Impact of the Pandemic Time on the Mental Health of People with Dementia and Their Family Caregivers in Brazil and Chile: One-Year Follow-Up.

Background: Previous studies reported the negative impact of social isolation on mental health in people with dementia (PwD) and their caregivers, butlongitudinal studies seem scarcer.

Objective: To describe a one-year follow-up impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on PwD and their caregivers in both Brazil and Chile.

Methods: This study analyzed the impact of the pandemic on the psychological and physical health of PwD and their family caregivers after one year of follow-up in three outpatient clinics in Brazil (n = 68) and Chile (n = 61).

High performance older adults in a population-based sample with low education: Pietà study.

Background: Healthy brain aging can be defined as aging without neurological or psychiatric disorders, sustaining functional independence. In addition to the absence of disease and preserved functionality, there are individuals who stand out for their superior performance to that considered normal for their age in cognitive tests. These individuals are called "high-performance older adults" (HPOA).

Impact of Social Isolation on People with Dementia and Their Family Caregivers.

Background: People with dementia and their family caregivers may face a great burden through social isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which can be manifested as various behavioral and clinical symptoms.

Objective: To investigate the impacts of social isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic on individuals with dementia and their family caregivers.

Methods: Two semi-structured questionnaires were applied via telephone to family caregivers of people diagnosed with dementia in three cities in Argentina, Brazil, and Chile, in order to assess clinical and behavioral changes in people with dementia and in their caregivers.

White Matter Microstructure in Illiterate and Low-Literate Elderly Brazilians: Preliminary Findings.

Objective: To investigate differences in white matter microstructure between illiterate and low-literate elderly Brazilians.

Background: High literacy levels are believed to partially counteract the negative effects of neurodegenerative diseases. Investigating the impact of low literacy versus illiteracy on brain structure can contribute knowledge about cognitive reserve in elderly populations with low educational attainment.

Primary School Education May Be Sufficient to Moderate a Memory-Hippocampal Relationship.

According to the cognitive reserve theory, intellectual stimuli acquired during life can prevent against developing cognitive impairment. The underlying cognitive reserve mechanisms were underexplored in low-educated individuals. Because episodic memory impairment due to hippocampal dysfunction is a key feature of Alzheimer's dementia (AD), we sought to look at a possible cognitive reserve mechanism by determining whether few years of education moderated the relationship between the hippocampal volumes and the episodic-memory scores.

Operationalized definition of older adults with high cognitive performance.

Recently, there has been an increasing number of studies on exceptional cognitive aging. Herein, we aim to objectively provide the operationalized characterization of older adults with unusually high memory ability. Some authors have defined them as "SuperAgers", individuals aged 80 years or older with memory ability similar or superior to middle-aged subjects.

Leptin, hsCRP, TNF-α and IL-6 levels from normal aging to dementia: Relationship with cognitive and functional status.

Cognitive impairment, including mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia, compromises the patients' cognitive abilities and, to different extents, to carry out daily activities, accompanied by personality and behavioral changes. Studies suggest that leptin, an adipokine, has a neuroprotective role against Alzheimer's disease (AD) and that cytokines are associated with inflammatory processes and dementia. This study aimed to evaluate serum leptin, hsCRP, IL-6 and TNF-α levels in a cognitive continuum group from normal to demential status, and to assess whether they correlates to Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Functional Assessment Staging (FAST) scores.

Accuracy of the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15) in a community-dwelling oldest-old sample: the Pietà Study.

Introduction: Late-life depression (LLD) is common, but remains underdiagnosed. Validated screening tools for use with the oldest-old in clinical practice are still lacking, particularly in developing countries.

Objectives: To evaluate the accuracy of a screening tool for LLD in a community-dwelling oldest-old sample.

Integrity of white matter structure is related to episodic memory performance in the low-educated elderly.

Unlabelled: The low-educated elderly are a vulnerable population in whom studying the role of white matter integrity on memory may provide insights for understanding how memory declines with aging and disease.

Methods: Thirty-one participants (22 women), 23 cognitively healthy and eight with cognitive impairment-no dementia, aged 80.4 ± 3.

Cognitive performance of community-dwelling oldest-old individuals with major depression: the Pietà study.

Background: Individuals with late-life depression (LLD) may present cognitive symptoms. We sought to determine whether a brief cognitive battery (BCB) could identify cognitive and functional deficits in oldest-old individuals with LLD and a low level of education.

Methods: We evaluated 639 community-dwelling individuals aged 75+ years in Caeté (MG), Brazil.

Ischemic cerebrovascular burden evaluated by magnetic resonance imaging in an elderly Brazilian community: The Pietà study.

In developing countries, cardiovascular risk factors are poorly controlled, leading to high prevalence of cerebrovascular diseases. The aim of the study was to evaluate the burden of white matter lesions in magnetic resonance through the Fazekas scale in a population aged 75 + years living in the community, and to investigate possible associations between vascular lesions, cardiovascular risk factors and cognitive status. Subjects were selected from a community-based study on brain aging conducted in Caeté (Minas Gerais state), Brazil.

Cortisol, HDL-c, VLDL-c, and APOE Polymorphisms as Laboratorial Parameters Associated to Cognitive Impairment No Dementia (CIND) and Dementia.

Background: Population aging is a global phenomenon whose main consequence is the increase of chronic degenerative diseases, including dementia. The aim of this case-control study was to evaluate the laboratorial parameters lipid profile, cortisol, and apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene genotype, comparing cognitively healthy controls and subjects with cognitive impairment no dementia (CIND) and dementia in a group of elderly people.

Methods: Three hundred and nine individuals enrolled in the Pietà Study (Brazil) were divided into three groups: control (n = 158), CIND (n = 92), and dementia (n = 59).

High cortisol levels are associated with cognitive impairment no-dementia (CIND) and dementia.

Background: This study aimed to compare serum cortisol concentrations in cognitively healthy elderly and in subjects with cognitive impairment no dementia (CIND) and dementia, besides to evaluate these concentrations according to apolipoprotein E genotype (APOE).

Methods: Three-hundred and nine elderly enrolled in the Pietà Study (Brazil) were divided in 3 groups: control (n=158), CIND (n=92) and dementia (n=59) and had concentrations of morning serum cortisol measured. Hormone concentrations were measured by chemiluminescence and APOE genotypes were determined by PCR followed by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP).