Group Music Intervention Using Percussion Instruments to Reduce Anxiety Among Elderly Male Veterans with Alzheimer Disease.

BACKGROUND This study aimed to assess the impact of a group music intervention on anxiety and depression of elderly male veterans with dementia. MATERIAL AND METHODS In total, 50 elderly men with Alzheimer disease were randomly divided into intervention and control groups. Patients in the intervention group attended a 60-minute group music session that used percussion instruments with familiar music in the morning once a week for 12 weeks, whereas those in the control group received a rest and reading session at the same intervals and under the same conditions.

High-Frequency External Muscle Stimulation Reduces Depressive Symptoms in Older Male Veterans: A Pilot Study.

Objective: Late-life depression (LLD) is a severe public health problem. Given that pharmacological treatments for LLD are limited by their side effects, development of efficient and tolerable nonpharmacological treatment for LLD is urgently required. This study investigated whether high-frequency external muscle stimulation could reduce depressive symptoms in LLD.

Functional Connectivity Density Mapping of Depressive Symptoms and Loneliness in Non-Demented Elderly Male.

Background: Depression and loneliness are prevalent and highly correlated phenomena among the elderly and influence both physical and mental health. Brain functional connectivity changes associated with depressive symptoms and loneliness are not fully understood.

Methods: A cross-sectional functional MRI study was conducted among 85 non-demented male elders.

Association of depression and loneliness with specific cognitive performance in non-demented elderly males.

Background: Loneliness and depression are very common in the aged population. Both have negative impacts on cognition in the elderly. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of loneliness and depression on total as well as specific cognitive domains in cognitively normal male subjects.

APOE ɛ4 polymorphism and cognitive deficit among the very old Chinese veteran men without dementia.

Apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene polymorphism has been reported to be associated with cognitive dysfunction in healthy individuals, however the results were controversial in the very old elderly. The aim of this study is to assess the possible association of the APOE polymorphism with cognitive dysfunction in people aged 75 years and over. Four hundred and twenty-five aged Chinese veteran men without dementia were enrolled for APOE genotyping and neuropsychological tests including Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE), Digit Span Forward and Backward, and Cognitive Ability Screening Instrument Chinese language version (CASI C-2.

Catechol-O-methyltransferase Val158Met polymorphism on the relationship between white matter hyperintensity and cognition in healthy people.

Background: White matter lesions can be easily observed on T2-weighted MR images, and are termed white matter hyperintensities (WMH). Their presence may be correlated with cognitive impairment; however, the relationship between regional WMH volume and catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) Val158Met polymorphism in healthy populations remains unclear.

Methods: We recruited 315 ethnic Chinese adults with a mean age of 54.

Effect of the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism on regional gray matter volumes and cognitive function in the Chinese population.

The brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) Val66Met polymorphism is common and influences the activity-dependent secretion of BDNF, which is critical for neuronal plasticity and survival. This study investigated the genetic effect of the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism on cognitive function and regional gray matter (GM) volume in a healthy Chinese population (n = 330). Voxel-based morphometry (VBM)-optimized analysis was used.

Interleukin-1 alpha (rs1800587) genetic polymorphism is associated with specific cognitive functions but not depression or loneliness in elderly males without dementia.

Inflammatory process is considered to be a pathway that results in neurodegeneration, and numerous plasma cytokines have been examined for their association with cognitive function and depression. Interleukin-1 alpha (IL-1A) genetic polymorphism (rs1800587) has been found to be associated with Alzheimer's disease susceptibility. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of IL-1A rs1800587 genetic effects on cognitive functions, loneliness and depression severity in elderly males without dementia or major depression.

Effect of Bcl-2 rs956572 polymorphism on age-related gray matter volume changes.

The anti-apoptotic protein B-cell CLL/lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) gene is a major regulator of neural plasticity and cellular resilience. Recently, the Bcl-2 rs956572 single nucleotide polymorphism was proposed to be a functional allelic variant that modulates cellular vulnerability to apoptosis. Our cross-sectional study investigated the genetic effect of this Bcl-2 polymorphism on age-related decreases in gray matter (GM) volume across the adult lifespan.

Interleukin-1 beta C-511T polymorphism modulates functional connectivity of anterior midcingulate cortex in non-demented elderly Han males.

