Clinical Manifestations.

Background: Recent studies suggest learning deficits are the earliest cognitive abnormality to emerge in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Using the Online Repeatable Cognitive Assessment-Language Learning Test (ORCA-LLT), cognitively unimpaired (CU) Aβ+ older adults showed a substantial (d∼2) learning deficit compared to Aβ- controls. This deficit was six times greater than that observed from reduced practice effects after 9+ years of assessment with conventional neuropsychological memory tests (d∼0.

Clinical Manifestations.

Background: Cognitive dysfunction is central to clinicopathological models of Alzheimer's disease (AD). While AD prospective studies assess similar cognitive domains, the neuropsychological tests used vary between studies, limiting potential for aggregation. We examined a machine learning (ML) data harmonisation method for neuropsychological test data to develop a harmonised PACC score for the Alzheimer's Dementia Onset and Progression in International Cohorts (ADOPIC) consortium.

Basic Science and Pathogenesis.

Background: For large genomic studies of middle-aged individuals, the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is extremely low, making it difficult to conduct genomic analysis of the condition. To enable genome-wide association studies of AD in such datasets, an approach called Genome-wide association by proxy (GWAX) uses family history of disease as a proxy for disease status. Borrowing from the machine learning (ML) literature, we treat the development of proxy phenotypes as a pseudo-labelling task, where an ideal proxy label accurately predicts the lifetime risk of AD.

Clinical Manifestations.

Background: Language and cultural factors are known to influence cognitive performance on neuropsychological measures used to assess cognitive impairment and dementia. A new measure, the Characterising Language Experience and Acculturation Questionnaire (CLEAr-Q) was developed to address the gap in access to a brief measure of these factors in the Australian context. The aim is to validate and further develop the CLEAr-Q as a tool to capture linguistic and acculturation variables to improve measurement of cognition in older adults from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) backgrounds.

Clinical Manifestations.

Background: In cognitively unimpaired (CU) individuals, the PACC is widely used as a cognitive outcome measure and endpoint in observational studies and clinical trials. However, it has drawn criticism for being heavily weighted towards memory. Increasing evidence indicates a decline spanning multiple cognitive domains in CU individuals.

Clinical Manifestations.

Background: Recent research has highlighted the importance of sleep on cognitive processes. However, conflicting evidence exists regarding optimal sleep duration and the impact of other co-occurring conditions, such as depression. A diagnosis of depression in mid-life may increase the risk of developing dementia.

Clinical Manifestations.

Background: Transcultural adaptations of brief cognitive screening tools (BCTs) involve the development of alternate versions that are psychometrically equivalent to the original, while being linguistically and culturally adapted to a new sociodemographic context. The RUDAS (Rowland Universal Dementia Assessment Scale) is less affected by culture, language, and education compared with other BCTs. However, several studies have reported an effect of education on RUDAS scores.

Clinical Manifestations.

Background: Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is the most severe and disabling stroke, accounting for up to 50% of the cases in low-to-middle-income countries. High rates of cognitive decline and dementia follow acute ICH, due to the common underlying vasculopathy of cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD). The international clinical trial, TRIDENT (Triple therapy prevention of Recurrent Intracerebral Disease EveNts Trial), aims to determine the effectiveness of the fixed low-dose Triple Pill combination of blood pressure-lowering agents (telmisartan 20 mg, indapamide 1.

Clinical Manifestations.

Background: Several sets of diagnostic criteria have been published for vascular cognitive disorders (VCD) since the 1960s. The International Society for Vascular Behavioral and Cognitive Disorders (VASCOG) working group published a comprehensive and operationalized criteria set in 2014. Considering the significant developments in the field in the last decade, an international expert group was commissioned to revise these criteria using the Delphi process.

Clinical Manifestations.

Background: Sporadic bvFTD is often misdiagnosed as a primary psychiatric disorder (PPD) due to overlapping clinical features and lack of reliable biomarkers. The multi-centre study DIPPA-FTD aims to develop diagnostic- and prognostic-algorithms that can distinguish sporadic bvFTD from late-onset PPD. The aim of the retrospective DIPPA-FTD study was to identify the strongest clinical discriminators.

Clinical Manifestations.

Background: Visual Cognitive Assessment Test(VCAT) is a visual-based cognitive evaluation tool which can be administered to multilingual populations without translation. VCAT has shown to be effective in differentiating mild cognitive impairment(MCI) from cognitively normal and useful for diagnosing MCI and mild AD(Kandiah et al., 2016).

Clinical Manifestations.

Background: The International Shopping List Test (ISLT) is a rater-administered verbal list learning test, sensitive to memory dysfunction in early Alzheimer's disease (AD). This study examined the acceptability of a self-administered ISLT (called LILA) in cognitively unimpaired (CU) middle-aged and older adults. The validity of LILA was determined by the nature of ISLT learning curves and from examination of the effects of age.

Clinical Manifestations.

Background: Remote and unsupervised administration of neuropsychological tests may increase opportunities to understand cognition in everyday life compared to in-clinic assessments. The technological sophistication and widespread use of smartphones now allows this platform to be used for remote neuropsychological testing. However, it is important to ensure that the validity of neuropsychological tests extends to remote and unsupervised administration.

