Publications by authors named "Viitanen M"

Copy number variation (CNV) of the amyloid-β precursor protein gene (APP) is a known cause of autosomal dominant Alzheimer disease (ADAD), but de novo genetic variants causing ADAD are rare. We report a mother and daughter with neuropathologically confirmed definite Alzheimer disease (AD) and extensive cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA). Copy number analysis identified an increased number of APP copies and genome sequencing (GS) revealed the underlying complex genomic rearrangement (CGR) including a triplication of APP with two unique breakpoint junctions (BPJs).

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Background: Cardiac troponin T (cTnT) and N-terminal B-type natriuretic propeptide (proBNP) are mainly used as biomarkers to diagnose specific conditions of the heart, but they also have predictive ability. Our aim was to study their associations with cardiovascular and all-cause mortality in an older population in non-acute conditions.

Methods: A population-based study with a ten-year follow-up.

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Introduction: Due to the increasing number of older patients in emergency departments (EDs) with frailty, cognitive impairment and multimorbidity, there is a need for geriatric expertise in EDs.

Methods: This retrospective study is of older patients visiting Turku University Hospital ED between 2 January and 31 December 2022. Patients aged 75 years of older were screened for frailty using Triage Risk Screening Tool (TRST) and Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS).

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Background: We conducted a comparative analysis of hypertension prevalence, progression, and treatment in two Finnish population-based cohorts comprising older adults born 20 years apart. The study covered data from pre- and post-HYVET Study eras and spanned the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: All 70-year-old home-dwelling citizens of Turku, in Southwest Finland, were invited to participate in the survey in 1990 (1920-born TUVA cohort) and in 2010 (1940-born UTUVA cohort) with a 25-year follow-up plan.

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Background: Successful ageing is the term often used for depicting exceptional ageing and can be measured with multidimensional models including physical, psychological and social wellbeing. The aim of this study was to test multidimensional successful ageing models to investigate whether these models can predict successful ageing, and which individual subcomponents included in the models are most significantly associated with successful ageing.

Methods: Successful ageing was defined as the ability to live at home without daily care at the age of 84 years or over.

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Objectives: We assessed if positive life orientation (PLO) has increased among older individuals and explored gender disparities in PLO changes.

Methods: Two cohorts of 70-year-olds from Turku, Finland were included: the 1920 birth cohort (examined in 1991;  = 1,032) and the 1940 birth cohort (examined in 2011;  = 956). Participants completed an identical questionnaire assessing life satisfaction, feeling needed, future plans, zest for life, depression, and loneliness.

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Background And Aims: Our aim was to define reference limits for cardiac troponin T (cTnT) and N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide (proBNP) that would better reflect their concentrations in older people. In addition, the incidence of acute myocardial infarctions (AMIs) was studied using these reference limits in an older population with and without previous heart diseases.

Materials And Methods: A population-based study with a ten-year follow-up.

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Objective: To assess risk factors and factors associated with nonachievement of the treatment target levels among 75-year-old Finns with type 2 diabetes (T2D).

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: Outpatient.

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We studied if midlife insulin resistance (IR) and APOE genotype would predict brain beta-amyloid (Aβ) accumulation and Aβ change in late-life in 5-year follow-up [C]PIB-PET study. 43 dementia-free participants were scanned twice with [C]PIB-PET in their late-life (mean age at follow-up 75.4 years).

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Cerebral autosomal-dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL) is caused by NOTCH3 mutations. Typical CADASIL is characterised by subcortical ischemic strokes due to severe arteriopathy and fibrotic thickening of small arteries. Arteriolar vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) are the key target in CADASIL, but the potential mechanisms involved in their degeneration are still unclear.

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Background: Successful ageing is the term often used for depicting exceptional ageing but a uniform definition is lacking. The aim was to re-examine and describe the successful agers living at home at the age of 84 years or over after a 20-year follow-up. The purpose was also to identify possible factors leading to their successful ageing.

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Background: In the Finnish policy on older people preventive activities, which maintain functional capacity and independent living, are emphasized. The Turku Senior Health Clinic, aimed at maintaining independent coping of all home-dwelling 75-year-old citizens in the city of Turku, was founded in the beginning of 2020. The aim of this paper is to describe design and protocol of the Turku Senior Health Clinic Study (TSHeC) and provide results of the non-response analysis.

