APOE-ε4 Alleles Modify the Decline of MMSE Scores Associated With Time-Dependent PM Exposure: Findings From a Community-Based Longitudinal Cohort Study.

Objective: Limited research has explored the long-term effect of reduced PM exposure on cognitive function. This study aimed to investigate the effects of time-dependent PM exposure and the interactions of PM and aging on declines in Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores, in carriers and non-carriers of the APOE-ε4 allele.

Methods: Participants aged over 60 were recruited for this cohort study, undergoing MMSE tests twice from the Taiwan Biobank Program from 2008 to 2020.

Emergency department visits and associated factors among people with dementia residing in nursing homes in Taiwan: a one-year cohort study.

Background: Residing in a nursing home (NH) may increase emergency department (ED) utilization in patients with dementia; however, evidence regarding the status of and predictors for ED utilization of NH residents with dementia remains unclear, especially in Asia. This study aimed to assess the incidence density of ED visits and associated factors for the risk of ED utilization among NH residents with dementia.

Methods: This one-year cohort study followed 6595 NH residents with dementia aged ≧ 40 years from Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database between 2012 and 2014.

Sum of boxes of the clinical dementia rating scale highly predicts conversion or reversion in predementia stages.

Background: The clinical dementia rating (CDR) scale is commonly used to diagnose dementia due to Alzheimer's disease (AD). The sum of boxes of the CDR (CDR-SB) has recently been emphasized and applied to interventional trials for tracing the progression of cognitive impairment (CI) in the early stages of AD. We aimed to study the influence of baseline CDR-SB on disease progression to dementia or reversion to normal cognition (NC).

Transient receptor potential V1 modulates neuroinflammation in Parkinson's disease dementia: Molecular implications for electroacupuncture and rivastigmine.

Objectives: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common progressive neurodegeneration disease. Its incidence increases with age and affects about 1% of people over 60. Incidentally, transient receptor potential V1 (TRPV1) and its relation with neuroinflammation in mouse brain has been widely reported.

Biomimetic Rotary Tillage Blade Design for Reduced Torque and Energy Requirement.

A rotary cultivator is a primary cultivating machine in many countries. However, it is always challenged by high operating torque and power requirement. To address this issue, biomimetic rotary tillage blades were designed in this study for reduced torque and energy requirement based on the geometric characteristics (GC) of five fore claws of mole rats, including the contour curves of the five claw tips (GC-1) and the structural characteristics of the multiclaw combination (GC-2).

Operational Determination of Subjective Cognitive Decline, Mild Cognitive Impairment, and Dementia Using Sum of Boxes of the Clinical Dementia Rating Scale.

The Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) Scale is the gold standard for the staging of dementia due to Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the application of CDR for the staging of subjective cognitive decline (SCD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in AD remains controversial. This study aimed to use the sum of boxes of the CDR (CDR-SB) plus an SCD single questionnaire to operationally determine the different stages of cognitive impairment (CI) due to AD and non-AD.

Effectiveness of the 10 cm Rivastigmine Patch in Taiwanese Patients with Mild-to-Moderate Alzheimer's Dementia: A 48-Week Real-World Observational Study.

Introduction: The current study aimed to provide data on the effectiveness of the 10 cm rivastigmine patch in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) in a real-world setting in Taiwan.

Methods: This was a 48-week, single-arm, open-label, observational, and post-marketing study conducted across seven centers in Taiwan between May 5, 2016 and July 10, 2017. Eligible patients (aged 55-95 years) treated with the 10 cmrivastigmine patch were enrolled based on physicians' judgment and according to the Taiwan reimbursement criteria of the drug.

Study on the Interaction between Soil and the Five-Claw Combination of a Mole Using the Discrete Element Method.

A mole is a born digger spending its entire existence digging tunnels. The five claws of a mole's hand are combinative to cut soil powerfully and efficiently. However, little was known in detail about the interaction between the soil and the five-claw combination.

Soluble Hyperbranched Porous Organic Polymers.

Soluble porous organic polymers (SPOPs) are currently the subject of extensive investigation due to the enhanced processability compared to insoluble counterparts. Here, a new concept for the construction of SPOPs is presented, which combines the unique topological structure of hyperbranched polymers with rigid building blocks. By using this facile, one-step strategy, a class of novel SPOPs which possess surface areas up to 646 m g have been synthesized.

Risk of Alzheimer's disease with metal concentrations in whole blood and urine: A case-control study using propensity score matching.

