Early psychological symptoms predict concussion recovery time in middle and high school athletes.

Introduction: Lingering concussion symptoms can negatively impact a child's well-being, yet variability in recovery is poorly understood. To aid detection of those at risk for prolonged symptom duration, we explored postconcussion mood and sleep symptoms as predictors of recovery time in adolescent athletes.

Method: We utilized analyses designed to control for potentially confounding variables, such as concussion severity indicators and premorbid psychiatric history.

Current State of the Literature on Psychological and Social Sequelae of Sports-Related Concussion in School-Aged Children and Adolescents.

Considerably less attention has been paid to psychological and social sequelae of concussion in youth athletes compared with neurocognitive outcomes. This narrative review consolidates the literature on postconcussive emotional and psychosocial functioning in school-aged children and adolescents, highlighting athlete-specific findings. MEDLINE and PsycINFO databases were queried for pediatric concussion studies examining psychological and/or social outcomes, and 604 studies met search criteria (11 of those specific to sport).

Association between telomere length and cognitive ability in a community-based sample.

Prior research suggests that telomere length is a biomarker of cognitive aging; however, literature has demonstrated conflicting findings to date. The present study uses data from the Dallas Heart Study, N = 2606, to assess the association between telomere length and cognitive ability on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment. The data do not support a relationship between telomere length and general cognitive functioning, (β = 0.

Detection of Mild Cognitive Impairment Among Community-Dwelling African Americans Using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment.

Objective: To establish a cut score for the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) that distinguishes mild cognitive impairment (MCI) from normal cognition (NC) in a community-based African American (AA) sample.

Methods: A total of 135 AA participants, from a larger aging study, diagnosed MCI (n = 90) or NC (n = 45) via consensus diagnosis using clinical history, Clinical Dementia Rating score, and comprehensive neuropsychological testing. Logistic regression models utilized sex, education, age, and MoCA score to predict MCI versus NC.

Traumatic brain injury history and progression from mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer disease.

Objective: To examine whether history of traumatic brain injury (TBI) is associated with more rapid progression from mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Method: Data from 2,719 subjects with MCI were obtained from the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center. TBI was categorized based on presence (TBI+) or absence (TBI-) of reported TBI with loss of consciousness (LOC) without chronic deficit occurring >1 year prior to diagnosis of MCI.

Montreal Cognitive Assessment Performance among Community-Dwelling African Americans.

Objective: To report descriptive and normative data for the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) in a population-based African American sample.

Method: The MoCA was administered to 1,419 African American participants (mean age 49.89 years, range 18-75, 64% female).

Traumatic brain injury history is associated with earlier age of onset of Alzheimer disease.

Objective: This study examined whether a history of traumatic brain injury (TBI) is associated with earlier onset of Alzheimer disease (AD), independent of apolipoprotein ε4 status (Apoe4) and gender.

Method: Participants with a clinical diagnosis of AD (n = 7625) were obtained from the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center Uniform Data Set, and categorized based on self-reported lifetime TBI with loss of consciousness (LOC) (TBI+ vs. TBI-) and presence of Apoe4.

Self-Reported Traumatic Brain Injury and Mild Cognitive Impairment: Increased Risk and Earlier Age of Diagnosis.

This study examined whether history of traumatic brain injury (TBI) is associated with increased risk and earlier onset of mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Subjects with MCI (n = 3,187) and normal cognition (n = 3,244) were obtained from the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center database. TBI was categorized based on lifetime reported TBI with loss of consciousness (LOC) without chronic deficit.

Traumatic brain injury history is associated with earlier age of onset of frontotemporal dementia.

Objective: We retrospectively examined whether a history of traumatic brain injury (TBI) is associated with an earlier age of symptom onset and diagnosis in a large sample of patients with behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD).

Methods: Data on patients with bvFTD (n=678) were obtained from the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center Uniform Data Set. TBI was categorised based on reported lifetime history of TBI with loss of consciousness (LOC) but no chronic deficits occurring more than 1 year prior to diagnosis of bvFTD.

Cardiovascular Risk Factors Associated with Smaller Brain Volumes in Regions Identified as Early Predictors of Cognitive Decline.

Purpose: To determine in a large multiethnic cohort the cardiovascular and genetic risk factors associated with smaller volume in the hippocampus, precuneus, and posterior cingulate, and their association with preclinical deficits in cognitive performance in patients younger and older than 50 years.

Materials And Methods: The institutional review board approved the study and all participants provided written informed consent. Eligible for this study were 1629 participants (700 men and 929 women; mean age, 50.

