Small Vessel Cerebrovascular Pathology Identified by Magnetic Resonance Imaging Is Prevalent in Alzheimer's Disease and Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Potential Target for Intervention.

Background: There is evidence that Alzheimer's disease (AD) has significant cerebrovascular etiopathogenesis. Understanding potentially modifiable risk factors for vascular disease can help design long-term intervention strategies for controlling or preventing cognitive dysfunction attributable to cerebrovascular disease.

Objective: To evaluate the presence and severity of markers of cerebrovascular pathology, its relationship to diagnostic categories of dementia, including AD, and association with the metabolic biomarker homocysteine.

Validity of estimated dietary eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid intakes determined by interviewer-administered food frequency questionnaire among older adults with mild-to-moderate cognitive impairment or dementia.

Epidemiologic research is increasingly being focused on elderly persons, many of whom exhibit mild-to-moderate cognitive impairment. This presents a challenge for collection and interpretation of self-reported dietary data. There are few reports on the impact of cognitive function and dementia on the validity of self-reported dietary intakes.

Vitamin D is associated with cognitive function in elders receiving home health services.

Background: The objective of this study was to examine the association between 25-hydroxyvitamin D, 25(OH)D, and cognitive function.

Methods: A cross-sectional investigation of 25(OH)D and cognition was completed in 377 black and 703 non-black (mainly Caucasian) elders (65-99 years) participating in the nutrition and memory in elders study. Participants underwent a comprehensive neuropsychological battery, and 25(OH)D concentrations were obtained.

Albuminuria, cognitive functioning, and white matter hyperintensities in homebound elders.

Background: Albuminuria, a kidney marker of microvascular disease, may herald microvascular disease elsewhere, including in the brain.

Study Design: Cross sectional.

Setting & Participants: Boston, MA, elders receiving home health services to maintain independent living who consented to brain magnetic resonance imaging.

Insulin, insulin-degrading enzyme and amyloid-beta peptide in Alzheimer's disease: review and hypothesis.

Clinical and epidemiological studies have found that type 2 diabetes, and hyperinsulinaemia, increased the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease (AD) in the elderly. The link between hyperinsulinaemia and AD may be insulin-degrading enzyme (IDE). This enzyme degrades both insulin and amylin, peptides related to the pathology of type 2 diabetes, along with amyloid-beta peptide (Abeta), a short peptide found in excess in the AD brain.

Homocysteine and B vitamins relate to brain volume and white-matter changes in geriatric patients with psychiatric disorders.

Objective: There is a growing literature on the relationship between low serum B-vitamins, elevated homocysteine, and cognitive impairment; however, few studies have examined radiological markers of associated neuropathology in geropsychiatry inpatients. The authors examined the relationship of homocysteine, folate, and vitamin B12 with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) markers of neuropathology.

Methods: In this archival study, authors reviewed the MRIs and medical records of 34 inpatients in a geriatric psychiatry unit.

Psychiatric perspectives on headache and facial pain.

For a subset of headache patients, an understanding of psychological antecedents and interpersonal difficulties is an important part of the headache evaluation. This subset includes patients with chronic headache, frequent headache, treatment-refractory headache, analgesic misuse problems, and serious compliance issues. Inadequate coping with stress is central to the persistence of headache in many such patients.

Decreased levels of plasma vitamin C and increased concentrations of inflammatory and oxidative stress markers after stroke.

Background And Purpose: Inflammatory response is a critical component of the complex pathophysiological response to stroke. Vitamin C has been shown to have important roles in cell performance and vascular function. In this study, we compared the nutritional status and levels of inflammatory markers between stroke cases and controls and assessed which antioxidant was associated with levels of inflammatory markers and oxidative stress among cases and controls.

Results of a high-resolution genome screen of 437 Alzheimer's disease families.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a devastating neurodegenerative disorder of late life with complex inheritance. Mutations in three known genes lead to the rare early-onset autosomal dominant form of AD, while a common polymorphism (epsilon 4) in the gene encoding apolipoprotein E (APOE ) is a risk factor for more typical late-onset (>60 years) AD. A recent study concluded that there are up to four additional genes with an equal or greater contribution to the disease.

The Dementia Signs and Symptoms Scale: A New Scale for Comprehensive Assessment of Psychopathology in Alzheimer's Disease.

The Dementia Signs and Symptoms (DSS) Scale documents non-cognitive signs and symptoms (e.g., delusions, hallucinations, anxiety, depression, mania, and behavioral disturbances) in dementia.