[DemStepCare: Risk-stratified support for primary care-based dementia care - evaluation from general practitioner's view].

Objective: The innovation fund project DemStepCare aimed to optimize multi-professional care through case management, risk stratification, and crisis outpatient clinic. Here, the evaluation results from the perspective of the general practitioners are presented.

Methods: A quantitative survey was carried out at three time points regarding acceptance, benefit assessment and sensitivity to dementia of the general practitioners.

Interhemispheric transfer time correlates with white matter integrity of the corpus callosum in healthy older adults.

The corpus callosum (CC) has been identified as an important structure in the context of cognitive aging (Fling et al., 2011). Interhemispheric transfer time (IHTT) is regularly used in order to estimate interhemispheric integration enabled by the CC (Marzi, 2010; Nowicka and Tacikowski, 2011).

Influence of loss- and restoration-oriented stressors on grief in times of COVID-19.

This study aimed to examine the influence of COVID-specific stressors on cross-sectional and longitudinal bereavement outcomes. According to the Dual Process Model of grief these stress-inducing factors can relate to the loss (loss-oriented stressors) or to manage everyday life (restoration-oriented stressors) and require coping in the grief process. A total of 491 participants (94.

Public knowledge and attitudes about mental health in older age in Germany - Focus on dementia and late-life depression.

Older people with mental disorders represent a particularly vulnerable group in the health care system. Despite this, mental disorders in this group often remain undiagnosed or are not treated in accordance with guidelines, potentially due to a lack of knowledge or unfavorable attitudes regarding mental disorders in older individuals. Therefore, in an anonymous online survey of 1,284 participants (71.

The relationship between interhemispheric transfer time and physical activity as well as cardiorespiratory fitness in healthy older adults.

The structural and functional degradation of the corpus callosum (CC) has been shown to play an important role in the context of cognitive aging (Reuter-Lorenz and Stanczak, 2000). This is also reflected by findings of elongated interhemispheric transfer time (IHTT) in older adults (Riedel et al., 2022).

The impact of aging on interhemispheric transfer time and respective sex differences.

Age-related cognitive decline has been attributed to degeneration of the corpus callosum (CC), which allows for interhemispheric integration and information processing [22,69]. Along with decreased structural integrity, altered functional properties of the CC may cause impaired cognitive performance in older adults, yet this aspect of age-related decline remains insufficiently researched [59]. In this context, potential sex-related differences have been proposed [31,58].

Apathy in patients with Alzheimer's disease is a cost-driving factor.

Background: Apathy is the most frequent neuropsychiatric symptom in patients with dementia of the Alzheimer's type (DAT). We analyzed the influence of apathy on the resource use of DAT patients and their caregivers.

Methods: Included were baseline data of 107 DAT patients from a randomized clinical trial on apathy treatment.

Psychobiological Evaluation of Day Clinic Treatment for People Living With Dementia - Feasibility and Pilot Analyses.

Background: Hospitalization is often stressful and burdensome for people living with dementia (PwD) and their informal caregivers (ICs). Day clinic treatment may provide a suitable alternative, but is often precluded by a diagnosis of dementia. Furthermore, it is often caregiver-based ratings that measure treatment success as the validity of self-reports in PwD is critically discussed.

Psychobiological Monitoring of a Home-Based Dyadic Intervention for People Living with Dementia and Their Caregivers: Added Value to Evaluate Treatment Success and Understand Underlying Mechanisms.

Background: Research concerning people living with dementia (PwD) and their informal caregivers (ICs) has recently begun to focus on dyadic aspects of psychosocial interventions.

Objective: We adapted a dyadic psychosocial intervention and examined its effects on psychobiological stress in daily life.

Methods: Twenty-four PwD-caregiver dyads were visited seven times at home by specialized nursing staff.

Lifetime musical training and cognitive performance in a memory clinic population: A cross-sectional study.

Background: Music training has been found to be beneficial for young and healthy participants but the associations between musical training and the cognitive functioning of elderly participants have not been reported consistently. We examined whether lifetime musical training is associated with neuropsychological performance in a memory clinic population of older patients.

Methods: A total of 478 patients (54.

Introduction and Psychometric Validation of the Resilience and Strain Questionnaire (ResQ-Care)- A Scale on the Ratio of Informal Caregivers' Resilience and Stress Factors.

Informal caregivers are a particularly vulnerable population at risk for adverse health outcomes. Likewise, there are many scales available assessing individual caregiver burden and stress. Recently, resilience in caregivers gained increasing interest and scales started to assess resilience factors as well.

Primary dementia care based on the individual needs of the patient: study protocol of the cluster randomized controlled trial, DemStepCare.

Background: Most people with dementia (PwD) are cared for at home, with general practitioners (GPs) playing a key part in the treatment. However, primary dementia care suffers from a number of shortcomings: Often, diagnoses are made too late and therapies by GPs do not follow the guidelines. In cases of acute crises, PwD are too often admitted to hospital with adverse effects on the further course of the disease.

Dorsolateral Prefrontal Functional Connectivity Predicts Working Memory Training Gains.

Normal aging is associated with working memory decline. A decrease in working memory performance is associated with age-related changes in functional activation patterns in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Cognitive training can improve cognitive performance in healthy older adults.

