scholarly journals The Effect of Lipoic Acid Therapy on Cognitive Functioning in Patients with Alzheimer's Disease

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonietta Fava ◽  
Domenico Pirritano ◽  
Massimiliano Plastino ◽  
Dario Cristiano ◽  
Giovanna Puccio ◽  
...  

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is an important risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Most diabetic patients have insulin resistance (IR) that is associated with compensatory hyperinsulinemia, one of the mechanisms suggested for increased AD risk in patients with DM. Alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) is a disulfide molecule with antioxidant properties that has positive effects on glucose metabolism and IR. This study evaluated the effect of ALA treatment (600 mg/day) on cognitive performances in AD patients with and without DM. One hundred and twenty-six patients with AD were divided into two groups, according to DM presence (group A) or absence (group B). Cognitive functions were assessed by MMSE, Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-cognitive (ADAS-Cog), Clinician's Interview-Based Impression of Severity (CIBIC), Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR), and Alzheimer's Disease Functional and Change Scale (ADFACS). IR was assessed by HOMA index. At the end of the study, MMSE scores showed a significant improvement in 43% patients of group A (26 subjects) and 23% of group B (15 subjects), compared to baseline (). Also ADAS-Cog, CIBIC, and ADFACS scores showed a significant improvement in group A versus group B. IR was higher in group A. Our study suggests that ALA therapy could be effective in slowing cognitive decline in patients with AD and IR.

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (13) ◽  
pp. 6748
Author(s):  
Heling Wang ◽  
Sofie Lautrup ◽  
Domenica Caponio ◽  
Jianying Zhang ◽  
Evandro F. Fang

DNA repair ensures genomic stability to achieve healthy ageing, including cognitive maintenance. Mutations on genes encoding key DNA repair proteins can lead to diseases with accelerated ageing phenotypes. Some of these diseases are xeroderma pigmentosum group A (XPA, caused by mutation of XPA), Cockayne syndrome group A and group B (CSA, CSB, and are caused by mutations of CSA and CSB, respectively), ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T, caused by mutation of ATM), and Werner syndrome (WS, with most cases caused by mutations in WRN). Except for WS, a common trait of the aforementioned progerias is neurodegeneration. Evidence from studies using animal models and patient tissues suggests that the associated DNA repair deficiencies lead to depletion of cellular nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+), resulting in impaired mitophagy, accumulation of damaged mitochondria, metabolic derailment, energy deprivation, and finally leading to neuronal dysfunction and loss. Intriguingly, these features are also observed in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the most common type of dementia affecting more than 50 million individuals worldwide. Further studies on the mechanisms of the DNA repair deficient premature ageing diseases will help to unveil the mystery of ageing and may provide novel therapeutic strategies for AD.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erica Shih-Wei Hung ◽  
Shih-Ching Chen ◽  
Fan-Chien Chang ◽  
Yaojung Shiao ◽  
Chih-Wei Peng ◽  
...  

Purpose. This study evaluated the effects of interactive video game-based (IVGB) exercise on balance in diabetic patients with peripheral neuropathy. Materials and Methods. Twenty-four patients were randomly assigned to two groups (12 participants per group). Group A received IVGB training for the first 6 weeks, with no exercise in the subsequent 6 weeks. Group B had no exercise for the first 6 weeks and then underwent IVGB training in the subsequent 6 weeks. For all participants, the Modified Falls Efficacy Scale (MFES), Time Up and Go (TUG) test, Berg Balance Scale (BBS), and Unipedal Stance Test (UST) were employed at weeks 0, 6, and 12 of the experiment. Results. BBS, right-leg UST, and TUG test scores significantly improved after IVGB intervention, whereas MFES and left-leg UST tended to improve after IVGB intervention. Conclusions. This study revealed that 6-week balance-based exercise training using the IVGB system exerted positive effects on functional balance in patients with diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN).