Environmental exposure to heavy metals is suspected to result in neuropathology damage and cognitive impairment. We aimed to explore the association of Alzheimer's disease (AD) risk with the internal dose of heavy metals by constructing a hospital-based case-control study and using propensity-score-matching methods. We investigated 170 patients with AD and 264 controls from the Department of Neurology and Family Medicine, China Medical University Hospital in Taiwan.

Relationship between Erectile Dysfunction, Comorbidity, and Parkinson's Disease: Evidence from a Population-Based Longitudinal Study.

Background And Purpose: To determine the risk of Parkinson's disease (PD) in relation to erectile dysfunction (ED) based on the National Health Insurance Research Database in Taiwan.

Methods: We identified 3,153 patients who were newly diagnosed with ED between January 1, 2004 and December 31, 2010. A total of 12,612 randomly selected people without ED served as healthy controls.

Association between different anticholinergic drugs and subsequent dementia risk in patients with diabetes mellitus.

Background: The effects of oxybutynin, solifenacin and tolterodine on dementia risk in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) remain unknown. We investigated the effects of oxybutynin, solifenacin and tolterodine on dementia risk in patients with DM.

Methods: We conducted a cohort study by using the diabetes dataset of the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database from 1 January, 2002 to 31 December, 2013.

Real-world evaluation of compliance and preference in Alzheimer's disease treatment: an observational study in Taiwan.

Purpose: Among the medications approved for Alzheimer's disease (AD), rivastigmine is the only one available as transdermal patch. The aim of this study was to evaluate compliance and caregivers' preference with oral and transdermal (rivastigmine) monotherapy in patients with mild-to-moderate AD from Taiwan.

Methods: Real-world Evaluation of Compliance And Preference in Alzheimer's disease treatment (RECAP) in Taiwan was a prospective, noninterventional, observational study with a 24-week (±8 weeks) observational period for each participant.

CHADS2 Scores as a Predictor of Ischemic Stroke in Patients With Peripheral Artery Disease.

Objective: To assess the predictive value of CHADS2 (congestive heart failure, hypertension, age ≥75 years, diabetes mellitus, stroke) scores for stroke risk in patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD).

Patients And Methods: From Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database, we identified a total of 479 participants with non-atrial fibrillation PAD diagnoses recorded from January 1, 2002, through December 31, 2009. The CHADS2 score was used to stratify 5-year ischemic stroke risk.

CHADS2 scores as a predictor of ischemic stroke after radical prostatectomy.

Patients with prostate cancer have an increased risk of stroke, but their absolute rate of stroke depends on age and comorbid conditions. The Charlson Comorbidity Index Score (CCIS) is a widely accepted measure for risk adjustment in administrative claims data sets. This study assesses the predictive value of CHADS2 scores and CCIS for stroke among patients with prostate cancer.

Maslinic Acid Protected PC12 Cells Differentiated by Nerve Growth Factor against β-Amyloid-Induced Apoptosis.

β-Amyloid peptide (Abeta) was used to induce apoptosis in PC12 cells differentiated by nerve growth factor, and the protective activities of maslinic acid (MA) at 2-16 μM were examined. Abeta treatment lowered Bcl-2 expression, raised Bax expression, and decreased cell viability. MA pretreatments decreased Bax expression, raised the Bcl-2/Bax ratio, and increased cell viability.

5-alpha-reductase inhibitors and the risk of diabetes mellitus: A nationwide population-based study.

Background: This nationwide population-based study investigated the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) after 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor (5ARI) therapy for benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) using the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) in Taiwan.

Methods: In total, 1,298 adult patients newly diagnosed with BPH and who used more than 28 cumulative defined daily doses (cDDD) of 5ARI were recruited as the therapy group cohort, along with 1,2887 subjects who did not use more than 28 cDDD of 5ARI as a control group from 2002 to 2009. Each patient was monitored for 5 years (from 2003 to 2008) to identify those who subsequently developed type 2 DM.

Use of 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors did not increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases in patients with benign prostate hyperplasia: a five-year follow-up study.

Background: This nationwide population-based study investigated the risk of cardiovascular diseases after 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor therapy for benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) using the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) in Taiwan.

Methods: In total, 1,486 adult patients newly diagnosed with BPH and who used 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors were recruited as the study cohort, along with 9,995 subjects who did not use 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors as a comparison cohort from 2003 to 2008. Each patient was monitored for 5 years, and those who subsequently had cardiovascular diseases were identified.