Depression, Anxiety, and Neuropsychiatric Symptom Burden in a Longitudinal Cohort with Persistent Psychophysical Post-COVID Olfactory Dysfunction.

Background/objectives: Olfactory dysfunction (OD) is associated with a variety of neurologic deficits and impacts socialization decisions, mood, and overall quality of life. As a common symptom comprising the long COVID condition, persistent COVID-19-associated olfactory dysfunction (C19OD) may further impact the presentations of neuropsychiatric sequelae. Our study aims to characterize the longitudinal burden of depression, anxiety, and neuropsychiatric symptoms in a population with C19OD.

Comparison of brief olfactory and cognitive assessments to neuroimaging biomarkers in the prediction of cognitive decline and dementia in the MCSA cohort.

Introduction: We evaluated impaired odor identification and global cognition as simple, cost-effective alternatives to neuroimaging biomarkers to predict cognitive decline and dementia in the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging.

Methods: Six hundred forty-seven participants (mean 8.1, standard deviation 3.

Sensory Dysfunction, Microbial Infections, and Host Responses in Alzheimer's Disease.

Sensory functions of organs of the head and neck allow humans to interact with the environment and establish social bonds. With aging, smell, taste, vision, and hearing decline. Evidence suggests that accelerated impairment in sensory abilities can reflect a shift from healthy to pathological aging, including the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other neurological disorders.

Characterizing Neighborhood Vulnerabilities in Mild Cognitive Impairment using the Environmental Justice Index.

Background: There is a need for integration and comprehensive characterization of environmental determinants of Alzheimer's disease. The Environmental Justice Index (EJI) is a new measure that consolidates multiple environmental health hazards.

Objective: This analysis aims to explore how environmental vulnerabilities vary by race/ethnicity and whether they predict cognitive outcomes in a clinical trial of mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

Sleep-wake behavior, perceived fatigability, and cognitive reserve in older adults.

Introduction: The effects of sleep-wake behavior on perceived fatigability and cognitive abilities when performing daily activities have not been investigated across levels of cognitive reserve (CR).

Methods: CR Index Questionnaire (CRIq) data were collected and subjected to moderated mediation analysis.

Results: In amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI; n = 41), CR moderated sleep-related impairments (SRIs), and fatigability at low CR (CRIq < 105.

Association Between Multisensory Impairment and Depression Among Older Adults: A Population-Based Analysis.

Objective: In this study, we examine how impairments in vision, hearing, touch, and olfaction relate to depression in older adults, considering both individual and multisensory impairments (MSIs).

Study Design: Analysis of cross-sectional data from a longitudinal investigation involving black and white older adults aged 70 to 79 at enrollment.

Setting: We studied 1640 black and white participants in the Health ABC study using complete sensory evaluation data from years 3 to 5.

Remote Associations Between Tau and Cortical Amyloid-β Are Stage-Dependent.

Background: Histopathologic studies of Alzheimer's disease (AD) suggest that extracellular amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques promote the spread of neurofibrillary tau tangles. However, these two proteinopathies initiate in spatially distinct brain regions, so how they interact during AD progression is unclear.

Objective: In this study, we utilized Aβ and tau positron emission tomography (PET) scans from 572 older subjects (476 healthy controls (HC), 14 with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), 82 with mild AD), at varying stages of the disease, to investigate to what degree tau is associated with cortical Aβ deposition.

Effects of age on the relationship between sleep quality and cognitive performance: Findings from the Human Connectome Project-Aging cohort.

Background: The association between sleep quality and cognition is widely established, but the role of aging in this relationship is largely unknown.

Objective: To examine how age impacts the sleep-cognition relationship and determine whether there are sensitive ranges when the relationship between sleep and cognition is modified. This investigation could help identify individuals at risk for sleep-related cognitive impairment.

Comparison of relative change with effect size metrics in Alzheimer's disease clinical trials.

Background: Per cent slowing of decline is frequently used as a metric of outcome in Alzheimer's disease (AD) clinical trials, but it may be misleading. Our objective was to determine whether per cent slowing of decline or Cohen's d is the more valid and informative measure of efficacy.

Methods: Outcome measures of interest were per cent slowing of decline; Cohen's d effect size and number-needed-to-treat (NNT).

Effects of lithium on serum Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor in Alzheimer's patients with agitation.

Background: There is ample evidence in animal models that lithium increases Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) with supporting evidence in human studies. Little is known, however, about the effects of lithium on BDNF in Alzheimer's Dementia (AD). In one study of patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment, serum BDNF increased after treatment with lithium.

Association of Performance on Olfactory and Cognitive Screening Tests With Conversion to Dementia in a Biracial Cohort of Older Adults.

Background And Objectives: Odor identification deficits are associated with transition to dementia, whereas intact odor identification and global cognition test performance may identify lack of transition. The purpose of this study was to examine intact odor identification and global cognition as prognostic indicators of lack of transition to dementia in a biracial (Black and White) cohort.

Methods: In a community-dwelling sample of older adults from the Health, Aging, and Body Composition study, odor identification was measured using the Brief Smell Identification Test (BSIT), and global cognition was measured using the Teng Modified Mini-Mental State Examination (3MS).

Unexpected lucidity in dementia: application of qualitative methods to develop an informant-reported lucidity measure.

