Predictors of prose recall in adulthood and old age

One group of young adults and three groups of older adults (young-old, old, old-old) were examined in immediate recall of random and organizable words, and immediate and delayed recall of prose passages. Results showed that all groups of older adults recalled less from the prose passages and the word recall tasks than the younger adults, although there were no performance differences among the three older samples. As well, all age groups showed a similar increase in recall of organizable words compared with random words, and all age groups showed parallel forgetting curves in prose recall. These results suggest that all age groups utilized the organizational support to the same extent, and that forgetting rate was not influenced by age. Regression analyses showed that recall of random and organizable words, education, vocabulary and age all contributed to prose recall performance. Most important, the importance of markers of strategy use (word recall tasks) for prose recall decreased from early to late adulthood, whereas the importance of a semantic memory marker (vocabulary) showed the opposite pattern.     

The aging mind: vascular health in normal cognitive aging

In spite of the breakneck speed at which understanding of the biological basis of the aging process has evolved, the important determinants of aging and longevity have yet to be uncovered. The preservation of cognitive functioning is an essential component of successful aging, and the ability to distinguish those who maintain cognitive health into advanced age from those who experience cognitive decline may influence public health efforts to prevent or delay the onset of cognitive impairment in old age. There is growing evidence implicating vascular risk factors and related subclinical cerebrovascular damage in cognitive impairment and dementia, but Alzheimer's disease is highly prevalent in older populations, and the role of inflammation in vascular and neurodegenerative processes is poorly understood. There is a growing need to examine the effects of these factors on normal cognitive aging. This brief survey of the literature reviews evidence of the roles of subclinical vascular brain damage and exposure to cerebrovascular risk factors in normal cognitive aging.     

Social provisions in adulthood: concept and measurement in close relationships.

Social gerontologists are increasingly concerned about examining the nature of close relationships among the elderly. Theoretically grounded and empirically validated instruments are needed to advance research in this area. We analyzed the psychometric properties of the Social Provisions Scale using data from a probability sample of 494 community residents aged 65 or older. The theoretical foundation of this scale is Weiss's delineation of social support functions of close relationships. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed a pattern in the data that corresponds to the theoretical definition of relational provisions: Factor 1 was Intimacy; Factor 2 was Social Integration; Factor 3 was Reassurance of Worth; and Factor 4 was Opportunity for Nurturance. Alphas for the four scales ranged from .83 to .94. Convergent validity was supported by significant correlations between the Social Provisions Scale (SPS) and respondent's morale, frequency of contact with friends, feelings of closeness with an adult child, relationship control, and relationship conflict. Discriminant validity was supported by nonsignificant correlations between the SPS and the Eysenck Lie Scale.     

Knowledge of memory aging in adulthood

The Knowledge of Memory Aging Questionnaire (KMAQ) measures laypersons' knowledge of memory changes in adulthood for research or educational purposes. Half of the questions pertain to normal memory aging and the other half cover pathological memory deficits due to non-normative factors, such as adult dementia. In this study, we compared memory knowledge in middle age adults (40-59 years), young-old adults (60-79 years) and very old adults (80 years and over). These data were collected as a part of the Louisiana Healthy Aging Study, a multidisciplinary population-based study that examines the determinants of healthy aging in adulthood. Results indicated that very old adults performed more poorly overall. Follow-up analyses revealed that they endorsed stereotyped views of normal memory aging more often than did the other age groups. Analyses of response accuracy by gender yielded comparable performance for men and women. Implications for research and the design of educational programs are considered.     

The hazards of cognitive aging

After a review of findings from the Seattle Longitudinal Study of adult cognitive development, this paper discusses the application of event history analysis, a technique pioneered by sociologists, to data involving changes of states in individual behavior related to human aging. The dependent variable of interest for psychologists and other developmentalists should be the age (calendar or functional) at which the event occurs rather than its index in historical time. Using occurrence of significant decline in cognitive abilities as an exemplar, hazard functions are presented that allow the assessment of risk for future decline, as well as the prediction of the calendar age when individuals can expect cognitive decline under alternative assumptions.     

Adult aging and listening patterns for spoken prose: spontaneous segmentation versus self-paced listening.

Young and older adults were allowed to control the delivery rate of spoken prose for later recall using two methods. In one method (spontaneous segmentation), participants were allowed to interrupt speech passages whenever they wished. In the other method (self-paced listening), speech passages were presented in segments, with participants allowed to initiate presentation of subsequent segments via a key-press. Older adults' segment sizes in the spontaneous segmentation condition were unchanged when the passages were presented for a second time. By contrast, pause latencies to initiating subsequent segments in the self-paced listening condition were affected by experience with the passage. Results suggested that the segment sizes selected in the spontaneous segmentation condition were driven by the linguistic structure and prosody of the speech, rather than reflecting ineffective metamemory on the part of the older adults.     

认知老化过程中视觉功能、加工速度和工作记忆的关系

目的探讨视觉功能、加工速度和工作记忆在认知老化过程中的关系。方法采用临床测查和心理测验法对217名社区老人的视敏度、加工速度和工作记忆进行考察。结果结构方程模型分析表明，年龄对视觉功能的效应值为-0．76，视觉功能对加工速度的效应值为-0．34，加工速度对工作记忆的效应值为-0．68。潜变量“视觉功能”对两个观测指标左右眼视敏度的解释率为0．13和0．11。结论视觉功能、加工速度和工作记忆的老化存在视觉功能-加工速度-工作记忆这样一条层级关系；视敏度不是视觉功能的最好观测指标，尚需寻找更为合适的指标来表达视觉功能的含义。     

Dermatoporosis: A new concept in skin aging

Dermatoporosis is a new concept proposed to cover different manifestations and implications of chronic cutaneous insufficiency/fragility syndrome. This emerging syndrome extends beyond cosmetics and appearance and is considered to be the functional face of skin aging. With increasing number of elderly population, health care professionals should be aware of the potential epidemics of dermatoporosis. Chronic systemic or topical steroid therapy and chronic exposure to ultraviolet irradiation appear to be the major causes of dermatoporosis. CD44-hyaluronate molecular pathways play an important role in the pathogenesis. Further research and clinical trials are needed to find preventive or therapeutic solutions for dermatoporosis.     

