Causal role of the angular gyrus in insight-driven memory reconfiguration.

Maintaining an accurate model of the world relies on our ability to update memory representations in light of new information. Previous research on the integration of new information into memory mainly focused on the hippocampus. Here, we hypothesized that the angular gyrus, known to be involved in episodic memory and imagination, plays a pivotal role in the insight-driven reconfiguration of memory representations.

Long-Term Longitudinal Course of Cognitive and Motor Symptoms in Patients With Cerebral Small Vessel Disease.

Background And Objectives: Patients with cerebral small vessel disease (SVD) show a heterogenous clinical course. The aim of the current study was to investigate the longitudinal course of cognitive and motor function in patients who developed parkinsonism, dementia, both, or none.

Methods: Participants were from the Radboud University Nijmegen Diffusion Tensor and Magnetic Resonance Cohort study, a prospective cohort of patients with SVD.

European intersocietal recommendations for the biomarker-based diagnosis of neurocognitive disorders.

The recent commercialisation of the first disease-modifying drugs for Alzheimer's disease emphasises the need for consensus recommendations on the rational use of biomarkers to diagnose people with suspected neurocognitive disorders in memory clinics. Most available recommendations and guidelines are either disease-centred or biomarker-centred. A European multidisciplinary taskforce consisting of 22 experts from 11 European scientific societies set out to define the first patient-centred diagnostic workflow that aims to prioritise testing for available biomarkers in individuals attending memory clinics.

Profiling amyloid-β peptides as biomarkers for cerebral amyloid angiopathy.

Brain amyloid-β (Aβ) deposits are key pathological hallmarks of both cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Microvascular deposits in CAA mainly consist of the Aβ peptide, whereas Aβ is the predominant variant in parenchymal plaques in AD. The relevance in pathogenesis and diagnostic accuracy of various other Aβ isoforms in CAA remain understudied.

EOLinPLACE: an international research project to reform the way dying places are classified and understood.

Background: Whenever possible, a person should die where they feel it is the right place to be. There is substantial global variation in home death percentages but it is unclear whether these differences reflect preferences, and there are major limitations in how the place of death is classified and compared across countries.

Objectives: EOLinPLACE is an international interdisciplinary research project funded by the European Research Council aiming to create a solid base for a ground-breaking international classification tool that will enable the mapping of preferred and actual places towards death.

The role of CD56 NK cells in neurodegenerative disorders.

Emerging evidence suggests a potential role for natural killer (NK) cells in neurodegenerative diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. However, the precise function of NK cells in these diseases remains ambiguous. The existence of two NK cell subsets, CD56 and CD56 NK cells, complicates the understanding of the contribution of NK cells in neurodegeneration as their functions within the context of neurodegenerative diseases may differ significantly.

Implementation of an Advance Care Planning Intervention in Nursing Homes: An International Multiple Case Study.

Background And Objectives: The inability of individuals in the advanced stage of dementia to communicate about preferences in care at the end-of-life poses a challenge for healthcare professionals and family carers. The proven effective Family Carer Decision Support intervention has been designed to inform family carers about end-of-life care options available to a person living with advanced dementia. The objectives of the mySupport study were to adapt the application of the intervention for use in different countries, assess impact on family satisfaction and decision-making, and identify costs and supportive conditions for the implementation of the intervention.

Prognostic Information on Progression to Dementia: Quantification of the Impact on Quality of Life.

Background: The increasing interest in early identification of people at risk of developing dementia, has led to the development of numerous models aimed at estimating the likelihood of progression from mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to dementia. It is important to study both the need for and possible outcomes related with such prediction models, including the impact of risk predictions on perceived quality of life (QoL).

Objective: This study aimed to quantify the impact that receiving a risk prediction on progression from MCI to dementia has on QoL.

Systemic inflammation relates to neuroaxonal damage associated with long-term cognitive dysfunction in COVID-19 patients.

Background And Objectives: Cognitive deficits are increasingly recognized as a long-term sequela of severe COVID-19. The underlying processes and molecular signatures associated with these long-term neurological sequalae of COVID-19 remain largely unclear, but may be related to systemic inflammation-induced effects on the brain. We studied the systemic inflammation-brain interplay and its relation to development of long-term cognitive impairment in patients who survived severe COVID-19.

Long-Term Brain Structure and Cognition Following Bariatric Surgery.

Importance: Weight loss induced by bariatric surgery (BS) is associated with improved cognition and changed brain structure; however, previous studies on the association have used small cohorts and short follow-up periods, making it difficult to determine long-term neurological outcomes associated with BS.

Objective: To investigate long-term associations of weight loss after BS with cognition and brain structure and perfusion.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This cohort study included participants from the Bariatric Surgery Rijnstate and Radboudumc Neuroimaging and Cognition in Obesity study.

Patterns of psychotropic drug prescriptions and general practice consultations among community-dwelling older people with dementia during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown measures had serious implications for community-dwelling older people with dementia. While the short-term impacts of the pandemic on this population have been well studied, there is limited research on its long-term impacts. Quantifying the long-term impacts may provide insights into whether healthcare adaptations are needed after the acute phase of the pandemic to balance infection prevention measures with healthcare provision.

