Influence of socio-demographic features and apolipoprotein E epsilon 4 expression on the prevalence of dementia and cognitive impairment in a population of 70-74-year olds: The InveCe.Ab study

Abstract The age-specific prevalence rates of dementia vary widely. Studies focusing on specific age groups are needed to provide reliable estimates for healthcare providers and policy makers. We estimated the prevalence of dementia, dementia subtypes and cognitive impairment in "InveCe.Ab" (ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01345110 ), a single-step multidimensional population-based study of 70–74-year olds living in Abbiategrasso (Milan, Italy). We also looked for associations with socio-demographic factors and the presence of the apolipoprotein E-ɛ4 allele. The overall dementia prevalence was 3% (95%CI: 2.1–4.1%) [Alzheimer's disease (AD): 1.2% (95%CI 0.6–1.9%); vascular dementia (VD): 1.4% (95%CI: 0.8–2.2%)]. Being single was found to be a risk factor for vascular dementia; subjects born in southern Italy were shown to be at greater risk both of overall dementia and of vascular dementia. The prevalence of cognitive impairment, with or without subjective cognitive complaints (cognitive impairment, no dementia, CIND) was 7.8% (95%CI: 6.4–9.4%). As regards the CIND subgroups, the prevalence of subjects with subjective cognitive complaints (mild cognitive impairment, MCI) was 5.0% (95%CI 3.9–6.3%), while the prevalence of those without MCI (CIND-other) was 2.8% (95%CI: 1.9–3.8). The males had a higher risk of MCI and CIND-other; the older subjects were more likely to have MCI, and those born in north-eastern Italy to have CIND-other. The prevalence of AD was higher among the apolipoprotein E-ɛ4 carriers. Our data highlight the importance of dementia and cognitive impairment in the transitional period from adulthood to old age, and reveal the presence of different associations with socio-demographic and genetic factors

Life during COVID-19 lockdown in Italy: the influence of cognitive state on psychosocial, behavioral and lifestyle profiles of older adults.

Few studies have examined lockdown effects on the way of living and well-being of older adults stratified by cognitive state. Since cognitive deficits are common in this population, we investigated how cognition influenced their understanding of the pandemic, socio-behavioral responses and lifestyle adaptations during lockdown, and how these factors affected their mood or memory.Telephone-based survey involving 204 older adults ≥65 y/o (median: 82) with previous assessments of cognitive state: 164 normal-old (NOLD), 24 mild-neurocognitive disorder (mild-NCD), 18 mild-moderate dementia. A structured questionnaire was developed to assess psychological and socio-behavioral variables. Logistic regression was used to ascertain their effects on mood and memory.With increasing cognitive deficits, understanding of the pandemic and the ability to follow lockdown policies, adapt to lifestyle changes, and maintain remote interactions decreased. Participants with dementia were more depressed; NOLDs remained physically and mentally active but were more bored and anxious. Sleeping and health problems independently increased the likelihood of depression (OR: 2.29; CI: 1.06-4.93;NOLD and mild-NCD groups showed similar mood-behavioral profiles suggesting better tolerance of lockdown. Those with dementia were unable to adapt and suffered from depression and cognitive complaints. To counteract lockdown effects, physical and mental activities and digital literacy should be encouraged

protective effect of a new hyaluronic acid carnosine conjugate on the modulation of the inflammatory response in mice subjected to collagen induced arthritis