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Background: Various indexes have been developed to estimate the risk for mortality, institutionalization, and other adverse outcomes for older people. Most indexes are based on a large number of clinical or laboratory parameters. An index based on only a few parameters would be more practical to use in every-day clinical practice.

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Background: Diabetes increases the risk for cognitive decline, but the mechanisms behind this association remain unknown. Impaired early insulin secretion in elderly men and insulin resistance, both of which are pathophysiological features of type 2 diabetes, have previously been linked to Alzheimer's disease.

Objective: To examine if the early insulin response to oral glucose load predicts cognitive performance after 10 years in men and women aged 45-74 years.

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Background And Objectives: Chronic low-grade inflammation, commonly associated with cardiovascular diseases and risk factors, has been associated inconclusively with cognitive decline and dementia. The aim of our study was to evaluate whether low-grade inflammation, measured in midlife, is associated with a decline in cognitive performance after a 10-year follow-up. We hypothesized that low-grade inflammation, estimated by interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), and high-sensitivity CRP (hs-CRP), is a predictor of cognitive decline in the general population.

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Background: Older adults are more susceptible to respiratory tract infection than healthy working age adults. The increased susceptibility of older adults is thought to be interlinked with vitamin D status, nourishment, and immunological state in general. Data are scarce whether these parameters could serve as prognostic markers.

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Objective: To examine if the 2-h value of an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) can predict cognitive decline.

Research Design And Methods: This study is based on a subpopulation of the Finnish population-based Health 2000 Survey and its follow-up, the Health 2011 study. Altogether, 961 individuals aged 45-74 (mean 55.

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Objectives: To investigate the prevalence and prognostic significance of post-hip fracture depressive symptoms.

Methods: A naturalistic clinical cohort study. Data were collected on admission to hospital, geriatric assessment 4-6 months post-fracture and by telephone interview one-year post fracture.

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Purpose: The ageing population is increasingly multimorbid. This challenges health care and elderly services as multimorbidity is associated with institutionalization. Especially dementia increases with age and is the main risk factor for institutionalization.

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Background: Objective health measures, such as registered illnesses or frailty, predict mortality and institutionalization in older adults. Also, self-reported assessment of health by simple self-rated health (SRH) has been shown to predict mortality and institutionalization. The aim of this study was to assess the association of objective and subjective health with mortality and institutionalization in Finnish community-dwelling older adults.

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Background: An accurate identification of older individuals at increased risk of developing dementia is very important. Various dementia risk prediction models have been developed, but not all models are applicable among older population.

Objectives: To examine the association of the Brief Dementia Risk Index (BDRI) and incidence of dementia among community-dwelling Finnish older adults.

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Background: Previously, several indexes based on a large number of clinical and laboratory tests to predict mortality and frailty have been produced. However, there is still a need for an easily applicable screening tool for every-day clinical practice.

Methods: A prospective study with 10- and 18-year follow-ups.

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Objective: To examine whether early β-amyloid (Aβ) accumulation and metabolic risk factors are associated with neuroinflammation in elderly individuals without dementia.

Methods: We examined 54 volunteers (mean age 70.0 years, 56% women, 51% ɛ4 carriers) with the translocator protein (TSPO) tracer [C]PBR28 to assess neuroinflammation and with [C] Pittsburgh compound B (PiB) to assess cerebral Aβ accumulation.

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Typical cerebral autosomal-dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL) is caused by mutations in the human NOTCH3 gene. Cerebral autosomal-dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy is characterized by subcortical ischemic strokes due to severe arteriopathy and fibrotic thickening of small vessels. Blood regulating vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) appear as the key target in CADASIL but the pathogenic mechanisms remain unclear.

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Autosomal-dominant Alzheimer's disease (ADAD) may be associated with atypical amyloid beta deposits in the brain. In vivo amyloid imaging using C-Pittsburgh compound B (PiB) tracer has shown differences in binding between brains from ADAD and sporadic Alzheimer's disease (sAD) patients. To gain further insight into the various pathological characteristics of these genetic variants, we performed large frozen hemisphere autoradiography and brain homogenate binding assays with H-PiB, H-MK6240-H-THK5117, and H-deprenyl for detection of amyloid fibrils, tau depositions, and activated astrocytes, respectively, in two AβPParc mutation carriers, one PSEN1ΔE9 mutation carrier, and three sAD cases.

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