Changes in views on aging in later adulthood: the role of cardiovascular events

A number of longitudinal studies have pointed to the long-term impact of different views on aging (VoA) on health in later life, whereas the reverse relationship has rarely been examined. Serious cardiovascular events such as myocardial infarction or stroke are life-threatening events which might in turn lead to changes in VoA. The present longitudinal study examined the effect of a cardiovascular event (CVE) on VoA over a three-year period using pooled data from three waves of the German Ageing Survey (2008, 2011, 2014, age range: 40–95 years). In order to account for alternative explanations for changes in VoA, individuals without CVE (n = 200) were matched to individuals who experienced a CVE (n = 202) using a propensity score matching procedure. Compared to individuals without CVE, individuals who experienced a CVE showed adverse changes in three VoA indicators (self-perceptions of aging as associated with physical losses/with ongoing development; subjective age). These results suggest that CVE can in fact change how individuals view their own aging. According to previous studies, this can lead to future health changes and thus become a health-related downward spiral. Health promotion programs could, therefore, profit by adding specific VoA interventions for individuals who experienced a CVE.     

Mild cognitive impairment: a concept in evolution

The construct of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) has evolved over the past 10 years since the publication of the new MCI definition at the Key Symposium in 2003, but the core criteria have remained unchanged. The construct has been extensively used worldwide, both in clinical and in research settings, to define the grey area between intact cognitive functioning and clinical dementia. A rich set of data regarding occurrence, risk factors and progression of MCI has been generated. Discrepancies between studies can be mostly explained by differences in the operationalization of the criteria, differences in the setting where the criteria have been applied, selection of subjects and length of follow‐up in longitudinal studies. Major controversial issues that remain to be further explored are algorithmic versus clinical classification, reliability of clinical judgment, temporal changes in cognitive performances and predictivity of putative biomarkers. Some suggestions to further develop the MCI construct include the tailoring of the clinical criteria to specific populations and to specific contexts. The addition of biomarkers to the clinical phenotypes is promising but requires deeper investigation. Translation of findings from the specialty clinic to the population setting, although challenging, will enhance uniformity of outcomes. More longitudinal population‐based studies on cognitive ageing and MCI need to be performed to clarify all these issues.     

非痴呆老年人认知功能的差异性:从成功老化到轻度认知损伤

目的：对非痴呆的自诉记忆力减退的老年人,就其总体认知水平而言可能存在相对同源的不同亚型进行初步探讨。方法：对34例调查者进行临床记忆量表等17种神经心理测验,将结果进行Q型聚类分析。结果：15例调查者被诊断为轻度认知损伤,占44％;聚类分析产生6类新样本。结论：在正常老化与早期阿尔茨海默病这一过渡期内,老年人的认知状态是不均质的,其中既有成功老化,也有一般老化,尤其是还存在着具有痴呆发病危险性的认知损伤。     

Developmental programs are kept alive during adulthood by stem cells: The aging aspect

Stem cells are fundamental for life-long preservation of cellular somatic maintenance. Tissue-borne stem cells replenish worn-out critical elements. Provided they remain fit over lifetime, enduring stem cell activities avert the emergence of age-associated chronic degenerative diseases and pathologies.     

The concept of anorexia of aging in late life depression: A cross-sectional analysis of a cohort study.

IntroductionAnorexia of aging (AA) is classically associated with depression. However, robust evidence is lacking regarding general clinic populations. Our aim was to evaluate the association between AA and major depressive disorder (MDD) in geriatric outpatients from a middle-income country.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional analysis of a cohort study. MDD diagnosis was assessed with a psychiatric interview (SCID-5-CV) according to DSM-5 criteria. Depressive symptomatology was assessed by a 15-items Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) and the PHQ-9 questionnaire. Appetite was measured with the Simple Nutrition Appetite Questionnaire (SNAQ), whereas AA was defined as a SNAQ score ≤13 points). Linear and logistic regression analysis adjusted for potential confounders were applied to assess the association between depressive symptomatology, MDD and AA.ResultsOf the total 339 participants, MDD was present in 65. AA was more frequent in patients with MDD compared to non-depressed patients (30.7 versus 7.7%; p<0.001). The SNAQ score was lower in depressed patients (14.5 vs. 16.6, p<0.001). Adjusted for confounding, linear and logistic regression showed a significant association between the GDS score, PHQ-9 score and MDD with the SNAQ score (p<0.001) and cut-off representing AA (p<0.001), respectively. Moreover, MDD and AA interacted significantly with their association with weight loss (p<0.001).ConclusionsDepression scales (even without somatic complaints) and MDD were associated with AA in geriatric outpatients. AA is associated with weight loss in MDD. Prospective studies should expand these findings.     

特发性成人肝内胆管缺失症1例报道

特发性成人肝内胆管缺失症（idiopathic adulthood ductopenia，IAD）是一种病因不明、以肝内小叶间胆管缺乏为病理学特征的慢性胆汁淤积性肝病。现将北京友谊医院收治的1例IAD患者报道如下。