Recent resting fMRI studies have suggested that the functional connectivity of the brain's large-scale networks is associated with the cognitive decline of aging and is modulated by genetic factors. Our previous study found a significant association between interleukin-1 (IL-1 beta) C-511T polymorphism and working memory performance among elderly people. This study investigates the effects of IL-1 beta C-511T polymorphism on the functional connectivity of the cognitive division of the cingulate cortex [i.

Complexity of spontaneous BOLD activity in default mode network is correlated with cognitive function in normal male elderly: a multiscale entropy analysis.

The nonlinear properties of spontaneous fluctuations in blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signals remain unexplored. We test the hypothesis that complexity of BOLD activity is reduced with aging and is correlated with cognitive performance in the elderly. A total of 99 normal older and 56 younger male subjects were included.

Association of MTHFR C677T polymorphism with loneliness but not depression in cognitively normal elderly males.

Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T polymorphism is involved in folate and homocysteine metabolism, and has been associated with geriatric disorders, including dementia and late-life depression. The present work aimed to investigate the effect of MTHFR C677T polymorphism on the presence of depression and loneliness in cognitively normal male subjects. A total of 323 cognitively normal male subjects were included in this study (mean age=80.

Association of lower hemoglobin levels with depression, though not with cognitive performance, in healthy elderly men.

Lower hemoglobin (Hb) levels are a common feature in the elderly. The present study recruited 180 healthy elderly men. Participants were assessed using the Geriatric Depression Scale, the Cognitive Abilities Screening Instrument Chinese version, and the Wechsler Digit Span Task test.

Effect of Bcl-2 rs956572 SNP on regional gray matter volumes and cognitive function in elderly males without dementia.

The Bcl-2 gene is a major regulator of neural plasticity and cellular resilience. A single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the Bcl-2 gene, Bcl-2 rs956572, significantly modulates the expression of Bcl-2 protein and cellular vulnerability to apoptosis. This study investigated the association between the Bcl-2 rs956572 SNP and brain structural abnormalities in non-demented elders, and to test the relationship between neuropsychological performance and regional gray matter (GM) volumes.

Heterozygote advantage of the MTHFR C677T polymorphism on specific cognitive performance in elderly Chinese males without dementia.

Aims: Aging is associated with cognitive deterioration, and genetic factors are implicated in individual cognitive differences in the aged. The C677T mutation in the 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene (MTHFR) yields a common thermolabile variant (T) with reduced enzyme activity and consequent elevation of serum homocysteine concentrations. We designed the present study to investigate whether this functional polymorphism may affect global and specific cognitive functions in older Chinese males without dementia.

Polymorphisms in LMNA and near a SERPINA13 gene are not associated with cognitive performance in Chinese elderly males without dementia.

Aging is associated with cognitive deterioration. A recent study showed two polymorphisms (rs505058 in LMNA and rs11622883 near a SERPINA13 gene), identified in a genome-wide association study of late-onset Alzheimer's disease, to be associated with cognitive function (Mini Mental State Examination) in a UK elderly population. This study replicated these findings in Chinese elderly males without dementia.

No association of angiotensin I converting enzyme I/D polymorphism with domain-specific cognitive function in aged men without dementia.

Previous research studies have related the insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism of the angiotensin I converting enzyme (ACE) gene to cognitive function in various neuropsychiatric or neurodegenerative disorders, but not yet investigated its genetic association with specific cognitive domains. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess the possible association of the ACE I/D polymorphism with domain-specific cognitive function in normal cognitive aging. Four hundred and sixty-nine-aged ethnic Chinese men without dementia were enrolled for genotyping and evaluated using several neuropsychological tests [Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE), Digit Span Forward and Backward, and Cognitive Ability Screening Instrument Chinese language version (CASI C-2.

Lithium may be useful in the prevention of Alzheimer's disease in individuals at risk of presenile familial Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia among older people. Presenile familial AD (FAD) and sporadic Alzheimer's disease (SAD) have identical brain lesions, containing senile plaques with beta-amyloid (Abeta) peptide and neurofibrillary tangles formed by hyperphosphorylation of a microtubule-associated protein known as tau. However, FAD and SAD differ in onset and genetic transmission.