Dementia Care Research and Psychosocial Factors.

Background: Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is a treatment in which oxygen-enriched air (up to 100%) is administered to patients in a chamber at a pressure above one atmosphere absolute and is approved for the treatment of T2D ischemic wounds. Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a risk factor for dementia. Ischemia due to vascular pathology is hypothesized to be an underlying mechanism for this association.

Dementia Care Practice.

Hmong and Cambodian Americans, minoritized Asian American subgroups, are underrepresented in research, and prevalence of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in these communities is unknown. However, our community partners in the Madison, Wisconsin area, who have served Hmong and Cambodian elders in the community for over 20 years, informed us in the fall of 2021 that they have encountered cases of dementia among elders they serve. They expressed a need for educational materials on dementia that could aid their community work.

Targeted Proteomic Biomarker Profiling Using NULISA in a cohort enriched with risk for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias.

Introduction: Targeted proteomic assays may be useful for diagnosing and staging Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD). We evaluated the performance of a 120-marker central nervous system (CNS) NUcleic acid-Linked Immuno-Sandwich Assay (NULISA) panel in samples spanning the AD spectrum.

Methods: Cross-sectional plasma samples (n=252) were analyzed using Alamar's NULISAseq CNS panel.

Visual read of [F-18]florquinitau PET that includes and extends beyond the mesial temporal lobe is associated with increased plasma pTau217 and cognitive decline in a cohort that is enriched with risk for Alzheimer's disease.

Introduction: Patterns of signal from tau positron emission tomography (tau-PET) confined to the medial temporal lobe (MTL) or extended into the neocortex may be relevant for Alzheimer's disease (AD) research if they are linked to differential biomarker levels and cognitive decline.

Methods: Visual assessment of Tau-PET [F-18]florquinitau (FQT) exams from 728 initially non-demented older adults yielded four uptake groups: tau-negative (T-), MTL-only (T+), neocortex-only (T+), or both (T+). Mixed effects models assessed group differences in retrospective cognitive and plasma pTau217 trajectories.

Gut microbial metabolism in Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.

Multiple studies over the last decade have established that Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) are associated with changes in the gut microbiome. These alterations in organismal composition result in changes in the abundances of functions encoded by the microbial community, including metabolic capabilities, which likely impact host disease mechanisms. Gut microbes access dietary components and other molecules made by the host and produce metabolites that can enter circulation and cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB).

Misfolded alpha synuclein co-occurrence with Alzheimer's disease proteinopathy.

Introduction: Multi-etiology dementia necessitates in-vivo markers of copathologies including misfolded -synuclein (syn). We measured misfolded syn aggregates (syn-seeds) via qualitative seed amplifcation assays (synSAA) and examined relationships with markers of Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Methods: Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was obtained from 420 participants in two Wisconsin AD risk cohorts (35% male; 91% cognitively unimpaired; mean (SD) age, 65.

Evaluating Life Simple Seven's influence on brain health outcomes: The intersection of lifestyle and dementia.

Introduction: Lifestyle factors have been studied for dementia risk, but few have comprehensively assessed both Alzheimer's disease (AD) and cerebrovascular disease (CBVD) pathologies. Our research aims to determine the relationships between lifestyle and various dementia pathologies, challenging conventional research paradigms.

Methods: Analyzing 1231 Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer's Prevention (WRAP) study participants, we focused on Life Simple Seven (LS7) score calculations from questionnaire data and clinical vitals.

Melatonin: A potential nighttime guardian against Alzheimer's.

In the context of the escalating global health challenge posed by Alzheimer's disease (AD), this comprehensive review considers the potential of melatonin in both preventive and therapeutic capacities. As a naturally occurring hormone and robust antioxidant, accumulating evidence suggests melatonin is a compelling candidate to consider in the context of AD-related pathologies. The review considers several mechanisms, including potential effects on amyloid-beta and pathologic tau burden, antioxidant defense, immune modulation, and regulation of circadian rhythms.

Story recall performance and AT classification via positron emission tomography: A comparison of logical memory and Craft Story 21.

Background: Early detection of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is one of the critical components of the global response to the growing dementia crisis. Analysis of serial position performance in story recall tests has yielded sensitive metrics for the prediction of AD at low cost. In this study, we examined whether serial position markers in two story recall tests (the logical memory test, LMT, and the Craft Story 21 test, CST) were sensitive to cross-sectional biomarker-based assessment of in vivo neuropathology.

KLOTHO KL-VS heterozygosity is associated with diminished age-related neuroinflammation, neurodegeneration, and synaptic dysfunction in older cognitively unimpaired adults.

