Internal Jugular Vein Velocity and Spontaneous Echo Contrast Correlate with Alzheimer’s Disease and Cognitive Function

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Kosuke Matsuzono ◽  
Masayuki Suzuki ◽  
Kumiko Miura ◽  
Tadashi Ozawa ◽  
Takafumi Mashiko ◽  
...  

Background: Many issues persist in the today’s Alzheimer’s disease (AD) screening and the breakthrough method is desired. Objective: We aim to validate the association between venous reflux and AD, and to develop a new method for AD screening. Methods: We examined spontaneous echo contrast, area, diameter, retrograde velocity, and anterograde velocity of the bilateral cervical internal jugular vein (IJV) using carotid ultrasonography. Results: A total of 112 patients participated in this study, with 26 diagnosed as AD. The proportion of both or either IJV spontaneous echo contrast (+) occupied 25 of total 26 AD patients, which showed 96.2%of sensitivity and 98.5%negative predictive value. The IJV velocities also showed significant correlation with AD diagnosis, although the IJV area or diameter did not. Conclusion: Our results indicate that the validation of the spontaneous echo contrast or velocities of the IJV are convenient AD diagnosis screening methods and that the venous reflux disturbance correlates with AD development.

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 58-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiajia Yang ◽  
Mohd Usairy Syafiq ◽  
Yinghua Yu ◽  
Satoshi Takahashi ◽  
Zhenxin Zhang ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Jorge Oliveira ◽  
Pedro Gamito ◽  
Teresa Souto ◽  
Rita Conde ◽  
Maria Ferreira ◽  
...  

The use of ecologically oriented approaches with virtual reality (VR) depicting instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) is a promising approach for interventions on acquired brain injuries. However, the results of such an approach on dementia caused by Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are still lacking. This research reports on a pilot randomized controlled trial that aimed to explore the effect of a cognitive stimulation reproducing several IADL in VR on people with mild-to-moderate dementia caused by AD. Patients were recruited from residential care homes of Santa Casa da Misericórdia da Amadora (SCMA), which is a relevant nonprofit social and healthcare provider in Portugal. This intervention lasted two months, with a total of 10 sessions (two sessions/week). A neuropsychological assessment was carried out at the baseline and follow-up using established neuropsychological instruments for assessing memory, attention, and executive functions. The sample consisted of 17 patients of both genders randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups. The preliminary results suggested an improvement in overall cognitive function in the experimental group, with an effect size corresponding to a large effect in global cognition, which suggests that this approach is effective for neurocognitive stimulation in older adults with dementia, contributing to maintaining cognitive function in AD.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Wei Wei ◽  
Yinghua Liu ◽  
Chunling Dai ◽  
Narjes Baazaoui ◽  
Yunn-Chyn Tung ◽  
...  

Background: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by impairments in synaptic plasticity and cognitive performance. Cognitive dysfunction and loss of neuronal plasticity are known to begin decades before the clinical diagnosis of the disease. The important influence of congenital genetic mutations on the early development of AD provides a novel opportunity to initiate treatment during early development to prevent the Alzheimer-like behavior and synaptic dysfunction. Objective: To explore strategies for early intervention to prevent Alzheimer’s disease. Methods: In the present study, we investigated the effect of treatment during early development with a ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) derived peptidergic compound, P021 (Ac-DGGLAG-NH2) on cognitive function and synaptic plasticity in 3xTg-AD transgenic mouse model of AD. 3xTg-AD and genetic background-matched wild type female mice were treated from birth to postnatal day 120 with P021 in diet or as a control with vehicle diet, and cognitive function and molecular markers of neuroplasticity were evaluated. Results: P021 treatment during early development prevented cognitive impairment and increased expressions of pCREB and BDNF that activated downstream various signaling cascades such as PLC/PKC, MEK/ERK and PI3K/Akt, and ameliorated synaptic protein deficit in 4-month-old 3xTg-AD mice. Conclusion: These findings indicate that treatment with the neurotrophic peptide mimetic such as P021 during early development can be an effective therapeutic strategy to rescue synaptic deficit and cognitive impairment in familial AD and related tauopathies.


Author(s):  
Susan Greimel ◽  
Jean F Wyman ◽  
Lin Zhang ◽  
Fang Yu

Abstract Background Recruiting older adults with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) dementia into clinical trials is challenging requiring multiple approaches. We describe recruitment and screening processes and results from the FIT-AD Trial, a single site, pilot randomized controlled trial testing the effects of a 6-month aerobic exercise intervention on cognition and hippocampal volume in community-dwelling older adults with mild-to moderate AD dementia. Methods Ten recruitment strategies and a four-step screening process were used to ensure a homogenous sample and exercise safety. The initial target sample was 90 participants over 48 months which was increased to 96 to allow those in the screening process to enroll if qualified. A tertiary analysis of recruitment and screening rates, recruitment yields and costs, and demographic characteristics of participants was conducted. Results During the 48-month recruiting period, 396 potential participants responded to recruitment efforts, 301 individuals were reached and 103 were tentatively qualified. Of these, 67 (69.8%) participants completed the optional magnetic resonance (MRI) imaging and seven were excluded due to abnormal MRI findings. As a result, we enrolled 96 participants with a 2.92 screen ratio, 2.14 recruitment rate, and 31.9% recruitment yield. Referrals (28.1%) and Alzheimer’s Association events/services (21.9%) yielded over 49% of the enrolled participants. Total recruitment cost was $ 38,246 or $ 398 per randomized participant. Conclusions A multi-prong approach involving extensive community outreach was essential in recruiting older adults with AD dementia into a single-site trial. For every randomized participant, three individuals needed to be screened. Referrals were the most cost-effective recruitment strategy.


2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (10) ◽  
pp. 1292-1297 ◽  
Author(s):  
Si-Yu Yang ◽  
Chun-Lei Shan ◽  
He Qing ◽  
Wei Wang ◽  
Yi Zhu ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Zahra Ayati ◽  
Guoyan Yang ◽  
Mohammad Hossein Ayati ◽  
Seyed Ahmad Emami ◽  
Dennis Chang

Abstract Background Saffron (stigma of Crocus sativus L.) from Iridaceae family is a well-known traditional herbal medicine that has been used for hundreds of years to treat several diseases such as depressive mood, cancer and cardiovascular disorders. Recently, anti-dementia property of saffron has been indicated. However, the effects of saffron for the management of dementia remain controversial. The aim of the present study is to explore the effectiveness and safety of saffron in treating mild cognitive impairment and dementia. Methods An electronic database search of some major English and Chinese databases was conducted until 31st May 2019 to identify relevant randomised clinical trials (RCT). The primary outcome was cognitive function and the secondary outcomes included daily living function, global clinical assessment, quality of life (QoL), psychiatric assessment and safety. Rev-Man 5.3 software was applied to perform the meta-analyses. Results A total of four RCTs were included in this review. The analysis revealed that saffron significantly improves cognitive function measured by the Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale-cognitive subscale (ADAS-cog) and Clinical Dementia Rating Scale-Sums of Boxes (CDR-SB), compared to placebo groups. In addition, there was no significant difference between saffron and conventional medicine, as measured by cognitive scales such as ADAS-cog and CDR-SB. Saffron improved daily living function, but the changes were not statistically significant. No serious adverse events were reported in the included studies. Conclusions Saffron may have the potential to improve cognitive function and activities of daily living in patients with Alzheimer’s disease and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). However, due to limited high-quality studies there is insufficient evidence to make any recommendations for clinical use. Further clinical trials on larger sample sizes are warranted to shed more light on its efficacy and safety.


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