Deficits in geriatric assessment are important in relation to fatigue in older patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Background: No previous study has investigated fatigue in older patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD).

Aims: To describe the prevalence of fatigue in older patients and compare it to the prevalence in younger patients with IBD, and to determine factors associated with fatigue.

Methods: A prospective, multicenter cohort study, including older- (≥ 65 years) and younger patients with IBD (18-64 years).

The Role of Insulin-Like Growth Factor 1 in Delirium: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: The relationship between delirium and low levels of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) is contradictory and uncertain. We hypothesised that low levels of IGF-1 are a predisposing factor for delirium in medical and abdominal surgical cohorts, in contrast to other surgical cohorts.

Aims: Systematic review and meta-analysis investigating the association between peripheral levels of IGF-1 and delirium in medical and surgical patients to explore if there are distinct patterns of associations by using subgroup meta-analysis.

Impact of Inflammation on Cognitive Functioning After Electroconvulsive Therapy in Older Patients with Depression with and Without White Matter Hyperintensities.

Objective: Should we treat older, patients with depression with white matter hyperintensities (WMH) with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)? WMH, inflammation, depression and cognitive functioning are suggested to be intertwined. Hence, this study investigates whether the association between inflammation and cognition is different in patients with depression with or without WMH.

Methods: Cognitive functioning was assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination during and after a course of ECT in 77 older patients with depression.

Consistent patterns in the inconsistent associations of Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), C-Reactive Protein (C-RP) and Interleukin 6 (IL-6) levels with delirium in surgical populations. A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Biomarkers for delirium could increase diagnostic accuracy and may help to identify pathological pathways. Until now study findings concerning cytokine levels have been inconsistent.

Aims: Systematic review and meta-analysis investigating the association between peripheral levels of Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 (IGF-1), C-Reactive Protein (C-RP) and Interleukin-6 (IL-6) and delirium in surgical patients, and to explore if there are distinct/specific patterns that may potentially explain inconsistent results.

Inflammation and Cognitive Functioning in Depressed Older Adults Treated With Electroconvulsive Therapy: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Despite the effectiveness of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), patients and practitioners are often reluctant to start it due to the risk of transient cognitive side effects, particularly in older patients. Inflammatory processes may be associated with the occurrence of these effects. This study assessed whether inflammatory markers prior to ECT are associated with cognitive functioning in depressed patients treated with ECT.

The pattern of inflammatory markers during electroconvulsive therapy in older depressed patients.

Objectives: An association is found between changes in cytokine levels and antidepressant treatment outcome. Also, a proinflammatory profile is associated with a favourable electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) outcome. This paper investigates the pattern of inflammatory markers during a course of ECT in older depressed patients and whether this pattern is associated with ECT outcome.

Preoperative Cerebrospinal Fluid Cortisol and the Risk of Postoperative Delirium: A Prospective Study of Older Hip Fracture Patients.

Background: Ageing, depression, and neurodegenerative disease are common risk factors for delirium in the elderly. These risk factors are associated with dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, resulting in higher levels of cortisol under normal and stressed conditions and a slower return to baseline.

Objectives: We investigated whether elevated preoperative cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cortisol levels are associated with the onset of postoperative delirium.

Delirium, insulin-like growth factor I, growth hormone in older inpatients.

Background: Delirium is a common disorder in elderly medical inpatients with serious adverse outcomes and is characterized by sudden onset, disturbance in attention, awareness, consciousness and cognition, and often with behavioural disturbances. Central to understanding delirium, is understanding mechanisms by which body and brain wellbeing are linked and in particular how brain responses to bodily homeostatic stress is mediated. A number of studies have investigated the relationship between insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) and delirium in medically ill hospitalised patients with conflicting results.

Are Apathy and Depressive Symptoms Related to Vascular White Matter Hyperintensities in Severe Late Life Depression?

Objective: Apathy symptoms are defined as a lack of interest and motivation. Patients with late-life depression (LLD) also suffer from lack of interest and motivation and previous studies have linked apathy to vascular white matter hyperintensities (WMH) of the brain in depressed and nondepressed patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between apathy symptoms, depressive symptoms, and WMH in LLD.

S100 calcium-binding protein B in older patients with depression treated with electroconvulsive therapy.

Background: Increasing evidence suggests that glial mediated disruption of neuroplasticity contributes to depression. S100 calcium-binding protein B (S100B) promotes neuronal protection in nanomolar concentrations. Studies on its possible role as a treatment outcome marker in affective disorders are limited.

Inflammation and remission in older patients with depression treated with electroconvulsive therapy; findings from the MODECT study.

Background: Compelling evidence links elevated levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) and other inflammatory markers to poor treatment outcome of antidepressant medication. Little is known about the contribution of low-grade inflammation to treatment response to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in severely depressed patients.

Method: Associations between serum levels of CRP, interleukin-6, interleukin-10, and tumour necrosis factor-α as well as remission of depression, time to remission, and speed of decline of depressive symptoms were examined in 95 older (mean age: 73.

The trajectory of C-reactive protein serum levels in older hip fracture patients with postoperative delirium.

Objectives: Important precipitating risk factors for delirium such as infections, vascular disorders, and surgery are accompanied by a systemic inflammatory response. Systemic inflammatory mediators can induce delirium in susceptible individuals. Little is known about the trajectory of systemic inflammatory markers and their role in the development and outcome of delirium.

Exploring resting state connectivity in patients with psychotic depression.