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 1350-1357
Author(s):  
Yingjun Zhang ◽  
Wubing Mao ◽  
Min Feng ◽  
Ning Zhu ◽  
Wenzhong Yi ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTThis study was to explore the effect of nanoparticles on the cognitive function, learning and memory ability (LMA) of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) rats, and to analyze the changes on magnetic resonance (MR) image. Specifically, the TGN nanoparticles loading H102 (TGN-NP-H102) were prepared, and characterized first. The sprague-dawley (SD) rats were selected as the research subjects, and the AD model was constructed. They were divided into a Sham group (normal SD rats, group A), an AD model group (group B), an H102 group (treated with H102 drugs based on AD model, group C), and a TGN-NP-H102 group (treated with TGN-NP-H102 nanoparticles based on AD model, group D). The changes in T2 value in hippocampal CA1 area (T2-CA1) were analyzed, and the changes in cognitive function and LMA were tested with the Morris water maze experiment (Morris experiment). The results revealed that, the average PS (APS) of TGN-NP-H102 nanoparticles was 122.9±2.8 nm, and its average Zeta potential (AZP) was -28.8±0.2 mV. In group A, the TGN-NP-H102 nanoparticles still remained in the brain tissue homogenate by 74.3 ±4.8% after 10 hours, and the drug-release rate was 53.2 ± 3.2%. After 30 days of treatment, the T2-CA1 value of group D was lower (P <0.05), and the average escape latency (AEL) and swimming distance in the Morris experiment were shorter versus group B (P < 0.05). It indicated that, the brain-targeted TGN-NP-H102 nanoparticles prepared could act on the hippocampus of AD rats, and improve their LMA.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yago Ricardo Pedrosa ◽  
Jossielly Rodrigues Pinheiro

Background: Down Syndrome (DS) is the most common chromosomal abnormality with an incidence of 1:700 live births. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) affects almost all of these individuals from the age of 30, whose susceptibility is on the rise with increasing life expectancy. However, interventions can limit or improve cognitive decline. Objectives: To compare early interventions in the prevention of AD in patients with DS. Methods: Randomized Controlled Trial published in English, in the last 5 years, in humans, at PUBMED. Were included studies involving participants over 18 years old, diagnosed with DS and those with unclear interventions were excluded. Six articles were found and after applying the criteria, two studies were part of this review. The PRISMA scale was used. Results: Ptomey et al. (2018) intervened with online exercise, selecting 27 participants divided into two groups: A) one session/week; B) two sessions/ week. After 12 weeks it was observed that group B showed improvement in learning compared to group A. Sano et al. (2016) performed an intervention with Vitamin E (VE) for three years in 337 individuals, segregated in: A) 1,000 IU, orally, twice/day; B) placebo. There was no significant difference in the progression of cognitive, functional, behavioral and clinical deterioration between the groups. Conclusions: The practice of physical exercise proved to be promising in the prevention of AD, however the use of VE did not show significant results. Further studies on the subject are needed.


Author(s):  
Wilma G. Rosen ◽  
Richard C. Mohs ◽  
Kenneth L. Davis

2012 ◽  
Vol 153 (12) ◽  
pp. 461-466 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magdolna Pákáski ◽  
Gergely Drótos ◽  
Zoltán Janka ◽  
János Kálmán

The cognitive subscale of the Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale is the most widely used test in the diagnostic and research work of Alzheimer’s disease. Aims: The aim of this study was to validate and investigate reliability of the Hungarian version of the Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale in patients with Alzheimer’s disease and healthy control subjects. Methods: syxty-six patients with mild and moderate Alzheimer’s disease and 47 non-demented control subjects were recruited for the study. The cognitive status was established by the Hungarian version of the Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale and Mini Mental State Examination. Discriminative validity, the relation between age and education and Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale, and the sensitivity and specificity of the test were determined. Results: Both the Mini Mental State Examination and the Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale had significant potential in differentiating between patients with mild and moderate stages of Alzheimer’s disease and control subjects. A very strong negative correlation was established between the scores of the Mini Mental State Examination and the Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale in the Alzheimer’s disease group. The Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale showed slightly negative relationship between education and cognitive performance, whereas a positive correlation between age and Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale scores was detected only in the control group. According to the analysis of the ROC curve, the values of sensitivity and specificity of the Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale were high. Conclusions: The Hungarian version of the Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale was found to be highly reliable and valid and, therefore, the application of this scale can be recommended for the establishment of the clinical stage and follow-up of patients with Alzheimer’s disease. However, the current Hungarian version of the Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale is not sufficient; the list of words and linguistic elements should be selected according to the Hungarian standard in the future. Orv. Hetil., 2012, 153, 461–466.