Abstract Several studies demonstrated the pharmacological actions of carnosine as well as hyaluronic acid (HA) during joint inflammation. In that regard, the aim of this study was to investigate the protective effect of a new HA -Carnosine conjugate (FidHycarn) on the modulation of the inflammatory response in mice subjected to collagen-induced arthritis (CIA). CIA was induced by two intradermal injections of 100 μl of an emulsion of collagen (CII) and complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) at the base of the tail on day 0 and 21. At 35 day post CIA induction, the animals were sacrificed. CII injection caused erythema and edema in the hind paws, histological alterations with erosion of the joint cartilage as well as behavioral changes. Oral treatment with FidHycarn starting at the onset of arthritis (day 25) ameliorated the clinical signs, improved behavioral deficits as well as decreased histological and radiographic alterations. The degree of oxidative damage evaluated by inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), nitrotyrosine, poly-ADP-ribose (PAR) expressions and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, was also significantly reduced in Carnosine+HA association and FidHycarn treated mice. Moreover, the levels of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines and cyclo-oxygenase COX-2 enzyme were also more significantly reduced by Carnosine+HA and FidHycarn compared to carnosine alone. However, interestingly, in some cases, the effects of FidHycarn were more important than Carnosine+HA association and not statistically different to methotrexate (MTX) used as positive control. Thus, the conjugation of Carnosine with HA (FidHycarn) could represent an interesting therapeutic strategy to combat arthritis disorders

Multi-objective optimization algorithm coupled to EnergyPLAN software: The EPLANopt model

The planning of energy systems with high penetration of renewables is becoming more and more important due to environmental and security issues. On the other hand, high shares of renewables require proper grid integration strategies. In order to overcome these obstacles, the diversification of renewable energy technologies, programmable or not, coupled with different types of storage, daily and seasonal, is recommended. The optimization of the different energy sources is a multi-objective optimization problem because it concerns economical, technical and environmental aspects. The aim of this study is to present the model EPLANopt, developed by Eurac Research, which couples the deterministic simulation model EnergyPLAN developed by Aalborg University with a Multi-Objective Evolutionary Algorithm built on the Python library DEAP. The test case is the energy system of South Tyrol, for which results obtained through this methodology are presented. Particular attention is devoted to the analysis of energy efficiency in buildings. A curve representing the marginal costs of the different energy efficiency strategies versus the annual energy saving is applied to the model through an external Python script. This curve describes the energy efficiency costs for different types of buildings depending on construction period and location

MRI Asymmetry Index of Hippocampal Subfields Increases Through the Continuum From the Mild Cognitive Impairment to the Alzheimer's Disease

Objective: It is well-known that the hippocampus presents significant asymmetry in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and that difference in volumes between left and right exists and varies with disease progression. However, few works investigated whether the asymmetry degree of subfields of hippocampus changes through the continuum from Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) to AD. Thus, aim of the present work was to evaluate the Asymmetry Index (AI) of hippocampal substructures as possible MRI biomarkers of Dementia. Moreover, we aimed to assess whether the subfields presented peculiar differences between left and right hemispheres. We also investigated the relationship between the asymmetry magnitude in hippocampal subfields and the decline of verbal memory as assessed by Rey's auditory verbal learning test (RAVLT).Methods: Four-hundred subjects were selected from ADNI, equally divided into healthy controls (HC), AD, stable MCI (sMCI), and progressive MCI (pMCI). The structural baseline T1s were processed with FreeSurfer 6.0 and volumes of whole hippocampus (WH) and 12 subfields were extracted. The AI was calculated as: (|Left-Right|/(Left+Right))*100. ANCOVA was used for evaluating AI differences between diagnoses, while paired t-test was applied for assessing changes between left and right volumes, separately for each group. Partial correlation was performed for exploring relationship between RAVLT summary scores (Immediate, Learning, Forgetting, Percent Forgetting) and hippocampal substructures AI. The statistical threshold was Bonferroni corrected p < 0.05/13 = 0.0038.Results: We found a general trend of increased degree of asymmetry with increasing severity of diagnosis. Indeed, AD presented the higher magnitude of asymmetry compared with HC, sMCI and pMCI, in the WH (AI mean 5.13 ± 4.29 SD) and in each of its twelve subfields. Moreover, we found in AD a significant negative correlation (r = −0.33, p = 0.00065) between the AI of parasubiculum (mean 12.70 ± 9.59 SD) and the RAVLT Learning score (mean 1.70 ± 1.62 SD).Conclusions: Our findings showed that hippocampal subfields AI varies differently among the four groups HC, sMCI, pMCI, and AD. Moreover, we found—for the first time—that hippocampal substructures had different sub-patterns of lateralization compared with the whole hippocampus. Importantly, the severity in learning rate was correlated with pathological high degree of asymmetry in parasubiculum of AD patients