Assessing dynamical resilience indicators in older adults: a prospective feasibility cohort study.

Purpose: Measuring dynamical resilience indicators based on time series data may improve the prediction of health deterioration in older adults after hospital discharge. We examined the feasibility of an intensive prospective cohort study examining dynamical resilience indicators based on time series data of symptoms and physical activity in acutely ill older adults who visited the Emergency Department (ED).

Methods: This is a prospective cohort study with time series data from symptom questionnaires and activity trackers.

The need for systems thinking to advance Alzheimer's disease research.

Despite extensive research efforts to mechanistically understand late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD) and other complex mental health disorders, curative treatments remain elusive. We emphasize the multiscale multicausality inherent to LOAD, highlighting the interplay between interconnected pathophysiological processes and risk factors. Systems thinking methods, such as causal loop diagrams and systems dynamic models, offer powerful means to capture and study this complexity.

Why to test for dementia: perspectives of patients, significant others and general practitioners.

Background: This study aims to provide greater insight into the current decision-making process on diagnostic testing for dementia by exploring the expectations, needs and experiences of patients with memory complaints, significant others and general practitioners (GPs).

Methods: We performed semi-structured interviews with patients (>60 years) who consulted their GP on memory complaints, significant others and GPs. Participants were recruited until data saturation was reached in thematic analysis of interview transcripts.

Intelligent digital tools for screening of brain connectivity and dementia risk estimation in people affected by mild cognitive impairment: the AI-Mind clinical study protocol.

More than 10 million Europeans show signs of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a transitional stage between normal brain aging and dementia stage memory disorder. The path MCI takes can be divergent; while some maintain stability or even revert to cognitive norms, alarmingly, up to half of the cases progress to dementia within 5 years. Current diagnostic practice lacks the necessary screening tools to identify those at risk of progression.

The epidemiology of Parkinson's disease.

The epidemiology of Parkinson's disease shows marked variations in time, geography, ethnicity, age, and sex. Internationally, prevalence has increased over and above demographic changes. There are several potential reasons for this increase, including the decline in other competing causes of death.

Palliative Care in Nursing Home Residents with Young-Onset Dementia: Professional and Family Caregiver Perspectives.

Background: The evidence underpinning palliative care in dementia is mostly based on research in older populations. Little is known about the palliative care needs of people with young-onset dementia (YOD).

Objective: To describe palliative care practices including advance care planning (ACP) in people with YOD residing in Dutch nursing homes.

Parallel cognitive maps for multiple knowledge structures in the hippocampal formation.

The hippocampal-entorhinal system uses cognitive maps to represent spatial knowledge and other types of relational information. However, objects can often be characterized by different types of relations simultaneously. How does the hippocampal formation handle the embedding of stimuli in multiple relational structures that differ vastly in their mode and timescale of acquisition? Does the hippocampal formation integrate different stimulus dimensions into one conjunctive map or is each dimension represented in a parallel map? Here, we reanalyzed human functional magnetic resonance imaging data from Garvert et al.

Exploring diagnostic strategies for memory complaints in older adults: A retrospective general practice database study.

Objectives: For older people who worry about their memory, their general practitioner (GP) is often the first healthcare professional they turn to. This study aims to increase knowledge of GPs' daily practice on diagnostic strategies for patients who present themselves with memory complaints and/or worries about dementia for the first time in general practice and to explore associations of patients' characteristics with these strategies.

Method: Retrospective observational study using electronic patient records from patients presenting with memory complaints between 2012 and 2019.

Small vessel disease burden and functional brain connectivity in mild cognitive impairment.

Background: The role of small vessel disease in the development of dementia is not yet completely understood. Functional brain connectivity has been shown to differ between individuals with and without cerebral small vessel disease. However, a comprehensive measure of small vessel disease quantifying the overall damage on the brain is not consistently used and studies using such measure in mild cognitive impairment individuals are missing.

A Process Evaluation of an Antibiotic Stewardship Intervention for Urinary Tract Infections in Nursing Homes.

Objectives: To assess the internal and external validity of a cluster randomized controlled trial (cRCT) evaluating a decision tool with supportive interventions for the empirical treatment of urinary tract infections (UTIs) in nursing homes (NHs), and to identify facilitators and barriers in implementing this antibiotic stewardship intervention.

Design: Mixed-methods process evaluation study.

Setting And Participants: Physicians, nursing staff, client council members, and residents of Dutch NHs.

Cognitive trajectory in the first year after first-ever ischaemic stroke in young adults: the ODYSSEY study.

Background: Limited data exists on cognitive recovery in young stroke patients. We aimed to investigate the longitudinal course of cognitive performance during the first year after stroke at young age and identify predictors for cognitive recovery.

Methods: We conducted a multicentre prospective cohort study between 2013 and 2021, enrolling patients aged 18-49 years with first-ever ischaemic stroke.