Integrating a multimodal lifestyle intervention with medical food in prodromal Alzheimer's disease: the MIND-AD randomized controlled trial.

Background: The Finnish Geriatric Intervention Study to Prevent Cognitive Impairment and Disability (FINGER) showed cognitive benefits from a multidomain lifestyle intervention in at-risk older people. The LipiDiDiet trial highlighted benefits of medical food in prodromal Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the feasibility and impact of multimodal interventions combining lifestyle with medical food in prodromal AD is unclear.

Latin American Initiative for Lifestyle Intervention to Prevent Cognitive Decline (LatAm-FINGERS): Study design and harmonization.

Introduction: Latin American Initiative for Lifestyle Intervention to Prevent Cognitive Decline (LatAm-FINGERS) is the first non-pharmacological multicenter randomized clinical trial (RCT) to prevent cognitive impairment in Latin America (LA). Our aim is to present the study design and discuss the strategies used for multicultural harmonization.

Methods: This 1-year RCT (working on a 1-year extension) investigates the feasibility of a multi-domain lifestyle intervention in LA and the efficacy of the intervention, primarily on cognitive function.

Longitudinal study of Alzheimer's disease biomarkers, allostatic load, and cognition among memory clinic patients.

Background: Allostatic load (AL) is defined as the cumulative dysregulation of neuroendocrine, immunological, metabolic, and cardiovascular systems that increases the susceptibility to stress-related health problems. Several dementia and Alzheimer's disease (AD) risk factors have been identified, yet little is known about the role of AL and its associations with AD biomarkers (e.g.

European Working Group on SARS-CoV-2: Current Understanding, Unknowns, and Recommendations on the Neurological Complications of COVID-19.

The emergence of COVID-19 was rapidly followed by infection and the deaths of millions of people across the globe. With much of the research and scientific advancement rightly focused on reducing the burden of severe and critical acute COVID-19 infection, the long-term effects endured by those who survived the acute infection has been previously overlooked. Now, an appreciation for the post-COVID-19 condition, including its neurological manifestations, is growing, although there remain many unknowns regarding the etiology and risk factors of the condition, as well as how to effectively diagnose and treat it.

BDNF mediates improvement in cognitive performance after computerized cognitive training in healthy older adults.

Introduction: The often-cited mechanism linking brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) to cognitive health has received limited experimental study. There is evidence that cognitive training, physical exercise, and mindfulness meditation may improve cognition. Here, we investigated whether improvements in cognition after these three types of structured interventions are facilitated by increases in BDNF.

Development of the First WHO Guidelines for Risk Reduction of Cognitive Decline and Dementia: Lessons Learned and Future Directions.

The first WHO guidelines for risk reduction of cognitive decline and dementia marked an important milestone in the field of dementia prevention. In this paper, we discuss the evidence reviewed as part of the guidelines development and present the main themes emerged from its synthesis, to inform future research and policies on dementia risk reduction. The role of intervention effect-size; the mismatch between observational and intervention-based evidence; the heterogeneity of evidence among intervention trials; the importance of intervention duration; the role of timing of exposure to a certain risk factor and interventions; the relationship between intervention intensity and response; the link between individual risk factors and specific dementia pathologies; and the need for tailored interventions emerged as the main themes.

World-Wide FINGERS Network: A global approach to risk reduction and prevention of dementia.

Reducing the risk of dementia can halt the worldwide increase of affected people. The multifactorial and heterogeneous nature of late-onset dementia, including Alzheimer's disease (AD), indicates a potential impact of multidomain lifestyle interventions on risk reduction. The positive results of the landmark multidomain Finnish Geriatric Intervention Study to Prevent Cognitive Impairment and Disability (FINGER) support such an approach.

Feasibility of an at-home, web-based, interactive exercise program for older adults.

Introduction: Increased physical exercise is linked to enhanced brain health and reduced dementia risk. Exercise intervention studies usually are conducted at facilities in groups under trainer supervision. To improve scalability, accessibility, and engagement, programs may need to be structured such that individuals can execute and adjust routines in their own homes.

Differential Effects of Physical Exercise, Cognitive Training, and Mindfulness Practice on Serum BDNF Levels in Healthy Older Adults: A Randomized Controlled Intervention Study.

Previous studies have indicated that an active lifestyle is associated with better brain health and a longer life, compared to a more sedentary lifestyle. These studies, both on human and animal subjects, have typically focused on a single activity, usually physical exercise, but other activities have received an increasing interest. One proposed mechanism is that physical exercise increases levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the brain.

Is Computerized Working Memory Training Effective in Healthy Older Adults? Evidence from a Multi-Site, Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Developing effective interventions to attenuate age-related cognitive decline and prevent or delay the onset of dementia are major public health goals. Computerized cognitive training (CCT) has been marketed increasingly to older adults, but its efficacy remains unclear. Working memory (WM), a key determinant of higher order cognitive abilities, is susceptible to age-related decline and a relevant target for CCT in elders.

BDNF Responses in Healthy Older Persons to 35 Minutes of Physical Exercise, Cognitive Training, and Mindfulness: Associations with Working Memory Function.

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has a central role in brain plasticity by mediating changes in cortical thickness and synaptic density in response to physical activity and environmental enrichment. Previous studies suggest that physical exercise can augment BDNF levels, both in serum and the brain, but no other study has examined how different types of activities compare with physical exercise in their ability to affect BDNF levels. By using a balanced cross over experimental design, we exposed nineteen healthy older adults to 35-minute sessions of physical exercise, cognitive training, and mindfulness practice, and compared the resulting changes in mature BDNF levels between the three activities.

Midlife Work-Related Stress Increases Dementia Risk in Later Life: The CAIDE 30-Year Study.

Objective: To investigate the associations between midlife work-related stress and mild cognitive impairment (MCI), dementia, and Alzheimer's disease later in life, in a large representative population.

Method: Cardiovascular Risk Factors, Aging and Dementia (CAIDE) study participants were randomly selected from independent population-based surveys (mean age 50 years). A random sample of 2,000 individuals was invited for two reexaminations including cognitive tests (at mean age 71 and mean age 78), and 1,511 subjects participated in at least one reexamination (mean follow-up 28.

Feelings of Hopelessness in Midlife and Cognitive Health in Later Life: A Prospective Population-Based Cohort Study.

Background: Several studies have found depression and depressive feelings to be associated with subsequent dementia. As dementias typically have a long preclinical development phase, it has been difficult to determine whether depression and depressive feelings reflect a concurrent underlying dementia disease, rather than playing a causative role. Our aim was to investigate hopelessness, one dimension of depressive feelings, and evaluate the likelihood of a prodromal versus a causative role of hopelessness feelings in dementia development.

Marital Status and Cognitive Impairment among Community-Dwelling Chinese Older Adults: The Role of Gender and Social Engagement.

Aims: To examine the association between marital status and cognitive impairment among community-dwelling Chinese older adults.

Methods: We analyzed data from 2,498 Chinese aged 55 and older from the Singapore Longitudinal Aging Study cohort. Cognitive impairment was defined as a Mini-Mental State Examination total score of 23 or below.

Association between mid-life marital status and cognitive function in later life: population based cohort study.

Objectives: To evaluate whether mid-life marital status is related to cognitive function in later life.

Design: Prospective population based study with an average follow-up of 21 years.

Setting: Kuopio and Joensuu regions in eastern Finland.