Micronutrients and Risk of Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder. Although the precise pathogenetic mechanisms of PD remain undetermined, there appears to be both genetic and environmental factors that contribute to the risk of developing PD. With regard to environmental risk factors, there has been significant interest related to the role of diet, nutrition, and nutrients on the onset and progression of PD. As the current treatments are predominantly focused on symptomatic management, efforts must be directed toward prevention of the PD and identification of potentially modifiable risk and preventive factors. This comprehensive review gives an overview of studies examining the role of micronutrients in PD, and provides guidance on the value of the reported outcomes

Retinal Venular Tortuosity Jointly with Retinal Amyloid Burden Correlates with Verbal Memory Loss: A Pilot Study

Introduction: Retinal imaging is a non-invasive tool to study both retinal vasculature and neurodegeneration. In this exploratory retinal curcumin-fluorescence imaging (RFI) study, we sought to determine whether retinal vascular features combined with retinal amyloid burden correlate with the neurocognitive status. Methods: We used quantitative RFI in a cohort of patients with cognitive impairment to automatically compute retinal amyloid burden. Retinal blood vessels were segmented, and the vessel tortuosity index (VTI), inflection index, and branching angle were quantified. We assessed the correlations between retinal vascular and amyloid parameters, and cognitive domain Z-scores using linear regression models. Results: Thirty-four subjects were enrolled and twenty-nine (55% female, mean age 64 ± 6 years) were included in the combined retinal amyloid and vascular analysis. Eleven subjects had normal cognition and 18 had impaired cognition. Retinal VTI was discriminated among cognitive scores. The combined proximal mid-periphery amyloid count and venous VTI index exhibited significant differences between cognitively impaired and cognitively normal subjects (0.49 ± 1.1 vs. 0.91 ± 1.4, p = 0.006), and correlated with both the Wechsler Memory Scale-IV and SF-36 mental component score Z-scores (p < 0.05). Conclusion: This pilot study showed that retinal venular VTI combined with the proximal mid-periphery amyloid count could predict verbal memory loss. Future research is needed to finesse the clinical application of this retinal imaging-based technology

Leisure-time physical activity and mortality in a multiethnic prospective cohort study: the Northern Manhattan Study

PURPOSE: To examine whether the survival benefit of exercise is modified by obesity. METHODS: In the Northern Manhattan Study we collected baseline socio-demographics and cardiovascular disease risk factors. The primary exposure was leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) and the outcomes were total, vascular, and non-vascular deaths. LTPA was defined as any versus none, and metabolic equivalent score category (total activity weighted by intensity). We used Cox models to estimate the hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals (HR, 95% CI). RESULTS: A total of 3298 participants (mean age 69, 52% Hispanic, 63% women) were followed over a mean of 11.8 years with 1589 total deaths (641 vascular, 819 non-vascular). Any activity (adjusted HR 0.84, 95%CI:0.75,0.94) was associated with reduced risk of all-cause mortality and non-vascular death, but not vascular death. We found an interaction (P< 0.05) of LTPA with BMI<30 for all-cause and vascular mortality. Any LTPA was associated with reduced all-cause mortality (adjusted HR 0.77, 95%CI:0.68,0.87) and vascular death (adjusted HR 0.79, 95%CI:0.65,0.97) only among those with BMI<30. CONCLUSION: We found no evidence of an independent survival benefit of LTPA among those with BMI>30. The health benefits of exercise should be considered in the context of obesity