Cognitive impact of lacunar infarcts and white matter hyperintensity volume.

Background: Subcortical lacunar infarcts and white matter hyperintensities (WMH) are common neuroradiological findings, but few studies associate between these insults and cognition in a community-dwelling population.

Methods: The Dallas Heart Study is a population-based initiative whose assessments included demographic and clinical findings including brain MRI and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). The presence and number of lacunes in subjects aged over 55 years were assessed by study physicians.

An Abbreviated Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) for Dementia Screening.

Objective: The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is a cognitive screening instrument growing in popularity, but few studies have conducted psychometric item analyses or attempted to develop abbreviated forms. We sought to derive and validate a short-form MoCA (SF-MoCA) and compare its classification accuracy to the standard MoCA and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) in mild cognitive impairment (MCI), Alzheimer disease (AD), and normal aging.

Methods: 408 subjects (MCI n = 169, AD n = 87, and normal n = 152) were randomly divided into derivation and validation samples.

Subclinical atherosclerosis and subsequent cognitive function.

Objective: To examine the relationship between measures of subclinical atherosclerosis and subsequent cognitive function.

Method: Participants from the Dallas Heart Study (DHS), a population-based multiethnic study of cardiovascular disease pathogenesis, were re-examined 8 years later (DHS-2) with the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA); N = 1904, mean age = 42.9, range 8-65.

Association of 3.0-T brain magnetic resonance imaging biomarkers with cognitive function in the Dallas Heart Study.

Importance: Understanding the relationships between age-related changes in brain structure and cognitive function has been limited by inconsistent methods for assessing brain imaging, small sample sizes, and racially/ethnically homogeneous cohorts with biased selection based on risk factors. These limitations have prevented the generalizability of results from brain morphology studies.

Objective: To determine the association of 3.

Urinary albumin to creatinine ratio as potential biomarker for cerebral microvascular disease.

Elevated urinary albumin to creatinine ratio (ACR) and white matter hyperintensity (WMH) volume seen on brain MRI are measures of microvascular disease which may have shared susceptibility to metabolic and vascular insults. We hypothesized that elevated ACR may be useful as inexpensive biomarker to predict presence of cerebral microvascular disease. We assessed the association between ACR at study entry and subsequent WMH volume.

Effect of normal aging versus hypertension, abnormal body mass index, and diabetes mellitus on white matter hyperintensity volume.

Background And Purpose: The natural history of white matter hyperintensity (WMH) progression resulting from normal aging versus comorbid vascular insults remains unclear. Therefore we investigated age-related differences in WMH volumes among a group with comorbid hypertension, abnormal body mass index, and diabetes mellitus to a normal aging group drawn from the same population lacking any of these comorbidities.

Methods: WMH volumes were acquired using 3T MRI for 2011 Dallas Heart Study participants.

Masters athletes exhibit larger regional brain volume and better cognitive performance than sedentary older adults.

Purpose: To investigate differences in the age-related decline in brain tissue concentration between Masters athletes and sedentary older adults.

Materials And Methods: Twelve Masters athletes (MA) (three females, age = 72.4 ± 5.

Videoconference diagnosis and management of Choctaw Indian dementia patients.

Background: This study reports a 5-year experience using videoconference (VC) technology in diagnosing and treating adult members of the Choctaw Nation with symptoms or complaints of cognitive impairment.

Methods: Patients were given the option of a VC session or a face-to-face evaluation in the clinic. Before their VC session, patients underwent neuropsychological testing, Clinical Dementia Rating, Geriatric Depression Scale and Neuropsychiatric Inventory, brain computed tomography, and routine blood tests.

Normative data for the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) in a population-based sample.

Objective: To provide normative and descriptive data for the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) in a large, ethnically diverse sample.

Methods: The MoCA was administered to 2,653 ethnically diverse subjects as part of a population-based study of cardiovascular disease (mean age 50.30 years, range 18-85; Caucasian 34%, African American 52%, Hispanic 11%, other 2%).

The CERAD Neuropsychologic Battery Total Score and the progression of Alzheimer disease.

Objective: To establish the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease (CERAD) neuropsychologic battery as a valid measure of cognitive progression in Alzheimer disease (AD) by deriving annualized CERAD Total Change Scores and corresponding confidence intervals in AD and controls from which to define clinically meaningful change.

Method: Subjects included 383 normal control (NC) and 655 AD subjects with serial data from the CERAD registry database. Annualized CERAD Total Change Scores were derived and Reliable Change Indexes (RCIs) calculated to establish statistically reliable change values.