Structural Network Efficiency Predicts Resilience to Cognitive Decline in Elderly at Risk for Alzheimer's Disease.

: Functional imaging studies have demonstrated the recruitment of additional neural resources as a possible mechanism to compensate for age and Alzheimer's disease (AD)-related cerebral pathology, the efficacy of which is potentially modulated by underlying structural network connectivity. Additionally, structural network efficiency (SNE) is associated with intelligence across the lifespan, which is a known factor for resilience to cognitive decline. We hypothesized that SNE may be a surrogate of the physiological basis of resilience to cognitive decline in elderly persons without dementia and with age- and AD-related cerebral pathology.

Psychobiological mechanisms underlying the health-beneficial effects of music in people living with dementia: A systematic review of the literature.

Background: Music has been used as agent in medicine for decades. The applications of music in health span from music therapy to music listening interventions to mere music listening. Music may reduce stress and improve health in people living with dementia (PwD), but the exact underpinnings of these effects are unclear.

The Impact of Age on the Association Between Physical Activity and White Matter Integrity in Cognitively Healthy Older Adults.

Cognition emerges from coordinated processing among distributed cortical brain regions, enabled through interconnected white matter networks. Cortical disconnection caused by age-related decline in white matter integrity (WMI) is likely to contribute to age-related cognitive decline. Physical activity (PA) has been suggested to have beneficial effects on white matter structure.

Bupropion for the Treatment of Apathy in Alzheimer Disease: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Apathy is a frequent neuropsychiatric symptom in dementia of Alzheimer type and negatively affects the disease course and patients' and caregivers' quality of life. Effective treatment options are needed.

Objective: To examine the efficacy and safety of the dopamine and noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor bupropion in the treatment of apathy in patients with dementia of Alzheimer type.

Apolipoprotein A1 in Cerebrospinal Fluid Is Insufficient to Distinguish Alzheimer's Disease from Other Dementias in a Naturalistic, Clinical Setting.

Apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA1) is the major protein component of the high-density lipoprotein and involved in cholesterol transport. Disruption of cholesterol homeostasis has been identified as a contributing factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Moreover, polymorphisms of ApoA1 have been associated with higher risk of disease onset and cognitive decline.

The Synthetic Retinoid Acitretin Increases IL-6 in the Central Nervous System of Alzheimer Disease Model Mice and Human Patients.

These days, the important role of retinoids in adult brain functionality and homeostasis is well accepted and has been proven by genomic as well as non-genomic mechanisms. In the healthy brain, numerous biological processes, e.g.

Impact of Resilience on the Association Between Amyloid-β and Longitudinal Cognitive Decline in Cognitively Healthy Older Adults.

The present study aims at investigating if the association between amyloid-β and longitudinal cognitive decline in cognitively healthy elderly is modulated by resilience capacity. Resilience capacity was quantified by education, which is a common proxy of resilience and has been shown to be related to a wide range of behaviors promoting resilience. Analyses were conducted with longitudinal cognitive data from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI).

Fatigue in SLE: diagnostic and pathogenic impact of anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) autoantibodies.

Objectives: We explored the impact of circulating anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antibodies on the severity of fatigue in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Methods: Serum samples of 426 patients with SLE were analysed for the presence of antibodies to the NR2 subunit of the NMDAR. In parallel, the severity of fatigue was determined according to the Fatigue Scale for Motor and Cognitive functions questionnaire.

Safety and clinical impact of FEES - results of the FEES-registry.

Background: At present, the flexible endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES) is one of the most commonly used methods for the objective assessment of swallowing. This multicenter trial prospectively collected data on the safety of FEES and also assessed the impact of this procedure on clinical dysphagia management.

Methods: Patients were recruited in 23 hospitals in Germany and Switzerland from September 2014 to May 2017.

Low-dose agalsidase beta treatment in male pediatric patients with Fabry disease: A 5-year randomized controlled trial.

Background: Fabry disease is a rare, X-linked, lifelong progressive lysosomal storage disorder. Severely deficient α-galactosidase A activity in males is associated with the classic phenotype with early-onset, multisystem manifestations evolving to vital organ complications during adulthood. We assessed the ability of 2 low-dose agalsidase beta regimens to lower skin, plasma, and urine globotriaosylceramide (GL-3) levels, and influence clinical manifestations in male pediatric Fabry patients.

Connectivity and morphology of hubs of the cerebral structural connectome are associated with brain resilience in AD- and age-related pathology.

The physiological basis of resilience to age-associated and AD-typical neurodegenerative pathology is still not well understood. So far, the established resilience factor intelligence has been shown to be associated with white matter network global efficiency, a key constituent of which are highly connected hubs. However, hub properties have also been shown to be impaired in AD.

Dyadic Wind of Change: New Approaches to Improve Biopsychological Stress Regulation in Patients with Dementia and Their Spousal Caregivers.

Patients with dementia (PWD) and their caregivers experience long-term stress, leading to accelerated disease progression and to stress-related morbidity. Previous research focused on intrapersonal biopsychological stress responses. Quite recently, dyadic interrelations between caregivers and PWD and their effects on stress and caregiver burden have received more attention, giving rise to dyadic intervention studies.