PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Study examines memory and effects on the aging brain

2015-03-16
(Press-News.org) A study of brain aging finds that being male was associated with worse memory and lower hippocampal volume in individuals who were cognitively normal at baseline, while the gene APOE ?4, a risk factor for Alzheimer disease, was not, according to an article published online by JAMA Neurology.

Typical cognitive aging may be defined as age-associated changes in cognitive performance in individuals free of dementia. To assess brain imaging findings associated with typical aging, the full adult age spectrum should be included, according to the study background.

Clifford R. Jack, Jr., M.D., of the Mayo Clinic and Foundation, Rochester, Minn., and coauthors compared age, sex and APOE ?4 effects on memory, brain structure (as measured by adjusted hippocampal volume, HVa) and amyloid [brain plaques associated with Alzheimer disease] positron emission tomography (PET) in 1,246 cognitively normal individuals between the ages of 30 and 95.

The authors found: Overall memory worsened from age 30 through the 90s. HVa worsened gradually from age 30 to the mid-60s and more steeply after that with advancing age. Median amyloid accumulation seen on PET scans was low until age 70 but increased after that. Memory was worse in men than women overall, especially after 40. The HVa was lower in men than women overall, especially after 60. For both males and females, memory performance and HVa were not different by APOE ?4 carrier status at any age. From age 70 onward, APOE ?4 carriers had greater median amyloid accumulation seen on PET scans than noncarriers. The ages at which 10 percent of the population was "amyloid PET positive" were 57 years for APOE ?4 carriers and 64 years for noncarriers. Amyloid PET positive indicates individuals are accumulating amyloid in their brain as seen on PET scans and, while they may be asymptomatic, they are at risk for Alzheimer disease.

"We believe that this study of typical aging reveals interesting sex and APOE ?4 effects on age-related trends in brain structure, function and β-amyloidosis [buildup of plaque deposits in the brain]. To date, these effects have not been widely appreciated. Our findings are consistent with a model of late-onset AD [Alzheimer disease] in which β-amyloidosis arises later in life on a background of preexisting structural and cognitive decline that is associated with aging and not with β-amyloid deposits," the study concludes.

(JAMA Neurol. Published online March 16, 2015. doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2014.4821. Available pre-embargo to the media at http://media.jamanetwork.com.)

Editor's Note: This study was supported by grants from the National Institute on Aging and by the Alexander Family Alzheimer's Disease Research Professorship of the Mayo Foundation. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.

Editorial: A Call for New Thoughts on What Might Influence Human Brain Aging

In a related editorial, Charles DeCarli, M.D., of the University of California at Davis, Sacramento, writes: "In their article, Jack et al present new information that challenges the notion that amyloid accumulation explains memory performance across the entire age range. Importantly, this work does not only address the likely highly significant impact of cerebral amyloid accumulation on dementia risk, but also extends current knowledge relating to the impact of the aging process across the spectrum of ages 30 to 95 years to brain structure, amyloid accumulation and memory performance among cognitively normal individuals."

"Understanding the basic biology of these early processes are likely to substantially inform us about ways in which we can maintain cognitive health and optimize resistance to late-life dementia. However, such work requires the necessary motivation found by seminal work, such as that of Jack et al, which tell us where and when to investigate these processes. Establishing what is normal creates avenues for new research, increasing the likelihood of discovering novel therapeutics for late-life disease states, which is a laudable goal indeed," the editorial concludes.

(JAMA Neurol. Published online March 16, 2015. doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2015.33. Available pre-embargo to the media at http://media.jamanetwork.com.)

Editor's Note: This work was supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.

INFORMATION:

Media Advisory: To contact author Clifford R. Jack Jr., M.D., call Duska Anastasijevic at 507-284-5005 or email newsbureau@mayo.edu. To contact editorial author Charles DeCarli, M.D., call Phyllis K. Brown at 916-734-9023 or email phyllis.brown@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu.

To place an electronic embedded link in your story: Links will be live at the embargo time: http://archneur.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?doi=10.1001/jamaneurol.2014.4821 and http://archneur.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?doi=10.1001/jamaneurol.2015.33.



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Low vaccination rates fuel the 2015 measles outbreak

2015-03-16
Inadequate vaccine coverage is likely a driving force behind the ongoing Disneyland measles outbreak, according to calculations by a research team at Boston Children's Hospital. Their report, based on epidemiological data and published online by JAMA Pediatrics, indicates that vaccine coverage among the exposed populations is far below that necessary to keep the virus in check, and is the first to positively link measles vaccination rates and the ongoing outbreak. By examining case numbers reported by the California Department of Public Health and current and historical ...

A second minor planet may possess Saturn-like rings

2015-03-16
There are only five bodies in our solar system that are known to bear rings. The most obvious is the planet Saturn; to a lesser extent, rings of gas and dust also encircle Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune. The fifth member of this haloed group is Chariklo, one of a class of minor planets called centaurs: small, rocky bodies that possess qualities of both asteroids and comets. Scientists only recently detected Chariklo's ring system -- a surprising finding, as it had been thought that centaurs are relatively dormant. Now scientists at MIT and elsewhere have detected a possible ...

Research calls for new policies to support women veterans' health care needs

2015-03-16
March 16, 2015 - As more women veterans seek health care in the Veterans Administration (VA) system, effective approaches are needed to ensure that their unique needs are recognized and met. A special April supplement to Medical Care collects new studies from an ongoing research initiative to inform health care policy for women veterans. The journal is published by Wolters Kluwer. "The goal of this supplement is to disseminate new research findings related to the planning, organization, financing, provision, evaluation and improvement of health services and/or outcomes ...

