Coordinated analysis of age, sex, and education effects on change in MMSE scores

Objectives. We describe and compare the expected performance trajectories of older adults on the Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE) across six independent studies from four countries in the context of a collaborative network of longitudinal studies of aging. A coordinated analysis approach is used to compare patterns of change conditional on sample composition differences related to age, sex, and education. Such coordination accelerates evaluation of particular hypotheses. In particular, we focus on the effect of educational attainment on cognitive decline.Method. Regular and Tobit mixed models were fit to MMSE scores from each study separately. The effects of age, sex, and education were examined based on more than one centering point.Results. Findings were relatively consistent across studies. On average, MMSE scores were lower for older individuals and declined over time. Education predicted MMSE score, but, with two exceptions, was not associated with decline in MMSE over time.Conclusion. A straightforward association between educational attainment and rate of cognitive decline was not supported. Thoughtful consideration is needed when synthesizing evidence across studies, as methodologies adopted and sample characteristics, such as educational attainment, invariably differ. © 2012 The Author

Advances and Prospect of Nanotechnology in Stem Cells

In recent years, stem cell nanotechnology has emerged as a new exciting field. Theoretical and experimental studies of interaction between nanomaterials or nanostructures and stem cells have made great advances. The importance of nanomaterials, nanostructures, and nanotechnology to the fundamental developments in stem cells-based therapies for injuries and degenerative diseases has been recognized. In particular, the effects of structure and properties of nanomaterials on the proliferation and differentiation of stem cells have become a new interdisciplinary frontier in regeneration medicine and material science. Here we review some of the main advances in this field over the past few years, explore the application prospects, and discuss the issues, approaches and challenges, with the aim of improving application of nanotechnology in the stem cells research and development

Current strategies for treatment of intervertebral disc degeneration: substitution and regeneration possibilities

Background: Intervertebral disc degeneration has an annual worldwide socioeconomic impact masked as low back pain of over 70 billion euros. This disease has a high prevalence over the working age class, which raises the socioeconomic impact over the years. Acute physical trauma or prolonged intervertebral disc mistreatment triggers a biochemical negative tendency of catabolic-anabolic balance that progress to a chronic degeneration disease. Current biomedical treatments are not only ineffective in the long-run, but can also cause degeneration to spread to adjacent intervertebral discs. Regenerative strategies are desperately needed in the clinics, such as: minimal invasive nucleus pulposus or annulus fibrosus treatments, total disc replacement, and cartilaginous endplates decalcification. Main Body: Herein, it is reviewed the state-of-the-art of intervertebral disc regeneration strategies from the perspective of cells, scaffolds, or constructs, including both popular and unique tissue engineering approaches. The premises for cell type and origin selection or even absence of cells is being explored. Choice of several raw materials and scaffold fabrication methods are evaluated. Extensive studies have been developed for fully regeneration of the annulus fibrosus and nucleus pulposus, together or separately, with a long set of different rationales already reported. Recent works show promising biomaterials and processing methods applied to intervertebral disc substitutive or regenerative strategies. Facing the abundance of studies presented in the literature aiming intervertebral disc regeneration it is interesting to observe how cartilaginous endplates have been extensively neglected, being this a major source of nutrients and water supply for the whole disc. Conclusion: Severalinnovative avenues for tackling intervertebral disc degeneration are being reported â from acellular to cellular approaches, but the cartilaginous endplates regeneration strategies remain unaddressed. Interestingly, patient-specific approaches show great promise in respecting patient anatomy and thus allow quicker translation to the clinics in the near future.The authors would like to acknowledge the support provided by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) through the project EPIDisc (UTAP-EXPL/BBBECT/0050/2014), funded in the Framework of the “International Collaboratory for Emerging Technologies, CoLab”, UT Austin|Portugal Program. The FCT distinctions attributed to J. Miguel Oliveira (IF/00423/2012 and IF/01285/ 2015) and J. Silva-Correia (IF/00115/2015) under the Investigator FCT program are also greatly acknowledged.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The Gothenburg H70 Birth cohort study 2014-16: design, methods and study population

