Structural inequality linked to brain volume and network dynamics in aging and dementia across the Americas.

Structural inequality, the uneven distribution of resources and opportunities, influences health outcomes. However, the biological embedding of structural inequality in aging and dementia, especially among underrepresented populations, is unclear. We examined the association between structural inequality (country-level and state-level Gini indices) and brain volume and connectivity in 2,135 healthy controls, and individuals with Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal lobe degeneration from Latin America and the United States.

The Potential of Automated Assessment of Cognitive Function Using Non-Neuroimaging Data: A Systematic Review.

The growing incidence of cognitive impairment among older adults has a significant impact on individuals, family members, caregivers, and society. Current conventional cognitive assessment tools are faced with some limitations. Recent evidence suggests that automating cognitive assessment holds promise, potentially resulting in earlier diagnosis, timely intervention, improved patient outcomes, and higher chances of response to treatment.

Association between a lower T-CD4+ /CD8+ lymphocyte ratio and cognitive impairment in older persons with HIV.

Purpose: To ascertain the association between the LT-CD4 + /CD8 + ratio and cognitive impairment in older people living with HIV.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted, including 207 adults aged > 50 years with HIV, receiving care at a tertiary-care hospital in Mexico City. Participants underwent a standardized geriatric and neuropsychological assessment to establish the presence of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder according to the validated Antinori criteria.

Brain clocks capture diversity and disparities in aging and dementia across geographically diverse populations.

Brain clocks, which quantify discrepancies between brain age and chronological age, hold promise for understanding brain health and disease. However, the impact of diversity (including geographical, socioeconomic, sociodemographic, sex and neurodegeneration) on the brain-age gap is unknown. We analyzed datasets from 5,306 participants across 15 countries (7 Latin American and Caribbean countries (LAC) and 8 non-LAC countries).

Educational disparities in brain health and dementia across Latin America and the United States.

Background: Education influences brain health and dementia. However, its impact across regions, specifically Latin America (LA) and the United States (US), is unknown.

Methods: A total of 1412 participants comprising controls, patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) from LA and the US were included.

Brain clocks capture diversity and disparity in aging and dementia.

Brain clocks, which quantify discrepancies between brain age and chronological age, hold promise for understanding brain health and disease. However, the impact of multimodal diversity (geographical, socioeconomic, sociodemographic, sex, neurodegeneration) on the brain age gap (BAG) is unknown. Here, we analyzed datasets from 5,306 participants across 15 countries (7 Latin American countries -LAC, 8 non-LAC).

[Clustering of cognitive domains among older adults with HIV].

Background: Age and HIV are synergistic risk factors for conditions such as HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND). Yet, it is unclear whether OAWH display different cognitive profiles for HAND.

Objective: To describe the cognitive patterns of OAWH treated with combined antiretroviral therapy (cART).

Age-friendly initiatives: Mexico.

While the implementation of these initiatives varies globally and continues to face low uptake in the global south, it is crucial to underscore key ongoing efforts, particularly in developing nations. This allows us to have knowledge about progress and identify areas that require more effective strategies to advance the cause of global healthy aging. The aim of this mini-review was to describe some of the key age-friendly initiatives made in Mexico through Governmental and Non-Governmental entities to promote healthy aging, at different levels of health and social institutions, covering the healthcare systems, community, and education.

Higher frailty levels are associated with lower cognitive test scores in a multi-country study: evidence from the study on global ageing and adult health.

Background: Frailty has been recognized as a growing issue in older adults, with recent evidence showing that this condition heralds several health-related problems, including cognitive decline. The objective of this work is to determine if frailty is associated with cognitive decline among older adults from different countries.

Methods: We analyzed the baseline the Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health (SAGE), that includes six countries (Ghana, South Africa, Mexico, China, Russia, and India).

Characterization of data-driven geriatric syndrome clusters in older people with HIV: a Mexican multicenter cross-sectional study.

Background: As living with HIV has been proposed as a condition that may accelerate aging, the main objective of this work was to estimate the prevalence of geriatric syndromes (GS) among older Mexicans with HIV dwelling in the community. Secondly, to evaluate whether the accumulation of GS could be associated with an adverse HIV-related clinical profile, independent of chronological age.

Methods: Multicenter, cross-sectional study including 501 community-dwelling people aged ≥50 years with HIV.

Association between vitamin B levels and cognitive impairment in older adults.

Introduction: Whether vitamin B deficiency is associated with cognitive impairment remains controversial.

Objective: To determine the association between vitamin B serum levels and cognitive performance.

