Articles related to COGNITIVE HEALTH/MEMORY

A study of nearly 10,000 adults aged 65 and older found that individuals with either complete tooth loss or diabetes had accelerated cognitive decline compared to those without the diseases. And decline was fastest for individuals 65-84 who had both conditions. The authors hypothesize a combination of nutritional deficiency and inflammation as playing a role.

Plasma P-tau217 significantly predicted longitudinal cognitive decline in both cohorts in this prognostic study of data from two preclinical AD cohort studies involving 171 cognitively unimpaired individuals with cerebrospinal fluid or positron emission tomographic measures of β-amyloid positivity. These findings imply that plasma P-tau217 could be used in clinical trials of novel disease-modifying treatments as a supplement to CSF or PET for participant selection.

In the study, 1,400 individuals were assessed multiple times between ages of 36 and 69 for level of physical activity. They were quantified as not active, moderately active, and most active. Cognition measurements in later life showed a dose-response relationship between sustained levels of physical activity and later-life cognition status.

4,500 people were tracked using 24-hour monitors for 7 days. Activity levels were studied to determine the effect on short-term memory, problem-solving, and processing skills. As little as six to nine minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity when compared to sitting, sleeping, or gentle activities yielded higher cognition scores. Cognitive improvement was modest, but increasing time spent in energetic activity increased the measured benefits.

Factors evaluated were diet, exercise, social integration, cognitive activity, smoking history, and alcohol use. Participants were categorized as favorable (4-6 positive factors), average (2–3 positive factors), and unfavorable (0–1 positive factor). The “favorable” group had a a slower decline in cognition even if they were APOE e4 carriers.

The presence of vitamin D in the brain and its link to improved cognitive performance in aged subjects was originally discovered by a Tufts University study. Higher vitamin D concentrations were linked to a 25% to 33% decreased risk of dementia or mild cognitive impairment in four different brain areas. Authors did note, however, that the observational nature of the study and the lack of a diverse subject population were two of its drawbacks, and there may be further explanations for the results.