Objectives: Unexpected lucidity is a phenomenon of scientific, clinical, and psychological relevance to health professionals, to those who experience it, and their relatives. This paper describes qualitative methods used to develop an informant-based measure of lucidity episodes.

Methods: The approach was refinement of the operationalization of the construct; review of seminal items, modification, and purification; and confirmation of the feasibility of reporting methodology.

Distinct and joint effects of low and high levels of Aβ and tau deposition on cortical thickness.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is defined by the presence of Amyloid-β (Aβ),tau, and neurodegeneration (ATN framework) in the human cerebral cortex. Yet, prior studies have suggested that Aβ deposition can be associated with both cortical thinning and thickening. These contradictory results are attributed to small sample sizes, the presence versus absence of tau, and limited detectability in the earliest phase of protein deposition, which may begin in young adulthood and cannot be captured in studies enrolling only older subjects.

Development, initial validation, and application of a visual read method for [F]MK-6240 tau PET.

Background: The positron emission tomography (PET) radiotracer [F]MK-6240 exhibits high specificity for neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) of tau protein in Alzheimer's disease (AD), high sensitivity to medial temporal and neocortical NFTs, and low within-brain background. Objectives were to develop and validate a reproducible, clinically relevant visual read method supporting [F]MK-6240 use to identify and stage AD subjects versus non-AD and controls.

Methods: Five expert readers used their own methods to assess 30 scans of mixed diagnosis (47% cognitively normal, 23% mild cognitive impairment, 20% AD, 10% traumatic brain injury) and provided input regarding regional and global positivity, features influencing assessment, confidence, practicality, and clinical relevance.

Vigorous, regular physical exercise may slow disease progression in Alzheimer's disease.

Introduction: Mild to moderate exercise may decrease Alzheimer's disease (AD) risk, but the effects of vigorous, regular physical exercise remain unclear.

Methods: Two patients with initial diagnoses of amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI) demonstrated positive AD biomarkers throughout 16 and 8 years of follow-up, with final diagnoses of mild AD and amnestic MCI, respectively.

Results: Patient 1 was diagnosed with amnestic MCI at age 64.

Reports About Paradoxical Lucidity from Health Care Professionals: A Pilot Study.

Although clinicians caring for persons at the end of life recognize the phenomenon of paradoxical/terminal lucidity, systematic evidence is scant. The current pilot study aimed to develop a structured interview instrument for health care professionals to report lucidity. A questionnaire measuring lucidity length, degree, content, coinciding circumstances, and time from episode to death was expanded to include time of day, expressive and receptive communication, and speech during the month prior to and during the event.

Chemosensory deficits are best predictor of serologic response among individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2.

Objective: Smell and taste alteration are closely linked to infection with SARS-CoV-2 and may be associated with a more indolent disease course. Serologic response rates among individuals with mild disease remains limited. We sought to identify whether chemosensory changes associated with COVID-19 were predictive of a serologic response.

Impact of Computerized Cognitive Training on Default Mode Network Connectivity in Subjects at Risk for Alzheimer's Disease: A 78-week Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) represents a high risk group for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Computerized Cognitive Games Training (CCT) is an investigational strategy to improve targeted functions in MCI through the modulation of cognitive networks.

Objective: The goal of this study was to examine the effect of CCT versus a non-targeted active brain exercise on functional cognitive networks.

Apolipoprotein E Genotype e2: Neuroprotection and Its Limits.

In this review, we comprehensively, qualitatively, and critically synthesized several features of APOE-e2, a known APOE protective variant, including its associations with longevity, cognition, and neuroimaging, and neuropathology, all in humans. If e2's protective effects-and their limits-could be elucidated, it could offer therapeutic windows for Alzheimer's disease (AD) prevention or amelioration. Literature examining e2 within the years 1994-2021 were considered for this review.

The Role of Amyloid, Tau, and APOE Genotype on the Relationship Between Informant-Reported Sleep Disturbance and Alzheimer's Disease Risks.

Background: The association between sleep and Alzheimer's disease (AD) biomarkers are well-established, but little is known about how they interact to change the course of AD.

Objective: To determine the potential interaction between sleep disturbance and Aβ, tau, and APOE4 on brain atrophy and cognitive decline.

Methods: Sample included 351 participants (mean age 72.

Temporal Speech Parameters Detect Mild Cognitive Impairment in Different Languages: Validation and Comparison of the Speech-GAP Test® in English and Hungarian.

Background: The development of automatic speech recognition (ASR) technology allows the analysis of temporal (time-based) speech parameters characteristic of mild cognitive impairment (MCI). However, no information has been available on whether the analysis of spontaneous speech can be used with the same efficiency in different language environments.

Objective: The main goal of this international pilot study is to address the question of whether the Speech-Gap Test® (S-GAP Test®), previously tested in the Hungarian language, is appropriate for and applicable to the recognition of MCI in other languages such as English.

Towards Defining the Neuroanatomical Basis of Late-Onset Psychiatric Symptoms.

Psychiatric symptoms, including changes in emotional processing, are a common feature of many neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease, dementia with Lewy Bodies, frontotemporal dementia, and Huntington's disease. However, the neuroanatomical basis of emotional symptoms is not well defined; this stands in contrast to the relatively well-understood neuroanatomical correlates of cognitive and motor symptoms in neurodegenerative disorders. Furthermore, psychiatric diagnostic categories, as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) and International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD), may have limited applicability in patients with late-onset psychiatric symptoms in the context of neurodegenerative disorders.