Reduced mitochondria cytochrome oxidase activity in adult children of mothers with Alzheimer's disease.

Biomarker studies demonstrate inheritance of glucose hypometabolism and increased amyloid-β deposition in adult offspring of mothers, but not fathers, affected by late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD). The underlying genetic mechanisms are unknown. We investigated whether cognitively normal (NL) individuals with a maternal history of LOAD (MH) have reduced platelet mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase activity (COX, electron transport chain complex IV) compared to those with paternal (PH) or negative family history (NH).

Oxidative stress and amyloid-beta pathology in normal individuals with a maternal history of Alzheimer's.

Background: Epidemiology and imaging studies showed that cognitively normal (NL) individuals with a maternal history (MH) of late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD) might be at increased risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD) compared with NL with a paternal history (PH) and NL with a negative family history of LOAD (NH). With a panel of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) markers, this study examined whether NL MH showed evidence for AD pathology compared with PH and NH.

Methods: Fifty-nine 40-80-year-old NL subjects were examined, including 23 MH and 14 PH whose parents had a clinician-certified diagnosis of LOAD and 22 NH.

Plasma BDNF is reduced among middle-aged and elderly women with impaired insulin function: evidence of a compensatory mechanism.

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) plays a regulatory role in neuronal differentiation and synaptic plasticity and has been linked to glucose regulation and cognition. Associations among plasma BDNF, cognition, and insulin function were explored. Forty-one participants with impaired insulin function (IIF), ranging from insulin resistance to type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), were matched with 41 healthy controls on gender, age, education, and IQ.

Retinal vessel abnormalities are associated with elevated fasting insulin levels and cerebral atrophy in nondiabetic individuals.

Objective: To determine the impact of insulin resistance short of diabetes on the arteriolar-to-venular ratio (AVR) and whether AVR is related to cerebral atrophy.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Participants: Forty-six nondiabetic subjects with normal glucose tolerance and varying degrees of insulin resistance ranging in age from 43 to 77 years.

An entorhinal cortex sulcal pattern is associated with Alzheimer's disease.

Objectives: Magnetic resonance (MRI) studies rely on sulcal boundaries to delineate the human entorhinal cortex (EC) and typically show that EC size is reduced in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and a predictor of future dementia. However, it is unknown if variations in the EC sulcal patterns are associated with AD. We classified the lateral EC sulcal boundary as either a rhinal or collateral pattern and tested the hypotheses that the rhinal pattern was (1) more common in AD and (2) associated with a smaller EC size.

Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis dysregulation and memory impairments in type 2 diabetes.

Context: There is evidence of both hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis and cognitive dysfunction in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). However, the exact nature and the associations between these abnormalities remain unclear.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to characterize the nature of the HPA dysregulation in T2DM and ascertain whether impaired cognition in T2DM could be attributed to these abnormalities.

Subjective memory complaints in aging are associated with elevated cortisol levels.

The origin and clinical significance of subjective memory complaints among middle aged and older individuals is not well understood. Associations with objective memory impairments, personality traits or mood disturbances have been reported. Elevated cortisol levels occur in aging and depression and causal links to cognitive or emotional problems have been suggested.