Biomarkers.

Background: Improvement of cognitive functions is often accompanied by changes in brain function after cognitive training in older adults. In this large-scale dual-site fMRI study we investigated the effects of BrainHQ cognitive training (CT; ®Posit Science Inc.) and an active control (AC) group on brain activations during a demanding executive control (EC) task among cognitively normal older adults.

Biomarkers.

Background: Individuals with Down Syndrome (DS) exhibit a genetic form of Alzheimer's disease (AD). In this study, we leveraged biobanked plasma samples from a completed clinical trial focused on anti-inflammatory treatment, Vitamin E, for DS. The trial's primary endpoint was on cognition, and Vitamin E treatment was not found to be significantly beneficial.

Biomarkers.

Background: Primary progressive aphasia (PPA) is a language-based dementia linked with underlying Alzheimer's disease (AD) or frontotemporal dementia. Clinicians often report difficulty differentiating between the logopenic (lv) and nonfluent/agrammatic (nfv) subtypes, as both variants present with disruptions to "fluency" yet for different underlying reasons. In English, acoustic and linguistic markers from connected speech samples have shown promise in machine learning (ML)-based differentiation of nfv from lv.

Biomarkers.

Background: Primary progressive aphasia (PPA) is a language-led dementia associated with underlying Alzheimer's disease (AD) or frontotemporal lobar degeneration pathology. As part of the Alzheimer's spectrum, logopenic (lv) PPA may be particularly difficult to distinguish from amnestic AD, due to overlapping clinical features. Analysis of linguistic and acoustic variables derived from connected speech has shown promise as a diagnostic tool for differentiating dementia subtypes.

Initial Carbonation of Ni(111) Surfaces.

Understanding the carbon formation on Ni surfaces is critical for the controlled Ni-based nanofabrication and heterogeneous catalysis. Due to the high solubility of carbon in nickel and the complicated migrations of carbon in the near-surface area, achieving a fundamental understanding of the initial carbonation of a Ni surface at an atomic level is experimentally challenging. Herein, the initial formation of surface carbon adsorbates on Ni(111) from the Boudouard reaction (2CO ↔ CO + C) is studied by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) in combination with density functional theory (DFT) calculations.

Public Health.

Background: Growing evidence reports an association between sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) and cognitive impairment, including mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia. However, there is limited research on the link between cognitive impairment and in-home measures of SDB and how this association may differ by race, ethnicity, and sex.

Method: We studied 822 individuals who were enrolled in the community-based Health and Aging Brain Study-Health Disparities (HABS-HD)-Dormir study.

Public Health.

Background: Previous studies have linked sleep disturbances with an increased risk of dementia among older adults. However, the association between sleep patterns and brain health earlier in life is less understood. We aimed to determine how sleep in early midlife relates to an MRI-derived indicator of brain age in late midlife.

Public Health.

Background: In aging research, there is an increasing focus on the decades leading up to changes in cognition. Biomarker studies have suggested that biochemical brain fluctuations can occur up to 20 years prior to clinical symptoms. Including populations of adults who are 20 years away from any cognitive symptomatology in aging research can shed a light on the longitudinal factors involved in brain aging.

Public Health.

Background: Education is associated with cognitive functioning and risk of Alzheimer's Disease and related dementias (ADRD). However, researchers rarely consider anything about education other than highest degree completion. Do schools' social and academic contexts and students' other (non-attainment) schooling outcomes independently predict cognitive outcomes? If so, this opens the possibility of manipulating educational policies and practices to improve long term cognitive well-being.

Public Health.

Background: A substantial body of research points to the persistence of educational credential gradients in cognitive function across the life course, from early adulthood through old age. Fewer studies have considered the roles of educational opportunities and achievements early in the life course in shaping (1) educational credential gradients or (2) variation in cognitive function among those with the same credentials. As a result, researchers underestimate the contribution of education writ large to variation in cognitive performance later in life.

Public Health.

Background: Dementia is a major contributor to loss of autonomy in the elderly. Every year spent with dementia results in significant medical and societal costs. Understanding secular trends of life expectancy with and without dementia would enable us to better anticipate future needs.

Public Health.

Background: Alcohol use is hypothesized to be a risk factor for cognitive impairment (CI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, its role is often complex in diagnosing and distinguishing alcoholic dementia from AD. Hence, several AD-focused studies exclude participants with possible alcohol misuse history, creating major challenges to investigate this connection.

Public Health.

