Search

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a rapidly growing global concern due to a consistent rise of the prevalence of dementia which is mainly caused by the aging population worldwide. An early diagnosis of AD remains important as interventions are plausibly more effective when started at the earliest stages. Recent developments in clinical research have focused on the use of blood-based biomarkers for improve diagnosis/prognosis of neurodegenerative diseases, particularly AD. Unlike invasive cerebrospinal fluid tests, circulating biomarkers are less invasive and will become increasingly cheaper and simple to use in larger number of patients with mild symptoms or at risk of dementia. In addition to AD-specific markers, there is growing interest in biomarkers of inflammaging/neuro-inflammaging, an age-related chronic low-grade inflammatory condition increasingly recognized as one of the main risk factor for almost all age-related diseases, including AD. Several inflammatory markers have been associated with cognitive performance and AD development and progression. The presence of senescent cells, a key driver of inflammaging, has also been linked to AD pathogenesis, and senolytic therapy is emerging as a potential treatment strategy. Here, we describe blood-based biomarkers clinically relevant for AD diagnosis/prognosis and biomarkers of inflammaging associated with AD. Through a systematic review approach, we propose that a combination of circulating neurodegeneration and inflammatory biomarkers may contribute to improving early diagnosis and prognosis, as well as providing valuable insights into the trajectory of cognitive decline and dementia in the aging population., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed routine care practice for older persons, especially in those with frailty living in long term care (LTC) facilities. Due to the high mortality rates of Nursing home (NH) residents during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, priority for COVID-19 vaccinations was given to this vulnerable population. However, the safety and efficacy of such vaccines in older frail elders remains questionable due to the fact that initial randomized clinical trials (RCTs) for such vaccines did not include this population. This type of discrimination in patient participation in RCTs continues and has been recognized in the literature. Nevertheless, in the context of a worldwide emergency, COVID-19 vaccination in older persons living in LTC facilities may provide a solid basis to protect against negative outcomes, such as COVID-19 infection and death. In this report, we present the protocol of the GeroCovid Vax study, an Italian study that began in February 2021 which is aimed at investigating the safety and efficacy of the anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccinations in older persons living in LTCs. This protocol specially aims to continuously and closely monitor events related to- and following- the anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in elderly living in LTC facilities. In this report, we will provide information related to the study protocol and describe baseline characteristics of the sample., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

We examined whether adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet has positive effects on mobility assessed over a 9-year follow-up in a representative sample of older adults. This research is part of the InCHIANTI Study, a prospective population-based study of older persons in Tuscany, Italy. The sample for this analysis included 935 women and men aged 65 years and older. Adherence to the Mediterranean diet was assessed at baseline by the standard 10-unit Mediterranean diet score (MDS). Lower extremity function was measured at baseline, and at the 3-, 6- and 9-year follow-up visits using the short physical performance battery (SPPB). At baseline, higher adherence to Mediterranean diet was associated with better lower body performance. Participants with higher adherence experienced less decline in SPPB score, which was of 0.9 points higher (p<.0001) at the 3-year-follow, 1.1 points higher (p=0.0004) at the 6-year follow-up and 0.9 points higher (p=0.04) at the 9-year follow-up compared to those with lower adherence. Among participants free of mobility disability at baseline, those with higher adherence had a lower risk (HR=0.71, 95% CI=0.51-0.98, p=0.04) of developing new mobility disability. High adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet is associated with a slower decline of mobility over time in community-dwelling older persons. If replicated, this observation is highly relevant in terms of public health., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

We tested here the impact of a long-term inhibition of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) with sitagliptin on the deposition of amyloid-beta within the brain and deficits in memory-related behavioral paradigms in a model of Alzheimer's disease (AD): double transgenic mice B6*Cg-Tg(APPswe,PSEN1dE9)85Dbo/J. Mice began to receive sitagliptin at 7 months of age. Three different dose of sitagliptin (5, 10 and 20 mg/kg), were administered daily for 12 weeks by gastric gavage. The treatments counteracted: (i) the memory impairment in the contextual fear conditioning test; (ii) increased the brain levels of GLP-1; (iii) produced significant reductions of nitrosative stress and inflammation hallmarks within the brain, as well as (iv) a significant diminution in the ultimate number and total area of betaAPP and Abeta deposits. All these effects much more evident for the dose of 20 mg/kg sitagliptin. The long-term inhibition of the endogenous DPP-4 enzymes with sitagliptin can significantly delay some forms of AD pathology, including amyloid deposition, when administered early in the disease course of a transgenic mouse model of AD., (Copyright 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Aging, oxidative stress and insulin resistance are strongly correlated. There is a growing body of evidence showing that aging is associated with a significant rise in oxidative stress mainly due to a decline in anti-oxidant activity and a rise in pro-oxidant factors such as glucose and insulin concentrations. Furthermore, aging is also associated with a progressive rise in insulin resistance which is due to a complex network of environmental, anthropometric and neuro-hormonal factors. It is noteworthy that extreme longevity, e.g. centenarians, is associated with a low degree of oxidative stress and insulin resistance. The causes for such differences between aged subjects and centenarians is not fully understood. It is likely that a specific genetic background might play a role. However, the insulin gene does not seem to be involved for explaining such age-related differences.