Effects of Daily Matcha and Caffeine Intake on Mild Acute Psychological Stress-Related Cognitive Function in Middle-Aged and Older Adults: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Study

Matcha, a type of green tea, has a higher amino acid content than other types of tea. We previously examined the ability of matcha to improve cognitive function in older adults and determined that continuous matcha intake improves attention and executive function. This study aimed to compare the effects of matcha and caffeine and clarify the differences between these effects. The study was registered at the University Hospital Medical Information Network (UMIN000036578). The effect of single and continuous intake was compared, and the usefulness of continuous intake was evaluated under the stress condition. The Uchida–Kraepelin test (UKT) was used to induce mild acute stress, and the Cognitrax was used to evaluate cognitive function. A single dose of caffeine improved attentional function during or after stress loading. The reduced reaction time in the Cognitrax, observed following a single dose of matcha, was likely due to caffeine. The matcha group showed an increase in the amount of work after continuous intake, whereas the caffeine group only showed an increase in the amount of work for the UKT after a single dose. Ingesting matcha with caffeine improves both attention and work performance when suffering from psychological stress compared with caffeine alone.     

孕期胆固醇和氧化固醇与子代认知发育

胆固醇是大脑发育的重要物质基础,胚胎和胎儿发育需要母体持续转运胆固醇,氧化固醇是胆固醇的代谢物,包括胆固醇合成途径中的前体物和分结代谢过程中产生的代谢产物,可能与大脑功能密切相关。人群研究发现,孕妇血清/浆胆固醇水平与子代多动症、孤独症谱系障碍发病风险有关,但尚需进一步确证。     

Combined Effects of Cognitive Impairment and Nutritional Trajectories on Functional Recovery for Older Patients after Hip-Fracture Surgery

ObjectivesMalnutrition and cognitive impairment are associated with poor functional recovery in older adults following hip-fracture surgery. This study examined the combined effects of cognitive impairment and nutritional trajectories on postoperative functional recovery for older adults following hip-fracture surgery.DesignProspective longitudinal correlational study.Setting and ParticipantsThis study recruited 350 older adults (≥60 years of age) who received hip-fracture surgery at a 3000-bed medical center in northern Taiwan from September 2012 to March 2020.MethodsParticipant data were collected over a 2-year period after surgery for nutritional and cognitive status and activities of daily living (ADLs). Participants were grouped by type of nutritional trajectory using group-based trajectory modeling. Generalized estimating equations analyzed associations between trajectory groups/cognitive status at discharge and performance of ADLs.ResultsNutritional trajectories best fit a 3-group trajectory model: malnourished (19%), at-risk of malnutrition (40%), and well-nourished (41%). Nutritional status for the malnourished group declined from 12 months to 24 months following surgery; nutritional status remained stable for at-risk of malnutrition and well-nourished groups. Interactions for cognitive impairment-by-nutritional status were significant: the malnourished + intact cognition subgroup had significantly better ADLs than the malnourished + cognitive impairment subgroup (b = 27.1, 95% confidence interval = 14.0–40.2; P < .001). For at-risk of malnutrition and well-nourished groups, there were no significant differences between cognitive impairment and intact cognition in ADLs. These findings suggest that nutritional status may buffer the negative effect of cognitive impairment on ADLs.Conclusions and ImplicationsBetter nutritional status over time for older adults following hip fracture can protect against adverse influences of cognitive impairment on ADLs during postoperative recovery. Participants with malnutrition and cognitive impairment had the poorest ADLs. These findings suggest interventions tailored to improving nutritional status may improve recovery for older adults following hip-fracture surgery.     

Factors influencing routine cognitive impairment screening in older at-risk drinkers: Findings from a qualitative study in the United Kingdom

Cognitive Impairment (CI) screening is recommended for those engaged in harmful levels of alcohol use. However, there is a lack of evidence on implementation. This paper explores the barriers and facilitators to CI screening experienced across a service specifically for older drinkers. The findings draw on data gathered as part of an evaluation of a multilevel programme to reduce alcohol-related harm in adults aged 50 and over in five demonstration areas across the United Kingdom. It is based on qualitative interviews and focus groups with 14 service providers and 22 service users. Findings are presented thematically under the section headings: acceptability of screening, interpretation and making sense of screening and treatment options. It is suggested that engagement with CI screening is most likely when its fit with agency culture and its purpose is clear; where service providers have the technical skills to administer and discuss the results of screening with service users; and where those undertaking screening have had the opportunity to reflect on their own experience of being screened. Engagement with CI screening is also most likely where specific intervention pathways and engagement practices can be accessed to respond to assessed need.     