Background: The Impact of Intensive Treatment of Systolic Blood Pressure on Brain Perfusion, Amyloid and Tau in Older Adults (IPAT) is an ongoing randomized control trial (RCT) for prevention of Alzheimer's disease (AD) (NCT05331144). The primary outcome of the trial is to assess the impact of intensive lowering of high systolic blood pressure (SBP) on the accumulation of brain amyloid in older adults for a study duration of 2 years. Study recruitment started on October 25 of 2022 and will end in September of 2025.

Public Health.

Background: Middle Eastern and North Africa (MENA) adults living in the US experience a higher burden of Alzheimer's disease (AD) compared to White adults. AD mortality among MENA adults has not been examined. The gap in the literature is because MENA individuals in the US are defined as part of the White race group despite there being differences in health outcomes and lived experiences between MENA and White populations with European origins.

Public Health.

Background: Higher Mediterranean- DASH for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diet scores have previously been associated with larger total brain volume (TBV) in the Framingham Offspring Study (FOS) community-based cohort. We investigated cross-sectional relationships between the MIND diet and structural brain imaging volumes and white matter hyperintensity volume (WMHV) across six community-based cohorts.

Method: We analyzed data from 3130 dementia-, stroke- and other neurological disease free adults (aged 65 to 74) who participated in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) cohort, Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS), Three City (3C) cohort, FOS cohort, Rotterdam Study (RS) or the Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP) cohort.

Public Health.

Background: Most research on cognitive difficulties in the US focus on minoritized groups that are part of the federal minimum reporting guidelines, include White, Black, Hispanic/Latino, Asian, American Indian/Alaskan Native (AI/AN), and Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander (NH/OPI) individuals. Research has begun to describe cognitive difficulties among Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) adults, but it is limited because they are defined as White. In 2023, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) proposed adding a separate checkbox for MENA individuals.

Public Health.

Background: Depression, pain, and sleep problems commonly co-occur (overlap) among older adults. Data are lacking on the extent, pattern and sex/gender differences of overlap of these symptoms in adults aged ≥80 and living with dementia. Our objective was to examine patterns and sex/gender differences in overlapping depression-pain-sleep symptoms among older Mexican Americans with and without probable dementia.

Public Health.

Background: High blood pressure (BP) level and variability has been linked to stroke, cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD), cognitive decline, and dementia. However, it is unclear whether sex/gender influences the association of BP level and variability with CSVD. Therefore, we aimed to examine sex-differences in the association of CSVD with 24-h BP level and variability.

Public Health.

Background: Social support has been associated with a reduced risk of heart disease and stroke, higher cognitive function, less cognitive decline, and resilience to stress. Notably, social support differs by gender and race/ethnicity. However, it is not clear whether these factors modify the relationship between social support and cognition.

Public Health.

Background: Blood-based biomarkers, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and neurofilament light chain (NfL), show potential for dementia risk stratification. Yet, their predictive performance for incident dementia in heterogeneous older population with multi-morbidities, is not well tested. This study evaluates their predictive ability for incident dementia accounting for differences in factors affecting health.

Public Health.

Background: Preventative interventions for cognitive decline are crucial as the number of individuals with Dementia is projected to reach 78 million by 2030. Cognitive Training can be a promising solution for the maintenance and improvement of neurocognitive functioning and has the potential to delay the onset of AD. This study utilizes a home-based gamified cognitive training, the Bird Watch Game Unity (BWGU), where participants engage aspects of cognitive control to focus on predictable and unpredictable probe-cue sequences of novel visual stimuli - pictures of birds.

Public Health.

Background: Cognitive impairment is associated with mortality. However, evidence using population-based studies is scarce, is limited to one cognitive assessment, and lacks the inclusion of non-fatal adverse health outcomes. Therefore, we aimed this study to (i) investigate the association of cognitive function with mortality and cardiovascular risk and (ii) determine whether cognitive tests improve the risk-stratification of endpoints beyond conventional risk factors.

Public Health.

Background: Vascular risk factors captured in midlife represent modifiable features of cardiovascular disease (CVD), stroke, dementia, and dementia-related neuropathology. Subclinical measures of CVD may help identify specific structural and function aspects underlying vascular contributions to cognitive impairment and dementia over and above conventional dementia risk scores.

Method: The MESA study followed a diverse cohort of 6,814 adults aged 45-84 years over 6 clinical examinations and annual follow-up calls since baseline, 2000-2002.

Public Health.

Background: Previous research suggests that perceived discrimination is associated with cognitive function impairment, and such association is mediated by depression. With minority populations continuously growing, it is crucial to investigate such relationships in diverse populations. This study aims to examine and compare the above relationships among non-Hispanic white (NHW), Mexican American (MA), and African American (AA) participants.