ABSTRACT
This study analysed NEO Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) personality trait data in middle-aged and older Australian women and their CAM usage. Participants were women from the Longitudinal study of Ageing in Women (LAW study) aged 47 to 87 years (N = 419). Only the NEO-FFI trait of Openness was significantly correlated with cumulative CAM product use. Regression models revealed that number of specialists' consultations, number of CAM products used and reported level of physical and leisure activities were predictive of CAM therapy use; while age was predictive of CAM product use.
Subject(s)
Anxiety , Complementary Therapies/statistics & numerical data , Depression , Personality , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Australia , Humans , Logistic Models , Longitudinal Studies , Middle Aged , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
This study examined the relationship between low levels of serum vitamin B12 and folic acid (FA) and cognitive functioning in very old age. The four subsamples of non-demented persons aged 75-96 years - normal B12/normal FA; low B12/normal FA; normal B12/low FA; and low B12/low FA, were matched for age and education. A battery of cognitive tests was administered including Clock Tests, Block Design, Trail Making Tests (TMT), Digit Span, and tests of verbal fluency. Subjects with low levels of vitamins showed deficits in Block Design, TMT-B, Digit Span Backward, and letter fluency, but not in the remaining tests. In general, the effects of FA exceeded those of B12. This pattern of results was interpreted to mean that elderly persons with low vitamin levels have difficulty when fast and accurate processing of novel information is required, but are quite efficient in utilizing pre-existing knowledge structures.
Subject(s)
Aging/physiology , Cognition , Folic Acid Deficiency/complications , Folic Acid/blood , Vitamin B 12 Deficiency/complications , Vitamin B 12/blood , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Cognition Disorders/etiology , Female , Folic Acid/pharmacology , Folic Acid Deficiency/psychology , Humans , Male , Vitamin B 12/pharmacology , Vitamin B 12 Deficiency/psychologyABSTRACT
This study examined the first participants who registered for the Huntington's disease predictive testing program 1990-1995 in Stockholm, Sweden. A psychosocial investigation was performed to evaluate potential effects of the presymptomatic testing. The results showed no significant differences between 13 gene carriers and 21 noncarriers in pretest attitudes, expectations, general well-being, life satisfaction and lifestyle, the need for support, estimated sense of wellbeing or degree of health. However, both groups showed high suicidal ideation and self-injurious behavior. Noncarriers had a very high frequency of attempted suicide, and both groups had similarly pronounced psychiatric dysfunction. Their relatives also had high frequencies of psychiatric diseases, suicide or suicidal attempts. Most of the participants had a desire to meet a psychologist or a social worker. The need for counseling, using a well designed protocol, and the importance of focusing on suicide risk of participants in predictive testing programs is emphasized.
Subject(s)
Genetic Testing/psychology , Heterozygote , Huntington Disease/psychology , Suicide Prevention , Adult , Analysis of Variance , Counseling , Female , Genetic Predisposition to Disease/psychology , Humans , Huntington Disease/diagnosis , Huntington Disease/genetics , Life Style , Male , Middle Aged , Patient Acceptance of Health Care , Suicide, Attempted/statistics & numerical data , SwedenABSTRACT
The main aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between dopaminergic markers and brain volumes for striatal and cortical structures, and cognitive performance in patients with Huntington's disease and control subjects. We used PET and MRI data as predictors of performance in tasks assessing executive function, visuospatial ability, episodic memory, verbal fluency, perceptual speed and reasoning. The dopamine neurotransmission parameters (D1 and D2 receptor density and dopamine transporter density) and the volumetric measurements for caudate and putamen accounted for substantial portions of the variance across the majority of cognitive tasks. In addition, frontal volume showed a strong relationship with all cognitive tasks. D1 binding and volume measurements for the temporal cortex and thalamic volume showed associations with a select number of cognitive tasks. The overall data pattern is consistent with the view that Huntington's disease may be characterized as a frontostriatal dementia, in which cognitive deficits may result from pathological changes at multiple sites in the frontostriatal circuitry.
Subject(s)
Brain/metabolism , Carrier Proteins/metabolism , Cognition Disorders/etiology , Huntington Disease/metabolism , Huntington Disease/psychology , Membrane Glycoproteins , Membrane Transport Proteins , Nerve Tissue Proteins , Receptors, Dopamine D1/metabolism , Receptors, Dopamine D2/metabolism , Benzazepines/pharmacokinetics , Biomarkers , Brain/diagnostic imaging , Brain/pathology , Carbon Radioisotopes/pharmacokinetics , Cocaine/analogs & derivatives , Cocaine/pharmacokinetics , Cognition Disorders/diagnostic imaging , Cognition Disorders/pathology , Dopamine/metabolism , Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins , Female , Humans , Huntington Disease/diagnostic imaging , Huntington Disease/pathology , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Male , Memory , Middle Aged , Organ Specificity , Perception , Predictive Value of Tests , Raclopride , Radiography , Reference Values , Salicylamides/pharmacokinetics , Speech , Thinking , Tomography, Emission-ComputedABSTRACT
A population-based sample of healthy old adults ranging from 76 to 93 years of age (n=94) was examined in the Trail Making Test (TMT), and in tests assessing motor functions of the hands (the dynamic and optic-spatial organization of the motor act). Results indicated no age-related differences in TMT accuracy, although the time required to complete the test increased with increasing age. Similar patterns of results were observed for TMT-A and TMT-B. There were no age-related differences in the tests of hand-motor functioning, and subjects were carefully screened on visual and auditory capacity, hence making it unlikely that motor and sensory factors contributed to the results obtained. A test of visuo-spatial skill (Block Design Test) was marginally related to performance on TMT-B, whereas sex, education, a marker of global cognitive status (the Mini-Mental State Exam), and tests of primary memory (digit dpan forward and digit span backward) made no contribution to TMT performance. Several biological variables (e.g. vitamin B12, albumin, blood pressure) were also unrelated to TMT performance, although a positive relationship between thyroid stimulating hormone and TMT-B performance was documented. It was suggested that the influence of age on TMT speed may reflect age-related deficits in a variety of task-relevant skills, including perceptual speed, attentional functions (e.g. vigilance, concentration, visual scanning), and visuo-spatial ability.
