Plasma phosphorylated tau and neuropsychiatric symptoms in dementia with Lewy bodies.

Introduction: Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPSs) are common in dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) but their neurobiological mechanisms are poorly understood.

Methods: NPSs and cognition were assessed annually in participants (DLB n = 222; Alzheimer's disease [AD] n = 125) from the European DLB (E-DLB) Consortium, and plasma phosphorylated tau-181 (p-tau181) and p-tau231 concentrations were measured at baseline.

Results: Hallucinations, delusions, and depression were more common in DLB than in AD and, in a subgroup with longitudinal follow-up, persistent hallucinations and NPSs were associated with lower p-tau181 and p-tau231 in DLB.

Proteomic signatures of Alzheimer's disease and Lewy body dementias: A comparative analysis.

Introduction: We aimed to identify unique proteomic signatures of Alzheimer's disease (AD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), and Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD).

Methods: We conducted a comparative proteomic analysis of 33 post mortem brains from AD, DLB, and PDD individuals without dementia focusing on prefrontal, cingulate, and parietal cortices, using weighted gene co-expression network analyses with differential enrichment analysis.

Results: Network modules revealed hub proteins common to all dementias.

The SLaM Brain Health Clinic: remote biomarker enhanced memory clinic for people with mild cognitive impairment within a National Health Service mental health trust.

Background: The novel South London and Maudsley Brain Health Clinic (SLaM BHC) leverages advances in remote consultations and biomarkers to provide a timely, cost-efficient and accurate diagnosis in mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

Aims: To describe the organisation, patient cohort and acceptability of the remote diagnostic and interventional procedures.

Method: We describe the recruitment, consultation set-up, the clinical and biomarker programme, and the two online group interventions for cognitive wellbeing and lifestyle change.

Telomere length and cognitive changes in 7,877 older UK adults of European ancestry.

Background: Telomere length (TL) has been linked to cognitive function, decline and dementia. This study aimed to explore whether both measured TL and genetic disposition for TL predict dimensions of cognitive performance in a longitudinal sample of older UK adults.

Methods: We analysed data from PROTECT study participants aged ≥50 years without a dementia diagnosis, who had completed longitudinal cognitive testing.

Functional and connectivity correlates associated with Parkinson's disease psychosis: a systematic review.

Neural underpinnings of Parkinson's disease psychosis remain unclear to this day with relatively few studies and reviews available. Using a systematic review approach, here, we aimed to qualitatively synthesize evidence from studies investigating Parkinson's psychosis-specific alterations in brain structure, function or chemistry using different neuroimaging modalities. PubMed, Web of Science and Embase databases were searched for functional MRI (task-based and resting state), diffusion tensor imaging, PET and single-photon emission computed tomography studies comparing Parkinson's disease psychosis patients with Parkinson's patients without psychosis.

Documenting human papillomavirus vaccine refusal among adolescents in electronic health records: A mixed methods study.

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination is often refused by patients or caregivers. We conducted a mixed-methods study to understand how health care providers document HPV vaccination refusal and use this information in subsequent encounters.

Methods: Using electronic health records (EHR) in a public academic health system, we identified patients aged 9-17 years with documentation of refusal of a recommended vaccination in billing codes or clinic notes from October 15, 2015 and December 31, 2021.

Qualitative Analysis of Mental Health Stressors Among Pharmacy and Medical Students Between 2009 and 2020.

Objective: The primary objective of this study was to identify and compare stressors between pharmacy and medical students that may lead to poor mental health outcomes and decreased quality of professional medical care.

Methods: We used an inductive reflexive thematic analysis to interpret free-text responses from a stress and depression survey administered to pharmacy and medical students between 2009 and 2020 at a single public university. The inductive process involved several steps, including data familiarization, coding, and theme development.

A framework for translating tauopathy therapeutics: Drug discovery to clinical trials.

The tauopathies are defined by pathological tau protein aggregates within a spectrum of clinically heterogeneous neurodegenerative diseases. The primary tauopathies meet the definition of rare diseases in the United States. There is no approved treatment for primary tauopathies.

Multiverse analysis and the Bradley-Terry model: A proposed approach for evaluating palatability and preference.

The palatability of feed for dairy cows is an important consideration but is difficult to measure, particularly when considering more than 2 feeds. We outline how a combination of multiverse analysis and Bradley-Terry modeling, 2 methodological tools that have rarely been applied in dairy science, can be adapted to address this problem. Specifically, we propose to apply multiverse analysis as a way to consider a range of thresholds for how much of a mixed grass-legume (MGL) silage had to be consumed (as a percent of the total DMI) to be designated as preferred.

Sports-related concussion not associated with long-term cognitive or behavioural deficits: the PROTECT-TBI study.

Background: The cognitive effects of sports-related concussion (SRC) have been the subject of vigorous debate but there has been little research into long-term outcomes in non-athlete populations.

