Genetic expression changes and pathologic findings associated with hyperhomocysteinemia in human autopsy brain tissue.

Introduction: Vascular contributions to cognitive impairment and dementia (VCID) are a leading cause of dementia. An underappreciated, modifiable risk factor for VCID is hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy), defined by elevated levels of plasma homocysteine, most often due to impaired B vitamin absorption in aged persons. Studies aimed at identifying neuropathologic features and gene expression profiles associated with HHcy have been lacking.

Calcium Channel Blockers, Progression to Dementia, and Effects on Amyloid Beta Peptide Production.

Previous epidemiologic studies suggest that antihypertensive drugs may be protective against cognitive decline. To determine if subjects enrolled in the University of Kentucky longitudinal aging study who used antihypertensive drugs showed diminished progression to dementia, we used a 3-parameter logistic regression model to compare the rate of progression to dementia for subjects who used any of the five common categories of antihypertensive drugs to those with similar demographic characteristics but who did not use antihypertensives. Regression modeling showed that subjects who used calcium channel blockers (CCBs) but not the other classes of antihypertensives showed a significant decrease in the rate of progression to dementia.

4-Hydroxyhexenal (HHE) impairs glutamate transport in astrocyte cultures.

Multiple studies show elevations of α,β-unsaturated aldehydic by-products of lipid peroxidation including 4-hydroxynonenal and acrolein in vulnerable brain regions of subjects throughout the progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD). More recently 4-hydroxyhexenal (HHE), a diffusible α,β-unsaturated aldehyde resulting from peroxidation of ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, was shown to be elevated in the hippocampus/parahippocampal gyrus (HPG) of subjects with preclinical AD (PCAD) and in late stage AD (LAD). HHE treatment of primary rat cortical neuron cultures led to a time- and concentration-dependent decrease in survival and glucose uptake.