Auditory Processing but Not Peripheral Hearing Differs Between Older Adults With and Without Mild Cognitive Impairment.

Purpose: Impairments of hearing and auditory processing (AP) have been indicated as risk factors for dementia, but it remains unclear if persons with clinically diagnosed mild cognitive impairment (MCI) show such impairments. The objective of these analyses was to compare AP between those with and without a clinical diagnosis of MCI using a battery of AP measures.

Method: Data from 274 older adults from the Keys to Staying Sharp randomized clinical trial (NCT03528486) were analyzed.

The Preventing Alzheimer's with Cognitive Training (PACT) randomized clinical trial.

Background: To address the rising prevalence of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, effective interventions that can be widely disseminated are warranted. The Preventing Alzheimer's with Cognitive Training study (PACT) investigates a commercially available computerized cognitive training program targeting improved Useful Field of View Training (UFOVT) performance. The primary goal is to test the effectiveness of UFOVT to reduce incidence of clinically defined mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia with a secondary objective to examine if effects are moderated by plasma β-amyloid level or apolipoprotein E e4 (APOE e4) allele status.

Dynamic Useful Field of View Training to Enhance Older Adults' Cognitive and Motor Function: A Pilot Study.

Useful Field of View (UFOV) computerized cognitive training improves older adults' gait speed and balance and reduces dementia risk. We investigated a new form of UFOV training requiring physical movement, Training Under Cognitive Kinematics (TUCK). We hypothesized TUCK would be acceptable, feasible, and potentially efficacious to improve UFOV Test- and motor performance.

Blood-Brain Barrier Crossing Renin-Angiotensin Drugs and Cognition in the Elderly: A Meta-Analysis.

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Quantifying Recruitment Source and Participant Communication Preferences for Alzheimer's Disease Prevention Research.

Background: Evidence on effective engagement of diverse participants in AD prevention research is lacking.

Objectives: To quantify recruitment source in relation to race, ethnicity, and retention.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Applying the Health Belief Model to Quantify and Investigate Expectations for Computerized Cognitive Training.

Despite the demonstrated benefits of computerized cognitive training for older adults, little is known about the determinants of training behavior. We developed and tested scales to quantify expectations about such training, examine whether expectations predicted training adherence, and explore if training expectations changed from pre- to post-training. Participants (=219) were healthy older adults aged 55-96 years (=75.

Live Cell Membranome cDNA Screen: A Novel Homogenous Live Cell Binding Assay to Study Membrane Protein-Ligand Interaction.

Interactions between transmembrane receptors and their ligands play important roles in normal biological processes and pathological conditions. However, the binding partners for many transmembrane-like proteins remain elusive. To identify potential ligands of these orphan receptors, we developed a screening platform using a homogenous nonwash binding assay in live cells.

Keys to staying sharp: A randomized clinical trial of piano training among older adults with and without mild cognitive impairment.

Background: The prevalence of dementia, the most expensive medical condition (Kirschstein, 2000 and Hurd et al., 2013 [1,2]), and its precursor, mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are increasing [3]. Finding effective intervention strategies to prevent or delay dementia is imperative to public health.

Electron transfer processes occurring on platinum neural stimulating electrodes: pulsing experiments for cathodic-first, charge-imbalanced, biphasic pulses for 0.566 ⩽ k ⩽ 2.3 in rat subcutaneous tissues.

Objective: Charge injection through platinum neural stimulation electrodes is often constrained by the Shannon limit (Shannon 1992 IEEE Trans. Biomed. Eng.

Electron transfer processes occurring on platinum neural stimulating electrodes: pulsing experiments for cathodic-first, charge-balanced, biphasic pulses for 0.566 ⩽ k ⩽ 2.3 in rat subcutaneous tissues.

Objective: Our mission is twofold: (1) find a way to safely inject more charge through platinum electrodes than the Shannon limit (k  =  1.75) permits and (2) nurture an interest in the neural stimulation community to understand the electron transfer process occurring on neural stimulating electrodes.

Approach: We report here on measurements of the electrode potential, performed on platinum neural stimulating electrodes in the subcutaneous space of an anesthetized rat under neural stimulation conditions.

Public Regulatory Databases as a Source of Insight for Neuromodulation Devices Stimulation Parameters.

Objective: The Shannon model is often used to define an expected boundary between non-damaging and damaging modes of electrical neurostimulation. Numerous preclinical studies have been performed by manufacturers of neuromodulation devices using different animal models and a broad range of stimulation parameters while developing devices for clinical use. These studies are mostly absent from peer-reviewed literature, which may lead to this information being overlooked by the scientific community.

Electron transfer processes occurring on platinum neural stimulating electrodes: calculated charge-storage capacities are inaccessible during applied stimulation.

Objective: Neural prostheses employing platinum electrodes are often constrained by a charge/charge-density parameter known as the Shannon limit. In examining the relationship between charge injection and observed tissue damage, the electrochemistry at the electrode-tissue interface should be considered. The charge-storage capacity (CSC) is often used as a predictor of how much charge an electrode can inject during stimulation, but calculating charge from a steady-state i-E curve (cyclic voltammogram) over the water window misrepresents how electrodes operate during stimulation.

High-throughput in vitro assay to evaluate the cytotoxicity of liberated platinum compounds for stimulating neural electrodes.

Background: It is currently unclear how the platinum (Pt) species released from platinum-containing stimulating electrodes may affect the health of the surrounding tissue. This study develops an effective system to assess the cytotoxicity of any electrode-liberated Pt over a short duration, to screen systems before future in vivo testing.

