ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: There is a need for the development of accurate, accessible and efficient screening instruments, focused on early-stage detection of neurocognitive disorders. The Geras Solutions cognitive test (GSCT) has showed potential as a digital screening tool for cognitive impairment but normative data are needed. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to obtain normative data for the GSCT in cognitively healthy patients, investigate the effects of gender and education on test scores as well as examine test-retest reliability. METHODS: The population in this study consisted of 144 cognitively healthy subjects (MMSE>26) all at the age of 70 who were earlier included in the Healthy Aging Initiative Study conducted in Umeå, Sweden. All patients conducted the GSCT and a subset of patients (n=32) completed the test twice in order to establish test-retest reliability. RESULTS: The mean GSCT score was 46.0 (±4.5) points. High level of education (>12 years) was associated with a high GSCT score (p = 0.02) while gender was not associated with GSCT outcomes (p = 0.5). GSCT displayed a high correlation between test and retest (r(30) = 0.8, p <0.01). CONCLUSION: This study provides valuable information regarding normative test-scores on the GSCT for cognitively healthy individuals and indicates education level as the most important predictor of test outcome. Additionally, the GSCT appears to display a good test-retest reliability further strengthening the validity of the test.
Subject(s)
Cognitive Dysfunction , Humans , Cognitive Dysfunction/diagnosis , Educational Status , Neuropsychological Tests , Reproducibility of ResultsABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Little is known about the transfer of essential fatty acids (FAs) across the human blood-brain barrier (BBB) in adulthood. In this study, we investigated whether oral supplementation with omega-3 (n-3) FAs would change the FA profile of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). METHODS: A total of 33 patients (18 receiving the n-3 FA supplement and 15 receiving placebo) were included in the study. These patients were participants in the double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized OmegAD study in which 204 patients with mild Alzheimer's disease (AD) received 2.3 g n-3 FA [high in docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)] or placebo daily for 6 months. CSF FA levels were related to changes in plasma FA and to CSF biomarkers of AD and inflammation. RESULTS: At 6 months, the n-3 FA supplement group displayed significant increases in CSF (and plasma) eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), DHA and total n-3 FA levels (P < 0.01), whereas no changes were observed in the placebo group. Changes in CSF and plasma levels of EPA and n-3 docosapentaenoic acid were strongly correlated, in contrast to those of DHA. Changes in DHA levels in CSF were inversely correlated with CSF levels of total and phosphorylated tau, and directly correlated with soluble interleukin-1 receptor type II. Thus, the more DHA increased in CSF, the greater the change in CSF AD/inflammatory biomarkers. CONCLUSIONS: Oral supplementation with n-3 FAs conferred changes in the n-3 FA profile in CSF, suggesting transfer of these FAs across the BBB in adults.
Subject(s)
Alzheimer Disease/blood , Alzheimer Disease/cerebrospinal fluid , Blood-Brain Barrier , Dietary Supplements , Docosahexaenoic Acids/therapeutic use , Eicosapentaenoic Acid/administration & dosage , Eicosapentaenoic Acid/metabolism , Fatty Acids, Omega-3/administration & dosage , Fatty Acids, Omega-3/metabolism , Administration, Oral , Adult , Alzheimer Disease/drug therapy , Biomarkers/blood , Biomarkers/cerebrospinal fluid , Disease Progression , Docosahexaenoic Acids/administration & dosage , Docosahexaenoic Acids/pharmacokinetics , Double-Blind Method , Eicosapentaenoic Acid/blood , Eicosapentaenoic Acid/cerebrospinal fluid , Fatty Acids, Omega-3/blood , Fatty Acids, Omega-3/cerebrospinal fluid , Follow-Up Studies , Humans , Phosphorylation , tau Proteins/blood , tau Proteins/cerebrospinal fluidSubject(s)
Depression/therapy , Phototherapy , Circadian Rhythm/physiology , Depression/diagnosis , Depression/metabolism , Female , Humans , MaleABSTRACT
In order to assess possible structural changes and possible alterations in T1 relaxation times in the brains in a group of female patients (67-74 years) infected with HIV following transfusion ultra low field (ULF) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed. The width of the ventricles, the width of the subarachnoid spaces, the degree of white matter lesions and T1 relaxation times in the frontal white matter, the basal ganglia and thalamus were studied. No temporal structural changes nor alterations in T1 relaxation times were found in the brains in this group of transfusion infected patients, who were followed regularly over a period of 12 months compared both to themselves and to age matched controls.
