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Several concepts, which in the aggregate get might be used to account for "resilience" against age- and disease-related changes, have been the subject of much research. These include brain reserve, cognitive reserve, and brain maintenance. However, different investigators have use these terms in different ways, and there has never been an attempt to arrive at consensus on the definition of these concepts. Furthermore, there has been confusion regarding the measurement of these constructs and the appropriate ways to apply them to research. Therefore the reserve, resilience, and protective factors professional interest area, established under the auspices of the Alzheimer's Association, established a whitepaper workgroup to develop consensus definitions for cognitive reserve, brain reserve, and brain maintenance. The workgroup also evaluated measures that have been used to implement these concepts in research settings and developed guidelines for research that explores or utilizes these concepts. The workgroup hopes that this whitepaper will form a reference point for researchers in this area and facilitate research by supplying a common language.

Background: Although higher cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) has been linked to better executive function, the mechanisms by which this occurs remain a matter of speculation. One hypothesis is that higher CRF is associated with elevated top-down control in which brain regions processing task-relevant information are up-regulated and brain regions processing task-irrelevant information are down-regulated. Methods: We tested this top-down hypothesis in 50 young adults (μ age = 25.22 ± 5.17 years) by measuring CRF via a graded maximal exercise test and performing functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) during a color-word Stroop task. We used task-evoked functional connectivity, quantified from a psychophysiological interaction analysis (PPI), to test our hypotheses that (a) higher CRF would be associated with greater connectivity between control centers (i.e., prefrontal and parietal areas) and visual feature centers (i.e., occipital areas) that are involved with processing task-relevant stimulus dimensions (i.e., color), and (b) higher CRF would be associated with lower connectivity between control centers and visual feature centers that are involved with processing task-irrelevant dimensions of the stimuli (i.e., word processing areas). Results: Controlling for sex and BMI, we found, consistent with our second hypothesis, that higher CRF was associated with reduced functional connectivity between parietal and occipital areas involved in the task-irrelevant dimension of the task (i.e., word form areas). There were no associations between CRF and functional connectivity with the prefrontal cortex or evidence of heightened connectivity between attentional control and visual feature centers. Conclusions: These results suggest that CRF associations with executive functioning might be explained by CRF-mediated differences between brain regions involved with attentional control (parietal regions) and the down-regulation of regions involved with processing task-irreleva

Aim: To report a case of successful treatment of a classic subfoveal choroidal neovascularization with a transpupillary thermotherapy protocol. Case Report: A 67-year old pensioner presented with a sixmonth history of reduced vision in both eyes. He had been previously diagnosed with primary open angle glaucoma. After anterior and posterior segment examination and fundus fluorescein angiography were done, a diagnosis of a classic subfoveal choroidal neovascularization secondary to exudative age-related macular degeneration OS with bilateral cataracts and primary open angle glaucoma OU was made. Complete resolution of the choroidal neovascular membrane was achieved with transpupillary thermotherapy. Keywords: transpupillary thermotherapy, age-related macular degeneration, subfoveal choroidal neovasularization, fundus fluorescein angiographyNigerian Journal of Opthalmology Vol. 15 (2) 2007: pp. 49-51