Background: Severe depression is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Neural network dysfunction may contribute to disease mechanisms underlying different clinical subtypes. Here, we apply resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging based measures of brain connectivity to investigate network dysfunction in severely depressed in-patients with and without psychotic symptoms.

Inflammation in older subjects with early- and late-onset depression in the NESDO study: a cross-sectional and longitudinal case-only design.

Objective: Different biological mechanisms may underlie depression beginning in early life (early-onset) and depression beginning later in life (late-onset). Although the relation between inflammation and depression has been studied extensively, the distinct role of inflammation in early and late-onset depression in older patients has not been addressed before. In the cross-sectional part of this study, we explored differences in levels of circulating inflammatory markers and cytokine levels in lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulated whole blood between older subjects with a late-life onset depression (≥60 years) and older subjects with an early-onset depression (<60 years).

[ResPECT - a decade of Flemish-Dutch ECT research].

Background: There is increasing clinical and scientific interest in electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).

Aim: To provide an overview of the main research findings of the Flemish-Dutch research consortium ResPECT.

Method: We report on our review of the relevant literature.

The Pitfall of Behavioral Variant Frontotemporal Dementia Mimics Despite Multidisciplinary Application of the FTDC Criteria.

Background: The behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) has a broad differential diagnosis including other neurological and psychiatric disorders. Psychiatric misdiagnoses occur in up to 50% of bvFTD patients. Numbers on misdiagnosis of bvFTD in psychiatric disorders are lacking.

Early- and Late-Onset Depression in Late Life: A Prospective Study on Clinical and Structural Brain Characteristics and Response to Electroconvulsive Therapy.

Objective: The clinical profile of late-life depression (LLD) is frequently associated with cognitive impairment, aging-related brain changes, and somatic comorbidity. This two-site naturalistic longitudinal study aimed to explore differences in clinical and brain characteristics and response to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in early- (EOD) versus late-onset (LOD) late-life depression (respectively onset <55 and ≥55 years).

Methods: Between January 2011 and December 2013, 110 patients aged 55 years and older with ECT-treated unipolar depression were included in The Mood Disorders in Elderly treated with ECT study.

Mortality and Its Determinants in Late-Life Schizophrenia: A 5-Year Prospective Study in a Dutch Catchment Area.

Objective: It is uncertain if the raised mortality in schizophrenia persists in later life. Register-based studies suggest that excess mortality continues, although at a lower level than in younger age groups. However, prospective follow-up studies of older schizophrenia samples are lacking.

Preoperative protein profiles in cerebrospinal fluid in elderly hip fracture patients at risk for delirium: A proteomics and validation study.

Background: A neuroinflammatory response is suggested to play an important role in delirium, a common complication in older hospitalized patients. We examined whether hip fracture patients who develop postoperative delirium have a different proteome in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) prior to surgery.

Methods: Patients (≥ 75 years) were admitted for hip fracture surgery.

The mediating role of cardiovascular risk factors in the relationship between symptoms of apathy and incident cardiovascular disease in community-dwelling older individuals.

Background: In old age, both apathy and depression have been associated with an increased cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. This study evaluated the mediating role of cardiovascular risk factors in the relationship of apathy and mood symptoms with incident CVD.

Methods: Prospective cohort study of 1,790 community-dwelling older individuals (70-78 years) without a history of CVD or stroke.

Contribution of white matter hyperintensities, medial temporal lobe atrophy and cortical atrophy on outcome, seven to twelve years after ECT in severely depressed geriatric patients.

Background: Depression and cognitive decline are highly prevalent and often coexisting, however, the association between depression and dementia remains unclear. White matter hyperintensities (WMH), medial temporal lobe atrophy (MTA) and global cortical atrophy (GCA) are associated with depression, mild cognitive impairment and dementia; these structural abnormalities may therefore represent a common underlying mechanism of these diseases. We conducted a naturalistic prospective follow-up study in patients with severe geriatric depression who were formerly treated with ECT.

Low-grade inflammation differentiates between symptoms of apathy and depression in community-dwelling older individuals.

Background: Systemic low-grade inflammation has repeatedly been associated with depression in old age, but the relationship with apathy is less clear. The present study assessed whether C-reactive protein (CRP) is differentially associated with symptoms of apathy and depression.

Methods: A population-based cohort study was carried-out.

Prevalence and correlates of depressive symptoms in a catchment-area based cohort of older community-living schizophrenia patients.

Background: Depressive symptoms frequently accompany schizophrenia. Older patients constitute the fastest growing segment of the schizophrenia population. With regard to the risk factors associated with depression, it is uncertain to which extent older schizophrenia patients differ from their age peers in the community.

The structure of the geriatric depressed brain and response to electroconvulsive therapy.

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is the treatment of choice in severe geriatric depression. High remission rates may be influenced by specific brain morphology characteristic of geriatric depression. Our objective was to identify the relationship between brain structure, symptom profile, and ECT response.

Apolipoproteins E and J interfere with amyloid-beta uptake by primary human astrocytes and microglia in vitro.

Defective clearance of the amyloid-β peptide (Aβ) from the brain is considered a strong promoter in Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathogenesis. Astrocytes and microglia are important mediators of Aβ clearance and Aβ aggregation state and the presence of amyloid associated proteins (AAPs), such as Apolipoproteins E and J (ApoE and ApoJ), may influence Aβ clearance by these cells. Here we set out to investigate whether astrocytes and microglia differ in uptake efficiency of Aβ oligomers (Aβoligo ) and Aβ fibrils (Aβfib ), and whether the Aβ aggregation state and/or presence of AAPs affect Aβ uptake in these cells in vitro.