Introduction: We examined whether the aging suppressor KLOTHO gene's functionally advantageous KL-VS variant (KL-VS heterozygosity [KL-VS]) confers resilience against deleterious effects of aging indexed by cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers of neuroinflammation (interleukin-6 [IL-6], S100 calcium-binding protein B [S100B], triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells [sTREM2], chitinase-3-like protein 1 [YKL-40], glial fibrillary acidic protein [GFAP]), neurodegeneration (total α-synuclein [α-Syn], neurofilament light chain protein), and synaptic dysfunction (neurogranin [Ng]).

Methods: This Alzheimer disease risk-enriched cohort consisted of 454 cognitively unimpaired adults (M= 61.5 ± 7.

Association of neighborhood disadvantage with cognitive function and cortical disorganization in an unimpaired cohort.

Objective: Neighborhood disadvantage is associated with worse health and cognitive outcomes. Morphological similarity network (MSN) is a promising approach to elucidate cortical network patterns underlying complex cognitive functions. We hypothesized that MSNs could capture intricate changes in cortical patterns related to neighborhood disadvantage and cognitive function, potentially explaining some of the risk for later life cognitive impairment among individuals who live in disadvantaged contexts.

Circadian-Dependent Intermittent Fasting Influences Ischemic Tolerance and Dendritic Spine Remodeling.

Background: Preconditioning by intermittent fasting is linked to improved cognition and motor function, and enhanced recovery after stroke. Although the duration of fasting was shown to elicit different levels of neuroprotection after ischemic stroke, the impact of time of fasting with respect to the circadian cycles remains unexplored.

Methods: Cohorts of mice were subjected to a daily 16-hour fast, either during the dark phase (active-phase intermittent fasting) or the light phase (inactive-phase intermittent fasting) or were fed ad libitum.

Older adults at greater risk for Alzheimer's disease show stronger associations between sleep apnea severity in REM sleep and verbal memory.

Background: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) increases risk for cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease (AD). While the underlying mechanisms remain unclear, hypoxemia during OSA has been implicated in cognitive impairment. OSA during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is usually more severe than in non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, but the relative effect of oxyhemoglobin desaturation during REM versus NREM sleep on memory is not completely characterized.

Alzheimer incidence and prevalence with and without asthma: A Medicare cohort study.

Background: International data suggest that asthma, like other inflammatory diseases, might increase Alzheimer disease (AD) risk.

Objective: We sought to explore risk pathways and future mitigation strategies by comparing diagnostic claims-based AD incidence and prevalence among US patients with asthma with those without asthma.

Methods: This cohort study included a national Medicare 20% random sample (2013-2015).

Deriving life-course residential histories in brain bank cohorts: A feasibility study.

Introduction: The exposome is theorized to interact with biological mechanisms to influence risk for Alzheimer's disease but is not well-integrated into existing Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (ADRC) brain bank data collection.

Methods: We apply public data tracing, an iterative, dual abstraction and validation process rooted in rigorous historic archival methods, to develop life-course residential histories for 1254 ADRC decedents.

Results: The median percentage of the life course with an address is 78.

CSF Biomarkers in Longitudinal Alzheimer Disease Cohorts: Pre-Analytic Challenges.

Background: The sensitivity of amyloid to pre-analytic factors complicates cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) diagnostics for Alzheimer disease. We report reliability and validity evidence for automated immunoassays from frozen and fresh CSF samples in an ongoing, single-site research program.

Methods: CSF samples were obtained from 2 Wisconsin cohorts (1256 measurements; 727 participants).

Abdominal fat depots are related to lower cognitive functioning and brain volumes in middle-aged males at high Alzheimer's risk.

Objective: High BMI, which poorly represents specific fat depots, is linked to poorer cognition and higher dementia risk, with different associations between sexes. This study examined associations of abdominal fat depots with cognition and brain volumes and whether sex modifies this association.

Methods: A total of 204 healthy middle-aged offspring of Alzheimer's dementia patients (mean age = 59.

Measurement of synaptic density in Down syndrome using PET imaging: a pilot study.

Down syndrome (DS) is the most prevalent genetic cause of intellectual disability, resulting from trisomy 21. Recently, positron emission tomography (PET) imaging has been used to image synapses in vivo. The motivation for this pilot study was to investigate whether synaptic density in low functioning adults with DS can be evaluated using the PET radiotracer [C]UCB-J.

Poor self-rated health is associated with faster cognitive decline and greater small vessel disease in older adults with type 2 diabetes.

Objective: Self-rated health (SRH) is a predictor for poor health outcomes and cognition. Older adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) have multi-morbidity and greater cognitive impairment. In the present study we investigated the association of SRH with cognitive decline and brain pathology in older adults with T2D.

Vitamin B6 and vitamin D deficiency co-occurrence in geriatric memory patients.

Introduction: Vitamin B6 and D levels are not assessed routinely in geriatric memory patients. This study examined vitamin levels to determine the potential effects on cognition.

Methods: A chart review was conducted of 203 consecutive patients over a 12-month period.