Cognitive Performance Among Older Persons in Japan and the United States.

Objective: To compare cognitive performance among Japanese and American persons, aged 68 years and older, using two nationally representative studies and to examine whether differences can be explained by differences in the distribution of risk factors or in their association with cognitive performance.

Design: Nationally representative studies with harmonized collection of data on cognitive functioning.

Setting: Nihon University Japanese Longitudinal Study of Aging and the US Health and Retirement Study.

Diagnosis and Control of Hypertension in the Elderly Populations of Japan and the United States.

The Japanese have the highest life expectancy in the world while the United States (U.S.) has relatively low life expectancy.

Oral health problems and mortality.

Background/purpose: Previous studies have shown the relationship between individual oral health conditions and mortality; however, the relationship between mortality and multiple oral health conditions has not been examined. This study investigates the link between individual oral health problems and oral comorbidity and mortality risk.

Materials And Methods: Data are derived from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2004, which is linked to the National Death Index for mortality follow-up through 2006.

Sociodemographic correlates of four indices of blood pressure and hypertension among older persons in Japan.

Background: High blood pressure is a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease and mortality. Japan has traditionally had higher levels of measured blood pressure than many Western countries, and reducing levels of hypertension has been a major focus of Japanese health policy over recent decades. In the West, hypertension is strongly associated with sociodemographic and behavioral (smoking and body mass index, BMI) factors; studies of the association between sociodemographic factors and biological indicators have not been fully explored in the elderly population of Japan using nationally representative survey data.

Behavioral disinhibition and reduced anxiety-like behaviors in monoamine oxidase B-deficient mice.

Monoamine oxidase (MAO) B catalyzes the degradation of beta-phenylethylamine (PEA), a trace amine neurotransmitter implicated in mood regulation. Although several studies have shown an association between low MAO B activity in platelets and behavioral disinhibition in humans, the nature of this relation remains undefined. To investigate the impact of MAO B deficiency on the emotional responses elicited by environmental cues, we tested MAO B knockout (KO) mice in a set of behavioral assays capturing different aspects of anxiety-related manifestations, such as the elevated plus maze, defensive withdrawal, marble burying, and hole board.