Age-related cognitive decline and associations with sex, education and apolipoprotein E genotype across ethnocultural groups and geographic regions: a collaborative cohort study

Background The prevalence of dementia varies around the world, potentially contributed to by international differences in rates of age-related cognitive decline. Our primary goal was to investigate how rates of age-related decline in cognitive test performance varied among international cohort studies of cognitive aging. We also determined the extent to which sex, educational attainment, and apolipoprotein E ε4 allele (APOE*4) carrier status were associated with decline. Methods and findings We harmonized longitudinal data for 14 cohorts from 12 countries (Australia, Brazil, France, Greece, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Singapore, Spain, South Korea, United Kingdom, United States), for a total of 42,170 individuals aged 54–105 y (42% male), including 3.3% with dementia at baseline. The studies began between 1989 and 2011, with all but three ongoing, and each had 2–16 assessment waves (median = 3) and a follow-up duration of 2–15 y. We analyzed standardized Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and memory, processing speed, language, and executive functioning test scores using linear mixed models, adjusted for sex and education, and meta-analytic techniques. Performance on all cognitive measures declined with age, with the most rapid rate of change pooled across cohorts a moderate -0.26 standard deviations per decade (SD/decade) (95% confidence interval [CI] [-0.35, -0.16], p < 0.001) for processing speed. Rates of decline accelerated slightly with age, with executive functioning showing the largest additional rate of decline with every further decade of age (-0.07 SD/decade, 95% CI [-0.10, -0.03], p = 0.002). There was a considerable degree of heterogeneity in the associations across cohorts, including a slightly faster decline (p = 0.021) on the MMSE for Asians (-0.20 SD/decade, 95% CI [-0.28, -0.12], p < 0.001) than for whites (-0.09 SD/decade, 95% CI [-0.16, -0.02], p = 0.009). Males declined on the MMSE at a slightly slower rate than females (difference = 0.023 SD/decade, 95% CI [0.011, 0.035], p < 0.001), and every additional year of education was associated with a rate of decline slightly slower for the MMSE (0.004 SD/decade less, 95% CI [0.002, 0.006], p = 0.001), but slightly faster for language (-0.007 SD/decade more, 95% CI [-0.011, -0.003], p = 0.001). APOE*4 carriers declined slightly more rapidly than non-carriers on most cognitive measures, with processing speed showing the greatest difference (-0.08 SD/decade, 95% CI [-0.15, -0.01], p = 0.019). The same overall pattern of results was found when analyses were repeated with baseline dementia cases excluded. We used only one test to represent cognitive domains, and though a prototypical one, we nevertheless urge caution in generalizing the results to domains rather than viewing them as test-specific associations. This study lacked cohorts from Africa, India, and mainland China. Conclusions Cognitive performance declined with age, and more rapidly with increasing age, across samples from diverse ethnocultural groups and geographical regions. Associations varied across cohorts, suggesting that different rates of cognitive decline might contribute to the global variation in dementia prevalence. However, the many similarities and consistent associations with education and APOE genotype indicate a need to explore how international differences in associations with other risk factors such as genetics, cardiovascular health, and lifestyle are involved. Future studies should attempt to use multiple tests for each cognitive domain and feature populations from ethnocultural groups and geographical regions for which we lacked data

Bollettino on-line del progetto Ritmare

Il progetto all’interno del quale si è inserita l' attività "La scienza del Mare nelle scuole" è il Progetto Ritmare (La Ricerca Italiana per il Mare). Il progetto Ritmare è un progetto strategico per la ricerca sul mare in Italia, che vuole coniugare le risorse ambientali del mare con l’uso connesso alle attività produttive e allo sfruttamento energetico delle sue risorse, sviluppando tecnologie ed innovazione e, al tempo stesso, promuovendone la sua conoscenza e il rispetto. In tale contesto il progetto propone di sensibilizzare gli studenti delle scuole di primo e secondo grado alle scienze del mare, sperimentando un approccio multidisciplinare che unisca il mondo scientifico e tecnologico a quello didattico, attraverso l'uso di strumenti di comunicazione che vadano dalle forme artistiche ed espressive a quelle prettamente tecnologiche e multimediali