Methods: Two-hundred and forty-one adults aged ≥ 60 years who had serum vitamin B serum levels measurement were included.

The Gut Microbiota-Brain Axis during Aging, Mild Cognitive Impairment and Dementia: Role of Tau Protein, β-Amyloid and LPS in Serum and Curli Protein in Stool.

Currently, there is an increasing number of people with mild cognitive (MCI) impairment and dementia (D). In the present work we studied the role of tau protein, β-amyloid, LPS (lipopolysaccharide), and curli protein of elderly adults with MCI or D and the contribution of gut microbiota. Four groups were studied: young subjects, healthy adults older than 60 years (A), elderly adults with MCI (MCI), and elderly adults with dementia (D).

Effectiveness of a nationwide COVID-19 vaccination program in Mexico against symptomatic COVID-19, hospitalizations, and death: a retrospective analysis of national surveillance data.

Objectives: Vaccination has been effective in ameliorating the impact of COVID-19. Here, we report vaccine effectiveness (VE) of the nationally available COVID-19 vaccines in Mexico.

Methods: Retrospective analysis of a COVID-19 surveillance system to assess the VE of the BNT162b2, messenger RNA (mRNA)-12732, Gam-COVID-Vac, Ad5-nCoV, Ad26.

Classification of Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia using routine clinical and cognitive measures across multicentric underrepresented samples: A cross sectional observational study.

Background: Global brain health initiatives call for improving methods for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) in underrepresented populations. However, diagnostic procedures in upper-middle-income countries (UMICs) and lower-middle income countries (LMICs), such as Latin American countries (LAC), face multiple challenges. These include the heterogeneity in diagnostic methods, lack of clinical harmonisation, and limited access to biomarkers.

Defining terms commonly used in sarcopenia research: a glossary proposed by the Global Leadership in Sarcopenia (GLIS) Steering Committee.

Methods: The aim of this paper is to define terms commonly related to sarcopenia to enable standardization of these terms in research and clinical settings. The Global Leadership Initiative in Sarcopenia (GLIS) aims to bring together leading investigators in sarcopenia research to develop a single definition that can be utilized worldwide; work on a global definition of sarcopenia is ongoing. The first step of GLIS is to develop the common terminology, or a glossary, that will facilitate agreement on a global definition of sarcopenia as well as interpretation of clinical and research findings.

Effect of a geriatric unit in the outcomes of hospitalized older Mexican adults with cancer: A case-control study.

Introduction: Geriatric interventions may improve the care of hospitalized older adults with cancer, but information regarding their effect on geriatric-specific outcomes is lacking. We studied the effect of a specialized geriatrician-led inpatient geriatric management unit compared with a conventional internal medicine ward on the outcomes of hospitalized older adults with cancer in Mexico.

Materials And Methods: Case-control study including persons aged ≥65 years with solid malignancies who had a cancer-related hospitalization at a university-affiliated hospital in Mexico City.

A Lower CD4/CD8 Ratio Predicts Activities of Daily Living Decline Among Older Adults with HIV.

Aging of people with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a worldwide reality, and age-related conditions, including disability, have also increased. Efforts are being made to search for more specific markers of immune system malfunction, which serve as good predictors of adverse health-related outcomes. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the relationship between the CD4/CD8 ratio and functional decline in activities of daily living (ADL).

Veterans Aging Cohort Study Index and Frailty: One Part of the Whole.

In HIV medicine, the Veterans Aging Cohort Study (VACS) index is associated to some geriatric syndromes and has also been recently used as a proxy of frailty. However, using it as a proxy for the frailty phenotype may inadvertently interchange two different concepts. The purpose of this study was to evaluate to what extent the frailty phenotype may be explained by the index.

ASSOCIATION BETWEEN APOE-ε CARRIER STATUS AND QUALITATIVE NEUROIMAGING CHARACTERISTICS IN OLDER ADULTS WITH MILD COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT.

Background: The pathogenesis of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is multifactorial and includes the presence of genetic variants such as the ε allele of the apolipoprotein E gene (APOE-ε). Association between the APOE-ε carrier status and deleterious structural and functional changes on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been previously described in individuals with Alzheimer's disease. However, the central nervous system changes may possibly develop in earlier stages of cognitive impairment, as reflected in MCI.

Towards an approach of disability along a continuum from robustness, pre-frailty, frailty to disability.

Background: frailty and disability are very prevalent in older age and although both are distinct clinical entities, they are commonly used indistinctly in order to identify vulnerable older adults.

Objective: to propose a hierarchical indicator between frailty and disability among older adults along a single continuum.

Design: population-based cohort study.