New Method: A platinum electrode was stimulated for two hours under physiologically relevant conditions to induce the liberation of Pt species.

Electrical neurostimulation with imbalanced waveform mitigates dissolution of platinum electrodes.

Objective: Electrical neurostimulation has traditionally been limited to the use of charge-balanced waveforms. Charge-imbalanced and monophasic waveforms are not used to deliver clinical therapy, because it is believed that these stimulation paradigms may generate noxious electrochemical species that cause tissue damage.

Approach: In this study, we investigated the dissolution of platinum as one of such irreversible reactions over a range of charge densities up to 160 μC cm with current-controlled first phase, capacitive discharge second phase waveforms of both cathodic-first and anodic-first polarity.

Electron transfer processes occurring on platinum neural stimulating electrodes: a tutorial on the i(V e) profile.

The aim of this tutorial is to encourage members of the neuroprosthesis community to incorporate electron transfer processes into their thinking and provide them with the tools to do so when they design and work with neurostimulating devices. The focus of this article is on platinum because it is the most used electrode metal for devices in commercial use. The i(V e) profile or cyclic voltammogram contains information about electron transfer processes that can occur when the electrode-electrolyte interface, V e, is at a specific potential, and assumed to be near steady-state conditions.

Electron transfer processes occurring on platinum neural stimulating electrodes: pulsing experiments for cathodic-first/charge-balanced/biphasic pulses for 0.566 ≤ k ≤ 2.3 in oxygenated and deoxygenated sulfuric acid.

The application of a train of cathodic-first/charge-balanced/biphasic pulses applied to a platinum electrode resulted in a positive creep of the anodic phase potential that increases with increasing charge injection but reaches a steady-state value before 1000 pulses have been delivered. The increase follows from the fact that charge going into irreversible reactions occurring during the anodic phase must equal the charge going into irreversible reactions during the cathodic phase for charge-balanced pulses. In an oxygenated electrolyte the drift of the measured positive potential moved into the platinum oxidation region of the i(V e) profile when the charge injection level exceeds k = 1.

Outpatient minimally invasive spine surgery using endoscopy for the treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis among obese patients.

Introduction: The safety and effectiveness of outpatient endoscopic minimally invasive spinal surgery (MISS) for the treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis among obese patients is not well documented.

Methods: Pain, disability, and surgical variables were examined on 41 adult obese patients that underwent lumbar laminotomy and foraminotomy surgeries.

Results: A significant decrease in pain and disability scores between preoperative and postoperative were found (p-value's < 0.

Minimally invasive surgery through endoscopic laminotomy and foraminotomy for the treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis.

Background: Lumbar spinal stenosis is a common cause of radicular and generalized back pain among older adults. Endoscopic minimally invasive surgery, in contrast to open decompression, may provide the opportunity for a less invasive surgical intervention. Thus, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety (operative complications, estimated blood loss, operative room time) and effectiveness (pre- versus postoperative level of disability and pain severity) of minimally invasive surgery using endoscopic laminotomy and foraminotomy among a large sample of patients with lumbar spinal stenosis.

Mediators of the association between driving cessation and mortality among older adults.

Objective: The present study examined health and physical performance as mediators of the association between driving cessation and mortality among older residents of small and large cities.

Method: Participants (N = 2,793) were from the Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly (ACTIVE) study. Participants' driving status and health were measured at baseline, and mortality rates were observed across the subsequent 5 years.

A Comparison of Cognitive and Everyday Functional Performance among Older Adults With and Without Hypertension.

Secondary data analyses examined the differences in cognitive and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) performance among hypertensive individuals taking one of four classes of antihypertensive medications, hypertensive individuals not taking any antihypertensive medications, and normotensive individuals (N=770). After adjusting for covariates, significant group differences were evident on all measures (speed of processing, motor speed, reaction time, s < .05) except memory and Timed IADL (s > .

Parsimonious discovery of synergistic drug combinations.

Combination therapies that enhance efficacy or permit reduced dosages to be administered have seen great success in a variety of therapeutic applications. More fundamentally, the discovery of epistatic pathway interactions not only informs pharmacologic intervention but can be used to better understand the underlying biological system. There is, however, no systematic and efficient method to identify interacting activities as candidates for combination therapy and, in particular, to identify those with synergistic activities.

Cognitive Speed of Processing Training Can Promote Community Mobility among Older Adults: A Brief Review.

Background. Community mobility is crucial for maintaining independent functioning and quality of life for older adults. Purpose.

A 1,536-well ultra-high-throughput siRNA screen to identify regulators of the Wnt/beta-catenin pathway.

High-throughput siRNA screens are now widely used for identifying novel drug targets and mapping disease pathways. Despite their popularity, there remain challenges related to data variability, primarily due to measurement errors, biological variance, uneven transfection efficiency, the efficacy of siRNA sequences, or off-target effects, and consequent high false discovery rates. Data variability can be reduced if siRNA screens are performed in replicate.

Body mass index and von Hippel-Lindau gene mutations in clear-cell renal cancer: Results of the Netherlands Cohort Study on diet and cancer.

Purpose: Body mass index (BMI) is an important risk factor for clear-cell renal cancer (cc-RCC). A common molecular alteration in cc-RCC is loss-of-function of the von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) gene. We evaluated the association between BMI and VHL mutations in cc-RCC by using data from the Netherlands Cohort Study (NLCS), a prospective study, which comprises 120,852 persons.