COVID-19 Exacerbates Neurovascular Uncoupling and Contributes to Endothelial Dysfunction in Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment.

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) affects nearly 20% of older adults worldwide, with no targetable interventions for prevention. COVID-19 adversely affects cognition, with >70% of older adults with Long COVID presenting with cognitive complaints. Neurovascular coupling (NVC), an essential mechanism of cognitive function, declines with aging and is further attenuated in neurocognitive disorders.

Effect of school lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic on screen time among adolescents in Hungary: a longitudinal analysis.

Introduction: Studies indicate that due to school lockdown during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, screen time increased more steeply than pre-pandemic years. The aim of our study was to examine changes in screen time and its components (screen time spent on videos, games, homework, and other activities) of adolescents affected by COVID-19 school closures compared to controls from pre-pandemic years and to assess the effect of family structure and family communication.

Methods: Two sets of ninth-grader boys and girls transitioning into 10th grade were included in the analysis.

Decreased lifespan in female "Munchkin" actors from the cast of the 1939 film version of The Wizard of Oz does not support the hypothesis linking hypopituitary dwarfism to longevity.

In laboratory mice, pituitary dwarfism caused by genetic reduction or elimination of the activity of growth hormone (GH) significantly extends lifespan. The effects of congenital pituitary dwarfism on human longevity are not well documented. To analyse the effects of untreated pituitary dwarfism on human lifespan, the longevity of a diverse group of widely known little people, the 124 adults who played "Munchkins" in the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz was investigated.

Increased Susceptibility to Cerebral Microhemorrhages Is Associated With Imaging Signs of Microvascular Degeneration in the Retina in an Insulin-Like Growth Factor 1 Deficient Mouse Model of Accelerated Aging.

Age-related cerebrovascular defects contribute to vascular cognitive impairment and dementia (VCID) as well as other forms of dementia. There has been great interest in developing biomarkers and other tools for studying cerebrovascular disease using more easily accessible tissues outside the brain such as the retina. Decreased circulating insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) levels in aging are thought to contribute to the development of cerebrovascular impairment, a hypothesis that has been supported by the use of IGF-1 deficient animal models.

Sleep deprivation alters task-related changes in functional connectivity of the frontal cortex: A near-infrared spectroscopy study.

Sleep deprivation (SD) is known to be associated with decreased cognitive performance; however, the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. As interactions between distinct brain regions depend on mental state, functional brain networks established by these connections typically show a reorganization during task. Hence, analysis of functional connectivity (FC) could reveal the task-related change in the examined frontal brain networks.

Endothelial Dysfunction and Impaired Neurovascular Coupling Responses Precede Cognitive Impairment in a Mouse Model of Geriatric Sepsis.

Sepsis is a life-threatening condition, the incidence of which is significantly increased in elderly patients. One of the long-lasting effects of sepsis is cognitive impairment defined as a new deficit or exacerbation of preexisting deficits in global cognition or executive function. Normal brain function is dependent on moment-to-moment adjustment of cerebral blood flow to match the increased demands of active brain regions.

Increased cognitive workload evokes greater neurovascular coupling responses in healthy young adults.

Understanding how the brain allocates resources to match the demands of active neurons under physiological conditions is critically important. Increased metabolic demands of active brain regions are matched with hemodynamic responses known as neurovascular coupling (NVC). Several methods that allow noninvasive assessment of brain activity in humans detect NVC and early detection of NVC impairment may serve as an early marker of cognitive impairment.

Age-related impairment of neurovascular coupling responses: a dynamic vessel analysis (DVA)-based approach to measure decreased flicker light stimulus-induced retinal arteriolar dilation in healthy older adults.

Aging is a major risk factor for vascular cognitive impairment and dementia (VCID). Recent studies demonstrate that cerebromicrovascular dysfunction plays a causal role in the development of age-related cognitive impairment, in part via disruption of neurovascular coupling (NVC) responses. NVC (functional hyperemia) is responsible for adjusting cerebral blood flow to the increased energetic demands of activated neurons, and in preclinical animal models of aging, pharmacological restoration of NVC is associated with improved cognitive performance.

Age-Related Alterations in Gait Function in Freely Moving Male C57BL/6 Mice: Translational Relevance of Decreased Cadence and Increased Gait Variability.

Age-related gait dysfunction and balance disorders are a major cause of falls and injury in the elderly population. Epidemiological studies have shown that disturbances in gait coordination which manifest with age are associated with increased morbidity and mortality, impaired cognitive capacity, as well as reduced level of function and loss of independence. In geroscience, mice are the most frequently used model system to test efficiency of antiaging interventions.

Aging impairs myogenic adaptation to pulsatile pressure in mouse cerebral arteries.

Stability of myogenic tone in middle cerebral arteries (MCA) is essential for adequate control over penetration of pressure waves into the distal portion of the cerebral microcirculation. Because the increased pulse pressure observed in advanced aging is associated with cerebromicrovascular injury, the effect of aging on myogenic response of mouse MCAs was determined. Aging did not affect the myogenic constriction in response to static increases in pressure, whereas it significantly impaired pulsatile pressure-induced myogenic tone.

Synergistic activation of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and NAD(P)H oxidase by Src kinase elevates superoxide in type 2 diabetic, Zucker fa/fa, rat liver.

Glucose metabolism through the glycolysis and hexosamine pathway has been shown to be altered in type 2 diabetes. However, the fate of glucose through the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) is currently unclear. In this study, we determined whether the activity of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD), the rate-limiting enzyme in the PPP, is modulated in the liver of Zucker obese fa/fa rats (9-11 weeks of age).