associated Disorders. 2011 Dec 20; Snitz BE, Yu L, Crane PK, Chang CC, Hughes TF, Ganguli M Abstract Subjective cognitive complaints (SCCs) are increasingly a focus in studies on prodromal Alzheimer disease (AD) and risk for dementia. Little is known about the optimal approach to measure SCCs. We used item response theory (IRT) to examine the characteristics of 24 SCC items in a sample of 3495 older adults pooled from 4 community-based studies. We investigated the potential advantages of IRT scoring over conventional scoring on the basis of participants' item response patterns. Items most likely endorsed by individuals low in SCC severity relate to word retrieval and general subjective memory decline. Items likely endorsed only by individuals high in SCC severity relate to nonepisodic memory changes, such as decline in comprehension, judgment and executi...

A reminder that tomorrow (Monday) you can watch the conference online. Information, including the programme, can be found at http://consensus.nih.gov/2010/alz.htm . If you tweet, the hashtag for the conference is #NIHAlz

Elfgren C, Gustafson L, Vestberg S, & Passant U. Subjective memory complaints, neuropsychological performance and psychiatric variables in memory clinic attendees: A 3-year follow-up study. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics. 2010 Mar 6. [Epub ahead of print] Department of Geriatric Psychiatry, Clinical Sciences, Lund University Hospital, SE-221 85 Lund, Sweden. The aims were to evaluate the cognitive performance and clinical diagnosis in patients ( PMID: 20211500 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Today's recommended read deals with an important neuropsychological assessment issue in the domain of aging and the potential to identify the presence of cognitive problems that might (emphasis on "might" - such findings in a screen are not definitive) be part of the onset of a dementing disease process. The issue has implications, as well, for applications in CNS clinical trials. Scharre DW, Chang SI, Murden RA, Lamb J, Beversdorf DQ, Kataki M, Nagaraja HN, & Bornstein RA. Self-administered Gerocognitive Examination (SAGE): A Brief Cognitive Assessment Instrument for Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and Early Dementia. Alzheimer Disease and Associate Disorders. 2010 January/March; 24(1), 64-71. OBJECTIVES: To develop a self-administered cognitive assessment instrument to facilitate the screening of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and early dementia and determine its association with gold standard clinical assessments including neuropsychologic evaluation. METHODS: A...

Settling in in my coffeehouse for a reading of an interesting new publication by Dr. Brian Brooks and his colleagues on the topic of "Minimizing Misdiagnosis: Psychometric Criteria for Possible or Probable Memory Impairment." The authors seek to develop new psychometric criteria for identification of memory problems in older individuals. This has both clinical and research implications; my primary interest at this time is the accuracy of such identification for including or excluding individuals in clinical trials that test potential drug treatments for Alzheimer's and related dementias.

Pratt LA, Weeks JD, & Goulding MR. Measures of cognitive functioning in the 1994-2000 Second Longitudinal Study of Aging . National Health Statistics Reports. 2008 Jul 7; (2): 1-15. US Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, Hyattsville, MD 20782, USA. OBJECTIVES: This report describes in detail the measures of cognitive functioning administered in the Second Longitudinal Study of Aging (LSOA II) and proposes a three-category cognitive impairment variable for analysts' use that is derived from the individual measures. METHODS: LSOA II self-respondents completed an 11-question cognitive functioning measure based on the Telephone Interview of Cognitive Status (TICS) instrument. Proxy respondents answered nine questions drawn from the short Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly (IQCODE). Using cut points provided in the literature as a guide, a single three-level categorical...

A press release from the NIH earlier today: NIA and McKnight Brain Research Foundation Join Forces to Support Cognitive Aging Research The Research Partnership in Cognitive Aging is a newly launched public-private effort to support current and emerging research on age-related changes in the brain and cognition. Jointly funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the McKnight Brain Research Foundation , through the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH), this effort is expected to award an estimated $20 million in research grants over the next five years. The research partnership is aimed at expanding understanding of how we think, learn and remember with age and at developing interventions to maintain cognitive health as we grow older. Read the full release

From The BBC: Internet use 'good for the brain' Read the full article [snip] Lead researcher Professor Gary Small said: "The study results are encouraging, that emerging computerized technologies may have physiological effects and potential benefits for middle-aged and older adults. "Internet searching engages complicated brain activity, which may help exercise and improve brain function." The latest study was based on 24 volunteers aged between 55 and 76. Half were experienced internet users, the rest were not. Each volunteer underwent a brain scan while performing web searches and book-reading tasks. Both types of task produced evidence of significant activity in regions of the brain controlling language, reading, memory and visual abilities. However, the web search task produced significant additional activity in separate areas of the brain which control decision-making and complex reasoning - but only in those who were experienced web users. The researchers ...

Nutter-Upham KE, Saykin AJ, Rabin LA, Roth RM, Wishart HA, Pare N, Flashman LA. Verbal fluency performance in amnestic MCI and older adults with cognitive complaints. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology . 2008 May; 23(3): 229-241. Neuropsychology Program, Department of Psychiatry, Dartmouth Medical School/DHMC, Lebanon, NH, USA. Verbal fluency tests are employed regularly during neuropsychological assessments of older adults, and deficits are a common finding in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Little extant research, however, has investigated verbal fluency ability and subtypes in preclinical stages of neurodegenerative disease. We examined verbal fluency performance in 107 older adults with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI, n=37), cognitive complaints (CC, n=37) despite intact neuropsychological functioning, and demographically matched healthy controls (HC, n=33). Participants completed fluency tasks with letter, semantic category, and semantic switching constrain...