Clinical Manifestations.

Background: Social cognition is crucial to optimal social functioning outcomes in older adults, with implications for overall health and wellbeing. Moreover, poor social cognition is a diagnostic criterion for neurocognitive disorders (NCDs). Prior work has studied the social cognitive subdomains (theory of mind (ToM), affective empathy, emotion recognition, and social behaviour) and found mild cognitive impairment and dementia to be associated with poorer performance in specific tasks and informant-reported changes respectively.

Clinical Manifestations.

Background: Subjective cognitive complaints (SCCs) and neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) are emerging as potential early indicators of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's disease (AD). SCCs refers to a self-perceived decline in cognitive abilities without objective impairment, while NPS describe neuropsychiatric symptoms that emerge in later life that may precede or co-occur with cognitive decline. This study explores the association between SCCs, NPS, global cognition, and incident dementia using data from the Sydney Memory and Ageing Study (MAS).

Clinical Manifestations.

Background: Although it has been estimated that modifiable risk factors account for around 40% of population variability in dementia risk, understanding how risk factors are related to one another and to brain pathology and cognition has been challenging. We used a clustering approach to examine patterns of risk factor interrelationships and to investigate how these patterns affect relationships between pathology and cognition.

Method: We collected risk factor data concerning health, lifestyle, sleep, and personality from 149 cognitively normal older adults (73±6.

Clinical Manifestations.

Background: The success of therapeutic options for treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and the growing emphasis for such treatment to commence in the pre-clinical phase makes it necessary to have robust empirical models of clinical disease progression to understand findings from clinical trials, allow clinicians to evaluate effects of new drugs, and to select individuals for future trials. Such models have been developed from relatively small samples, with incomplete data/substantial loss to follow-up. The ADOPIC consortium provides the largest complete AD natural history sample to date.

Clinical Manifestations.

Background: Apathy (loss of motivation or goal-directed behaviour) and depression each confer risk for dementia, cardiovascular disease and mortality in older adults. Mechanisms for this are not yet understood, and may involve systemic inflammation. However, this has received little attention, particularly in older adults where depression may present differently.

Automated abdominal aortic calcification and major adverse cardiovascular events in people undergoing osteoporosis screening: the Manitoba Bone Mineral Density Registry.

Vertebral fracture assessment (VFA) images from bone density machines enable the automated machine learning assessment of abdominal aortic calcification (ML-AAC), a marker of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. The objective of this study was to describe the risk of a major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE, from linked health records) in patients attending routine bone mineral density (BMD) testing and meeting specific criteria based on age, BMD, height loss, or glucocorticoid use have a VFA in the Manitoba Bone Mineral Density Registry. The cohort included 10 250 individuals (mean 75.

Atrial fibrillation ablation timing: where is the sweet spot?

Convincing evidence for the efficacy of ablation as first-line therapy in paroxysmal AF (PAF) and its clear superiority to medical therapy for rhythm control in both PAF and persistent AF (PsAF) has generated considerable interest in the optimal timing of ablation. Based on this data, there is a widespread view that the principle of 'the earlier the better' should be generally applied. However, the natural history of AF is highly variable and non-linear, and for this reason, it is difficult to be emphatic that all patients are best served by ablation early after their initial AF episodes.

Penile suspensory ligament: anatomy, function, and clinical perspectives of its repair.

Background: The penile suspensory ligament (PSL) plays a significant role in penile support and erection and its injury or congenital absence may result in functional impairment of erectile function.

Aim: To describe the diagnosis and surgical repair technique for PSL abnormalities and overall outcomes.

Methods: A comprehensive review of the literature was performed to understand the anatomic relevance of the PSL and historical management of PSL defects.

Global, regional, and national burden of primary liver cancer attributable to metabolic risks: an analysis of the Global Burden of Disease Study 1990-2021.

Background: The global burden of metabolic diseases is increasing, but estimates of their impact on primary liver cancer are uncertain. We aimed to assess the global burden of primary liver cancer attributable to metabolic risk factors, including high body mass index (BMI) and high fasting plasma glucose (FPG) levels, between 1990 and 2021.

Methods: The total number and age-standardized rates of deaths and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) from primary liver cancer attributable to each metabolic risk factor were extracted from the Global Burden of Disease Study 1990-2021.

Controllable topological phase transition ferroelectric-paraelectric switching in a ferromagnetic single-layer MMGeX family.

Recently, the emergence of two-dimensional (2D) multiferroic materials has opened a new perspective for exploring topological states. However, instances of tuning topological phase transitions through ferroelectric (FE) polarization in 2D ferromagnetic (FM) materials are relatively rare. Here, we found that 11 single layer (SL) materials, named the MMGeX family, possess both FE and FM properties.

Warfare under the waves: a review of bacteria-derived algaecidal natural products.

Covering: 1960s to 2024Harmful algal blooms pose a major threat to aquatic ecosystems and can impact human health. The frequency and intensity of these blooms has increased over recent decades, driven primarily by climate change and an increase in nutrient runoff. Algal blooms often produce toxins that contaminate water sources, disrupt fisheries, and harm human health.