Methods: This cohort study of UK community-dwelling adults (aged 50-90 years) was conducted between November 2015 and November 2020, with up to 4 years annual follow-up (n=15 214). Lifetime history of concussions was collected at baseline using the Brain Injury Screening Questionnaire.

A randomized, placebo-controlled trial of purified anthocyanins on cognitive function in individuals at elevated risk for dementia: Analysis of inflammatory biomarkers toward personalized interventions.

Background: Dementia poses a significant global health challenge. Anthocyanins neutralize free radicals, modulate signaling pathways, inhibit pro-inflammatory genes, and suppress cytokine production and may thus have positive cognitive effects in people at increased risk of dementia. We aim to investigate the effects of purified anthocyanins on cognitive function in people at increased risk of dementia according to their inflammation status based on blood-based inflammatory biomarkers.

A Randomised, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Cross-Over Clinical Trial to Evaluate the Biological Effects and Safety of a Polyphenol Supplement on Healthy Ageing.

DailyColors™ is a supplement made up of several phytonutrients that aims to replicate elements from the Mediterranean diet. These include fruit, berry and vegetable extracts that are rich in key phytochemicals such as Quercetin, Catechins, Phloretin, Ellagic Acid, and Anthocyanins. Here, we determined the effects of DailyColors™ on the blood biomarkers associated with the diverse mechanisms implicated in ageing and age-related diseases, including mitochondrial function, inflammation, and oxidative stress, as well as on saliva's DNA methylation pattern.

Limited evidence of a shared genetic relationship between C-reactive protein levels and cognitive function in older UK adults of European ancestry.

Introduction: Previous studies have shown associations between cognitive function and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels in older adults. Few studies have considered the extent to which a genetic predisposition for higher CRP levels contributes to this association.

Methods: Data was analyzed from 7,817 UK participants aged >50 years as part of the PROTECT study, within which adults without dementia completed a comprehensive neuropsychological battery.

Health Promotion in Early-Stage Dementia: A Focused Ethnographic Study of a 12-Week Group-Based Educational Intervention.

Introduction: Educational health promotion interventions for people with early-stage dementia have shown promising results, including empowering the person with dementia to live well and cope with their condition.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore how group interactions, course structure, and facilitation by healthcare professionals in a 12-week educational health promotion course promote coping, healthy behaviors, and empowerment in people with early-stage dementia.

Method: A focused ethnographic approach was employed, collecting data through moderate participant observations of people with early-stage dementia who attended the health promotion course and field conversations with the facilitators.

Parkinson's disease psychosis associated with accelerated multidomain cognitive decline.

Background: Cognitive deficits are associated with poor quality of life and increased risk of development of dementia in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) psychosis. The trajectory of cognitive decline in PD psychosis remains however unclear.

Objective: We examined this using data from the Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative study.

The Preservation and Spectral Detection of Historic Museum Specimen Microbial Mat Biosignatures Within Martian Dust: Lessons Learned for Mars Exploration and Sample Return.

The key building blocks for life on Mars could be preserved within potentially habitable paleo-depositional settings with their detection possible by utilizing mid-infrared spectroscopy; however, a definite identification and confirmation of organic or even biological origin will require the samples to be returned to Earth. In the present study, Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopic techniques were used to characterize both mineralogical and organic materials within Mars dust simulant JSC Mars-1 and ancient Antarctic cyanobacterial microbial mats from 1901 to 1904 Discovery Expedition. When FTIR spectroscopy is applied to cyanobacterial microbial mat communities, the resulting spectra will reflect the average biochemical composition of the mats rather than taxa-specific spectral patterns of the individual organisms and can thus be considered as a total chemical analysis of the mat colony.

Challenges and proposed solutions to conducting Alzheimer's disease psychosis trials.

Alzheimer's disease psychosis (ADP) produces a significant burden for patients and their care partners, but at present there are no approved treatments for ADP. The lack of approved treatments may be due to the challenges of conducting clinical trials for this disease. This perspective article discusses distinct challenges and proposed solutions of conducting ADP trials involving seven key areas: (1) methods to reduce the variable and sometimes high rates of placebo response that occur for treatments of neuropsychiatric symptoms; (2) the use of combined or updated criteria that provide a precise, consensus definition of ADP; (3) the use of eligibility criteria to help recruit individuals representative of the larger ADP population and overcome the difficulty of recruiting patients with moderate-to-severe ADP; (4) consideration of multiple perspectives and implementation of technology to reduce the variability in the administration and scoring of neuropsychiatric symptom assessments; (5) the use of clinically appropriate, defined severity thresholds and responder cutoffs; (6) the use of statistical approaches that address absolute effect sizes and a three-tier approach to address the fluctuation of neuropsychiatric symptoms; and (7) the implementation of feasible diagnostic and target-engagement biomarkers as they become available.