Yep - another fine New York Times interview about neuro gymnastics: Boomers, Exercise Your Brains, or Else You’ll...Uh... By KATIE HAFNER Published: May 3, 2008 "The fear of a decaying brain has inspired a mini-industry of products from dietary supplements to computer games." [ ... Read the full article ... ]

Börjesson-Hanson A, Gustafson D, & Skoog I. Five-year mortality in relation to dementia and cognitive function in 95-year-olds. Neurology. 2007 Nov 27; 69(22): 2069-2075. Neuropsychiatric Epidemiology Unit, Psychiatry Section, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy at Göteborg University, Sweden. BACKGROUND: Dementia is a known predictor of mortality, but most studies include small numbers of participants above age 90. The influence of dementia or cognition on mortality in this age group is therefore uncertain. OBJECTIVE: To examine 5-year mortality in relation to dementia and cognitive performance at age 95. METHODS: A population sample of 338 individuals examined at age 95 was followed to age 100. Dementia was diagnosed according to DSM-III-R criteria. Cognitive function was measured using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Information on severe physical disorders was obtained from the Swedish Hospital Discharge Register, and date of death from the...

An nice feature article in today's New York Times : Scientists Want to Find Alzheimer’s Before a Mind Fails By DENISE GRADY The New York Times Published: December 26, 2007 [ ... Read the full article ... ]

From sfgate.com and The San Francisco Chronicle , continued penetration of pop neuropsychology into everyday life: 'Brain gym' may exorcise Boomers' fears about aging Heidi Benson, Chronicle Staff Writer Thursday, December 13, 2007 Marathon-happy Baby Boomers, those 78 million Americans born from 1946 to '64, were the first generation to make a religion of physical fitness. Now, they are investing time and money to maintain what's above their six-pack abs and rippling biceps: their brains. "People are living longer, and they want their brains to keep up with their bodies," said Lisa Schoonerman, who is on top of the trend. She and her life partner, Jan Zivic, have opened a "brain gym," called vibrantBrains, on Sacramento Street in San Francisco. "Studies show that regular mental workouts are WD-40 for the brain," Schoonerman said. "It's preventative maintenance." [ ... Read the full article ... ]

Sarah Polley has won another award for her movie: From The Vancouver Sun : Polley wins N.Y. film critics award CanWest News Service Published: Tuesday, December 11, 2007 Canadian filmmaker Sarah Polley has won the New York Film Critics Circle's best first film award for her directorial debut Away From Her , an adaptation of Alice Munro's short story The Bear Came Over the Mountain . Academy award-winning actress Julie Christie took the best actress award for her performance in Polley's film as a woman suffering from the onset of Alzheimer's disease. © The Vancouver Sun 2007 [ ... Read the full article ... ]

The New York Times continues its coverage of cognitive agility with a column today by Jane Brody discussing different cognitive and physical ways to promote a fit mind: Mental Reserves Keep Brains Agile by Jane E. Brody The New York Times 11 December 2007 [ ... Read the full column ... ]

Tomorrow's Sunday New York Times Magazine is its annual new ideas of the past year issue. Among the many shiny ideas presented is telephone screening for dementia: Alzheimer’s Telephone Screening By RON FEEMSTER The New York Times Published: December 9, 2007 This year, researchers completed work on a 50-question telephone quiz to help them identify Alzheimer’s patients long before they exhibit typical symptoms. Such a quiz may soon become part of regular medical care. This new tool measures what the researchers call “cognitive vital signs” like short-term memory loss, which is the most important early sign of Alzheimer’s, and detects declines in everyday abilities like using a telephone, preparing meals or managing finances. The quiz also picks up behavioral warning signs including apathy, irritability and depression. “If somebody is failing these cognitive tests, they already have the characteristics of the disease,” says Jeffrey Cummings, director of the Alzheimer Disease Center...

A short piece in today's Washington Post about the potential problems and potential benefits of broad screenings for dementia of Alzheimer's disease in the general population of aging persons: To Screen, or Not to Screen Experts Debate Mass Testing For Alzheimer's Disease By Alicia Ault Special to The Washington Post Tuesday, December 4, 2007; Page HE01 [ ... Read the full article ... ]

From the Radio Iowa website: Task force seeks public input on Alzheimer's disease Monday, November 26, 2007, 8:46 AM By Pat Curtis "A task force in Iowa that's looking for ways to improve services to Alzheimer's patients is asking for your help. John McCalley, director of the Iowa Department of Elder Affairs , says all Iowans are invited to take an on-line survey. He says the survey is mainly designed for Alzheimer's patients and their family members or care givers. McCalley, who also chairs the 17-member Alzheimer's disease Task Force, says the state's current services to dementia patients are somewhat uncoordinated. He says funding is provided to Area Agencies on Aging across the state, but those services face limited funding, especially in rural areas. An estimated 65,000 Iowans have Alzheimer's disease and that number is expected to grow as Iowa's population ages. McCalley says the survey only takes 5 to 10 minutes to complete. He says the ques...

Mahlberg R, Walther S, Eichmann U, Tracik F, & Kunz D. Effects of rivastigmine on actigraphically monitored motor activity in severe agitation related to Alzheimer's disease: A placebo-controlled pilot study. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics. 2007 Jul-Aug; 45(1): 19-26. Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité Campus Mitte, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Turmstr. 21, D-10559 Berlin, Germany. Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (AChEIs) are effective in the treatment of cognitive symptoms in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Because the behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) have also been attributed to central cholinergic deficits, we examined whether the AChEI rivastigmine can reduce motor activity as measured in a rater-independent manner by wrist actigraphy in agitated AD patients. A total of 20 consecutive AD inpatients (13 females, 7 males, 80.4+/-9.1 years, S.D.) were included from our geriatric psychiatry unit, all of whom were exhibitin...