Jailbreaking yeast could amp up wine's health benefits, reduce morning-after headaches

2015-03-16
URBANA - University of Illinois scientists have engineered a "jailbreaking" yeast that could greatly increase the health benefits of wine while reducing the toxic byproducts that cause your morning-after headache. "Fermented foods--such as beer, wine, and bread--are made with polyploid strains of yeast, which means they contain multiple copies of genes in the genome. Until now, it's been very difficult to do genetic engineering in polyploid strains because if you altered a gene in one copy of the genome, an unaltered copy would correct the one that had been changed," ...

No mortality benefit of bypass surgery compared to latest generation of drug-coated stents

No mortality benefit of bypass surgery compared to latest generation of drug-coated stents
2015-03-16
NEW YORK, March 16, 2015 - Newer drug-coated stents that keep arteries open have similar long-term rates of death compared with traditional bypass surgery for patients with more than one diseased coronary artery. The findings come from a clinical registry study, led by cardiologists at NYU Langone Medical Center, which appears in this week's issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. In the study, a sample of over 9,000 patients who received the latest stents were no more likely to die in the few years following the procedure, compared to a matched sample of over ...

Heart failure patients fare better with catheter ablation than Amiodarone

2015-03-16
SAN DIEGO (March 16, 2015) -- Among patients with heart failure and atrial fibrillation, those who underwent catheter ablation were less likely to die, be hospitalized or have recurrent atrial fibrillation than patients taking a heart rhythm regulating drug, according to a study presented at the American College of Cardiology's 64th Annual Scientific Session. Catheter ablation was most successful in procedures where ablation was required in other areas in addition to the pulmonary vein, researchers said. Heart failure and atrial fibrillation often co-occur and are two ...

Ablation during mitral valve surgery reduces atrial fibrillation

2015-03-16
SAN DIEGO (March 16, 2015) -- Patients with atrial fibrillation who received ablation while they were already undergoing surgery to correct a leaky heart valve had fewer episodes of atrial fibrillation a year later compared to patients who had the valve surgery alone, according to a study presented at the American College of Cardiology's 64th Annual Scientific Session. The patients who received ablation along with mitral valve surgery had no more deaths, adverse cardiac events or hospitalizations than patients who only received the valve surgery alone, but they were ...

Remote ischemic preconditioning fails to improve heart bypass outcomes

2015-03-16
SAN DIEGO (March 16, 2015) -- Patients who underwent a simple conditioning procedure involving the inflation and deflation of a blood pressure cuff on the upper arm before coronary artery bypass grafting, known as heart bypass surgery, had no better long-term health outcomes than bypass patients who did not receive the conditioning, according to research presented at the American College of Cardiology's 64th Annual Scientific Session in San Diego. The study, the first large randomized controlled trial to investigate the effectiveness of remote ischemic preconditioning ...

Motor neurone disease -- researchers identify new group of gene suspects

2015-03-16
Researchers have identified a new host of gene variants that could make people vulnerable to sporadic motor neurone disease, according to a report published today in the journal, Scientific Reports. Until recently, it was thought that genetics made little contribution to the disease - also termed amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) - and that the environment was mostly to blame. Currently two to three thousand Australians are living with this fatal disease. Motor neurone disease (MND) is a group of diseases in which the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord controlling ...

Ben-Gurion U. Researchers Develop Groundbreaking Approach to Evaluate Sleep Disorders

2015-03-16
BEER-SHEVA, Israel...March 15, 2015 - Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) researchers have developed a groundbreaking approach to determine sleep quality using their new breath sound analysis (BSA). This is less expensive and invasive than current polysomnography (PSG) technology, according to a new study published on PLOS Online. "One of the main goals of sleep medicine today is to improve early diagnosis and treatment of the 'flood" of subjects presenting with sleep disorders," says Prof. Yaniv Zigel Ph.D., head of the Biomedical Signal Processing Research Lab ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

KAIST Develops Retinal Therapy to Restore Lost Vision​

Adipocyte-hepatocyte signaling mechanism uncovered in endoplasmic reticulum stress response

Mammals were adapting from life in the trees to living on the ground before dinosaur-killing asteroid

Low LDL cholesterol levels linked to reduced risk of dementia

Thickening of the eye’s retina associated with greater risk and severity of postoperative delirium in older patients

Almost one in ten people surveyed report having been harmed by the NHS in the last three years

Enhancing light control with complex frequency excitations

New research finds novel drug target for acute myeloid leukemia, bringing hope for cancer patients

New insight into factors associated with a common disease among dogs and humans

Illuminating single atoms for sustainable propylene production

New study finds Rocky Mountain snow contamination

Study examines lactation in critically ill patients

UVA Engineering Dean Jennifer West earns AIMBE’s 2025 Pierre Galletti Award

Doubling down on metasurfaces

New Cedars-Sinai study shows how specialized diet can improve gut disorders

Making moves and hitting the breaks: Owl journeys surprise researchers in western Montana

PKU Scientists simulate the origin and evolution of the North Atlantic Oscillation

ICRAFT breakthrough: Unlocking A20’s dual role in cancer immunotherapy

How VR technology is changing the game for Alzheimer’s disease

A borrowed bacterial gene allowed some marine diatoms to live on a seaweed diet

Balance between two competing nerve proteins deters symptoms of autism in mice

Use of antifungals in agriculture may increase resistance in an infectious yeast

Awareness grows of cancer risk from alcohol consumption, survey finds

The experts that can outsmart optical illusions

Pregnancy may reduce long COVID risk

Scientists uncover novel immune mechanism in wheat tandem kinase

Three University of Virginia Engineering faculty elected as AAAS Fellows

Unintentional drug overdoses take a toll across the U.S. unequally, study finds

A step toward plant-based gelatin

ECMWF unveils groundbreaking ML tool for enhanced fire prediction

[Press-News.org] Study examines memory and effects on the aging brain