Memory Aging Phenotypes Among Older Cancer Survivors: A Latent Growth Analysis of the Health and Retirement Study

While cancer survivors experience many long-term health effects, there is limited evidence on the potentially heterogeneous memory aging of older cancer survivors. We identified memory aging phenotypes of older US cancer survivors, and determined sociodemographic and health-related predictors of membership. Data were from 2,755 survivors aged ≥50 in the U.S. Health and Retirement Study (1998 – 2016). Self-reported first incident cancer diagnosis (except non-melanoma skin cancer) and memory (composite immediate and delayed word-list recall score, combined with proxy-reported cognition) were assessed at biennial interviews. Memory aging phenotypes were identified using latent growth curve (LGC) models, with baseline being time of cancer diagnosis. Logistic regression evaluated predictors of group membership. 5 distinct memory aging groups were identified: low memory (n=165, 6.16%); medium-low memory (n=459, 17.1%); medium-high memory (n=733, 27.4%); high memory (n=750, 28.0%); and very high memory (n=571, 21.3%). The low memory group received less chemotherapy compared to the other groups (20.0% vs. 25.5%, 31.7%, 36.8%, 41.5%%, respectively), and had the shortest mean survival time after diagnosis (1.08 vs 2.10, 2.76, 3.37, 4.31 years, respectively). Older age at diagnosis (OR: 1.71, 95%CI: 1.61-1.82), being male (OR: 4.10, 95%CI: 2.82-6.51), having a history of stroke (OR: 4.62, 95%CI: 2.57-8.30) and depression prior to diagnosis (OR: 1.19, 95%CI: 1.05-1.34) were independently associated with being in the low memory group vs. the medium-high memory group. We identified distinct memory aging phenotypes among older cancer survivors. Further research should evaluate the influence of pre-cancer memory and how these phenotypes differ from the general population.

Effect of telmisartan on hypertensive dementia patients: an observational study

Background: This was a prospective observational study done to observe the effects of telmisartan on cognitive function in hypertensive dementia patients.Methods: The study included new diagnosed hypertensive and normotensive dementia patients. Patients comprised of four groups; hypertensive dementia patients taking telmisartan (group 1), hypertensive dementia patients taking donepezil and telmisartan (group 2), normotensive dementia patients taking donepezil (group 3) and normotensive dementia patients taking drugs which does not affect memory (group 4).Cognitive function of four groups were compared to each other at 4, 8 and 12 weeks.Results: In group 1, 2 and 3 mini-mental state examination (MMSE) scores has increased by 1.69, 16.81, and 13.28 percent and in group 4 there is decrease in MMSE score by 6.03 percent in 12 weeks.Conclusions: In this study we can conclude that telmisartan has dementia preventing propensity which is better than placebo but not as good as donepezil.

Reducing Attentional Bias in Individuals With Alcohol Use Disorders With a Tablet Application: A Randomized Controlled Trial Pilot Study

Aims Cognitive bias modification (CBM) training has been considered a promising and effective intervention tool for reducing cognitive biases toward alcohol. However, the link between the cognitive process and actual behavior remains statistically insignificant because computerized tasks do not have sufficient ecological validity and suffer from high dropout rates. The recent development of ‘serious games’ has shown encouraging results in maintaining adherence to health-related interventions. We aim to evaluate a CBM program using a gamified attentional bias (AB) training procedure on a touchpad for individuals with alcohol use disorders. Methods Forty-one patients were included in this study, 33 of whom displayed an AB and were randomly assigned into the ‘CBM group’ (N = 18, 16.7% women) or ‘Memory group’—which involved playing a memory game—(N = 15, no woman). Eight other participants (12.5% women) with no AB comprised the ‘Without AB group’. Efficacy was assessed for AB, craving, and inhibition and attentional capacities before and after the program. Results We observed that the reduction of AB was higher for the ‘CBM group’ (Mbefore = 153.61, SD = 172.21; Mafter = 18.00, SD = 77.71; t (17) = 4.21, P = 0.001) than for the ‘Memory group’ (Mbefore = 73.20, SD = 66.65; Mafter =42.47, SD = 113.77; ts < 1). The analysis showed that for the ‘Without AB group’, there was no significant difference in AB (t (7) = −2.15, P = .07) after the program. Conclusions This study demonstrated an increased reduction of AB for patients included in the CBM program on a touchpad than for patients playing only a memory game.

Challenging Binaries and Unfencing Fields

Bryan Cheyette is Professor of Modern Literature and Culture at the University of Reading, where he directs the Identities and Minorities research group. His comparative research focuses on critical ‘race’ theory, postcolonial literature and theory, diasporic literature, Holocaust testimony, and, more recently, the social history of the ghetto. In January 2019, the Warwick Memory Group invited Bryan Cheyette to give a public lecture on ‘The Ghetto as Travelling Concept’, in the light of his forthcoming A Very Short Introduction to the Ghetto (2020), and a workshop on ‘Unfenced Fields in Academia and Beyond’. In a wide-ranging interview, Bryan Cheyette speaks of the interconnections between Jewish studies and postcolonial studies, bringing these into dialogue with memory discourses and our contemporary moment. Image of Prof Cheyette, photo credit Cesar Rodriguez

Predictors of Long-Term Improvement in Subjective Everyday Memory Following a Memory Group Program for Older Adults

Objective: The present study aimed to examine predictors of improvement in subjective everyday memory ability 5 years following participation in a group cognitive-behavioral memory intervention for community-living older adults, the La Trobe and Caulfield Hospital (LaTCH) Memory Group program. Method: Participants were 61 healthy older adults and data were analyzed using one-way repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA), hierarchical regression, and moderator analyses. Results: Although the group as a whole did not show significant gains in subjective memory ability following the intervention, greater gains in subjective memory ability were associated with poorer baseline associative memory, better baseline cognitive flexibility, and more subjective memory concerns prior to intervention. There was no interaction between the cognitive predictors and subjective memory concerns in predicting gains in subjective memory ability. Discussion: Differential benefits for more cognitively flexible individuals may derive from a greater capacity to engage skillfully in the expectancy modification aspects of the program.

Memory Studies Goes Planetary: An Interview with Stef Craps

Stef Craps is Associate Professor of English Literature at Ghent University, where he directs the Cultural Memory Studies Initiative (CMSI). He is an internationally recognised scholar whose research focuses on postcolonial literatures, trauma theory, transcultural Holocaust memory, and, more recently, climate change fiction. He has published widely on these issues, including in the seminal Postcolonial Witnessing: Trauma Out of Bounds (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013). He visited Warwick to deliver a public lecture and graduate workshop for the Warwick Memory Group in October 2017. In a wide-ranging interview, Stef Craps spoke about present and future directions in memory and trauma studies, the differences between transnational and transcultural memories, the ethics and politics of memory (studies), and the challenges faced by the field looking to the future.