Age-related cognitive decline and associations with sex, education and apolipoprotein E genotype across ethnocultural groups and geographic regions: a collaborative cohort study

Background The prevalence of dementia varies around the world, potentially contributed to by international differences in rates of age-related cognitive decline. Our primary goal was to investigate how rates of age-related decline in cognitive test performance varied among international cohort studies of cognitive aging. We also determined the extent to which sex, educational attainment, and apolipoprotein E ε4 allele (APOE*4) carrier status were associated with decline. Methods and findings We harmonized longitudinal data for 14 cohorts from 12 countries (Australia, Brazil, France, Greece, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Singapore, Spain, South Korea, United Kingdom, United States), for a total of 42,170 individuals aged 54–105 y (42% male), including 3.3% with dementia at baseline. The studies began between 1989 and 2011, with all but three ongoing, and each had 2–16 assessment waves (median = 3) and a follow-up duration of 2–15 y. We analyzed standardized Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and memory, processing speed, language, and executive functioning test scores using linear mixed models, adjusted for sex and education, and meta-analytic techniques. Performance on all cognitive measures declined with age, with the most rapid rate of change pooled across cohorts a moderate -0.26 standard deviations per decade (SD/decade) (95% confidence interval [CI] [-0.35, -0.16], p < 0.001) for processing speed. Rates of decline accelerated slightly with age, with executive functioning showing the largest additional rate of decline with every further decade of age (-0.07 SD/decade, 95% CI [-0.10, -0.03], p = 0.002). There was a considerable degree of heterogeneity in the associations across cohorts, including a slightly faster decline (p = 0.021) on the MMSE for Asians (-0.20 SD/decade, 95% CI [-0.28, -0.12], p < 0.001) than for whites (-0.09 SD/decade, 95% CI [-0.16, -0.02], p = 0.009). Males declined on the MMSE at a slightly slower rate than females (difference = 0.023 SD/decade, 95% CI [0.011, 0.035], p < 0.001), and every additional year of education was associated with a rate of decline slightly slower for the MMSE (0.004 SD/decade less, 95% CI [0.002, 0.006], p = 0.001), but slightly faster for language (-0.007 SD/decade more, 95% CI [-0.011, -0.003], p = 0.001). APOE*4 carriers declined slightly more rapidly than non-carriers on most cognitive measures, with processing speed showing the greatest difference (-0.08 SD/decade, 95% CI [-0.15, -0.01], p = 0.019). The same overall pattern of results was found when analyses were repeated with baseline dementia cases excluded. We used only one test to represent cognitive domains, and though a prototypical one, we nevertheless urge caution in generalizing the results to domains rather than viewing them as test-specific associations. This study lacked cohorts from Africa, India, and mainland China. Conclusions Cognitive performance declined with age, and more rapidly with increasing age, across samples from diverse ethnocultural groups and geographical regions. Associations varied across cohorts, suggesting that different rates of cognitive decline might contribute to the global variation in dementia prevalence. However, the many similarities and consistent associations with education and APOE genotype indicate a need to explore how international differences in associations with other risk factors such as genetics, cardiovascular health, and lifestyle are involved. Future studies should attempt to use multiple tests for each cognitive domain and feature populations from ethnocultural groups and geographical regions for which we lacked data

Multicentre Italian study of SARS-CoV-2 infection in children and adolescents, preliminary data as at 10 April 2020

Data on features of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in children and adolescents are scarce. We report preliminary results of an Italian multicentre study comprising 168 laboratory-confirmed paediatric cases (median: 2.3 years, range: 1 day-17.7 years, 55.9% males), of which 67.9% were hospitalised and 19.6% had comorbidities. Fever was the most common symptom, gastrointestinal manifestations were frequent; two children required intensive care, five had seizures, 49 received experimental treatments and all recovered