2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. 1151-1160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zihan Jiang ◽  
Huilin Yang ◽  
Xiaoying Tang

Objective: In this study, we investigated the influence that the pathology of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) exerts upon the corpus callosum (CC) using a total of 325 mild cognitive impairment (MCI) subjects, 155 AD subjects, and 185 healthy control (HC) subjects. Method: Regionally-specific morphological CC abnormalities, as induced by AD, were quantified using a large deformation diffeomorphic metric curve mapping based statistical shape analysis pipeline. We also quantified the association between the CC shape phenotype and two cognitive measures; the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Behavior Section (ADAS-cog). To identify AD-relevant areas, CC was sub-divided into three subregions; the genu, body, and splenium (gCC, bCC, and sCC). Results: We observed significant shape compressions in AD relative to that in HC, mainly concentrated on the superior part of CC, across all three sub-regions. The HC-vs-MCI shape abnormalities were also concentrated on the superior part, but mainly occurred on bCC and sCC. The significant MCI-vs-AD shape differences, however, were only detected in part of sCC. In the shape-cognition association, significant negative correlations to ADAS-cog were detected for shape deformations at regions belonging to gCC and sCC and significant positive correlations to MMSE at regions mainly belonging to sCC. Conclusion: Our results suggest that the callosal shape deformation patterns, especially those of sCC, linked tightly to the cognitive decline in AD, and are potentially a powerful biomarker for monitoring the progression of AD.


2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 429-442 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nishant Verma ◽  
S. Natasha Beretvas ◽  
Belen Pascual ◽  
Joseph C. Masdeu ◽  
Mia K. Markey ◽  
...  

Background: Combining optimized cognitive (Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale- Cognitive subscale, ADAS-Cog) and atrophy markers of Alzheimer's disease for tracking progression in clinical trials may provide greater sensitivity than currently used methods, which have yielded negative results in multiple recent trials. Furthermore, it is critical to clarify the relationship among the subcomponents yielded by cognitive and imaging testing, to address the symptomatic and anatomical variability of Alzheimer's disease. Method: Using latent variable analysis, we thoroughly investigated the relationship between cognitive impairment, as assessed on the ADAS-Cog, and cerebral atrophy. A biomarker was developed for Alzheimer's clinical trials that combines cognitive and atrophy markers. Results: Atrophy within specific brain regions was found to be closely related with impairment in cognitive domains of memory, language, and praxis. The proposed biomarker showed significantly better sensitivity in tracking progression of cognitive impairment than the ADAS-Cog in simulated trials and a real world problem. The biomarker also improved the selection of MCI patients (78.8±4.9% specificity at 80% sensitivity) that will evolve to Alzheimer's disease for clinical trials. Conclusion: The proposed biomarker provides a boost to the efficacy of clinical trials focused in the mild cognitive impairment (MCI) stage by significantly improving the sensitivity to detect treatment effects and improving the selection of MCI patients that will evolve to Alzheimer’s disease.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Soo Hyun Cho ◽  
Sookyoung Woo ◽  
Changsoo Kim ◽  
Hee Jin Kim ◽  
Hyemin Jang ◽  
...  

AbstractTo characterize the course of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) over a longer time interval, we aimed to construct a disease course model for the entire span of the disease using two separate cohorts ranging from preclinical AD to AD dementia. We modelled the progression course of 436 patients with AD continuum and investigated the effects of apolipoprotein E ε4 (APOE ε4) and sex on disease progression. To develop a model of progression from preclinical AD to AD dementia, we estimated Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Subscale 13 (ADAS-cog 13) scores. When calculated as the median of ADAS-cog 13 scores for each cohort, the estimated time from preclinical AD to MCI due to AD was 7.8 years and preclinical AD to AD dementia was 15.2 years. ADAS-cog 13 scores deteriorated most rapidly in women APOE ε4 carriers and most slowly in men APOE ε4 non-carriers (p < 0.001). Our results suggest that disease progression modelling from preclinical AD to AD dementia may help clinicians to estimate where patients are in the disease course and provide information on variation in the disease course by sex and APOE ε4 status.


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