To improve health care for older persons, we need to learn more about ageing, e.g. identify protective factors and early markers for diseases. The Gothenburg H70 Birth Cohort Studies (the H70 studies) are multidisciplinary epidemiological studies examining representative birth cohorts of older populations in Gothenburg, Sweden. So far, six birth cohorts of 70-year-olds have been examined over time, and examinations have been virtually identical between studies. This paper describes the study procedures for the baseline examination of the Birth cohort 1944, conducted in 2014-16. In this study, all men and women born 1944 on specific dates, and registered as residents in Gothenburg, were eligible for participation (n = 1839). A total of 1203 (response rate 72.2%; 559 men and 644 women; mean age 70.5 years) agreed to participate in the study. The study comprised sampling of blood and cerebrospinal fluid, psychiatric, cognitive, and physical health examinations, examinations of genetics and family history, use of medications, social factors, functional ability and disability, physical fitness and activity, body composition, lung function, audiological and ophthalmological examinations, diet, brain imaging, as well as a close informant interview, and qualitative studies. As in previous examinations, data collection serves as a basis for future longitudinal follow-up examinations. The research gained from the H70 studies has clinical relevance in relation to prevention, early diagnosis, clinical course, experience of illness, understanding pathogenesis and prognosis. Results will increase our understanding of ageing and inform service development, which may lead to enhanced quality of care for older persons

Blood pressure in children and target-organ damage later in life

To access publisher full text version of this article. Please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links fieldThe aim of this study was to examine the association between blood pressure (BP) in children and adolescents and cardiovascular and renal disease in adulthood. This was a retrospective study on patients /= 95th percentile (P = 0.03). Our results suggest that elevated childhood systolic BP may increase the risk of coronary artery disease in adult life. The sample size is a limiting factor, and the study should be carried out in a larger population

Familiality of kidney stone disease in Iceland.

To access publisher full text version of this article. Please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links fieldOBJECTIVE:The aetiology of kidney stones is multifactorial, with environmental and genetic factors contributing to the pathogenesis. The aim of this study was to assess the role of genetic factors in kidney stone disease by examining the heritability of the trait in Icelandic patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Medical records at all major hospitals and imaging centres in Iceland were searched for diagnostic codes indicative of kidney stones, yielding a cohort of 5954 incident patients with kidney stone disease. The list of patients was cross-matched with a genealogy database that covers the entire Icelandic nation. The risk ratio (RR) and kinship coefficient (KC) were calculated to determine the risk of kidney stones in relatives of stone formers and the relatedness among kidney stone patients. RESULTS: The risk of kidney stones among family members of stone formers was significantly higher than in the general population. In 2959 patients with radiopaque stones, the RR ranged from 2.25 (p<0.001) for first degree relatives of probands (such as parents or siblings) to 1.07 (p<0.01) in fifth degree relatives. Moreover, for confirmed recurrent stone formers the RR of kidney stones in parents and offspring was in excess of 10 (p<0.001). The KC analysis shows that Icelandic patients with kidney stone disease are significantly more related to each other than is the average Icelander, even when considering only relatives separated by four meioses or more (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that genetic factors may substantially influence the risk of kidney stone disease in Iceland

The pattern of cognitive symptoms predicts time to dementia onset.

Item does not contain fulltextBACKGROUND: Few studies have examined whether cognitive symptom patterns differ by age and length of time before dementia onset. Our objective was to investigate whether different patterns of cognitive symptoms at ages 70, 75, and 79 years predict short-term (5 years) dementia onset. METHODS: A representative sample of 382 nondemented 70-year-olds from Gothenburg, Sweden was examined periodically up to age 90 years. Information on dementia in those lost to follow-up was obtained from medical records. Cognitive assessments at ages 70, 75, and 79 years included psychiatric and psychometric examinations. Four patterns of cognitive performance were examined in relation to dementia onset: (1) unimpaired cognition, (2) isolated low memory, (3) low non-memory, and (4) global low cognitive performance. RESULTS: Short-term onset was predicted by global low performance at ages 70, 75, and 79 years and by low non-memory performance at ages 70 and 75. Isolated low memory was not a short-term predictor at any examination, but it predicted long-term onset at ages 70 and 75 years. CONCLUSIONS: A global pattern of low cognitive performance predicts short-term but not long-term onset of dementia, whereas isolated low memory performance predicts dementia only in the long-term. Our findings also suggest that preclinical symptoms of dementia might differ by age