Phenotypic assortative mating vs. social homogamy among Japanese and Chinese parents in the Hawaii Family Study of Cognition

Among the subjects of Japanese and Chinese ancestries in the parent generation in the Hawaii Family Study of Cognition were 47 pairs of siblings. Since data were available on the spouses of these siblings, this allowed for tests of whether spouse correlations of educational and occupational attainment and cognitive abilities were due to active phenotypic assortment and/or shared social background (social homogamy). Comparisons of sibling correlations, spouse correlations, and correlations between the spouse of one sibling and the spouse of the other sibling, as well as the results of model-fitting analyses, suggest that spouse correlations for education are determined by both phenotypic assortment and social homogamy, spouse correlations for occupational attainment by phenotypic assortment, and spouse correlations for verbal ability mostly by social homogamy.The results reported here were made possible by a collaboration of a group of investigators (G. C. Ashton, R. C. Johnson, M. P. Mi, and M. N. Rashad at the University of Hawaii and J. C. DeFries, G.E. McClearn, S. G. Vandenberg, and J. R. Wilson at the University of Colorado) supported by NSF Grant GB-34720 and Grant HD-06669 from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.     

Cognitive impairment in Parkinson's disease: amyloid plaques, neurofibrillary tangles, and neuropil threads in the cerebral cortex

Summary Sensitive silver methods for extracellular amyloid and intraneuronal cytoskeleton abnormalities (neurofibrillary tangles and neuropil threads) were employed to examine the cortical pathology in Parkinson's disease. In cases with cognitive impairment many plaque-like amyloid deposits were found in the cerebral cortex. Neuritic plaques were rare or absent. Neither the Ammon's horn nor the isocortex revealed a sufficiently large number of tangles to permit the diagnosis of a coexisting fully developed Alzheimer's disease. Large numbers of neurofibrillary tangles and neuropil threads were only found in layer Pre- of the entorhinal cortex. This layer gives rise to major portions of the perforant tract, a pathway which serves as a link in the transmission of data from isocortical association areas to the hippocampal formation. During the course of Parkinson's disease the hippocampal formation is thus endangered to become disrupted from isocortical influences. It is concluded that the cognitive impairment shown by many individuals suffering from Parkinson's disease may partly be caused by cortical lesions.     

Post-stroke depression: Relationships with morphological damage and cognition over time

The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationships between poststroke depression (PSD), lesion location and cognitive deficits after stroke. We studied 20 patients within the first month after clinical onset (T1), and one year later (T2). PSD was observed in 55% of patients at T1 and 35% of patients at T2. At T1, depression was reliably correlated with dorsal lesions in the right-hemisphere and anterior lesions in the left hemisphere. Lesion location was no longer a significant factor determining PSD at T2. Changes in PSD, from T1 to T2, were inversely correlated with the performances in cognitive tests exploring the domains of attention, visuospatial learning, executive/motor functions, and with the global composite cognitive score. Our data suggest that: 1) in the mix of influences that may produce PSD, lesion location is the main factor determining mood changes after stroke in the first month; 2) PSD produces deficits in attention, learning, and executive/motor functions, without affecting language and other cognitive domains.

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Sommario Scopo di questo studio sono i rapporti tra la depressione post-stroke (PSD), la localizzazione della lesione cerebrovascolare e i disturbi cognitivi conseguenti alla lesione. Abbiamo studiato 20 pazienti entro il primo mese dall'episodio ictale (T1) ed un anno dopo (T2). La PSD era osservabile nel 55% dei pazienti a T1 e nel 35% dei pazienti a T2. A T1, la PSD era significativamente correlata con lesioni dorsali nell'emisfero di destra e con lesioni anteriori nell'emisfero di sinistra. Queste correlazioni non erano più significative a T2. Le variazioni della PSD da T1 a T2 erano inversamente correlate con le prestazioni dei pazienti a compiti cognitivi di attenzione, apprendimento visuospaziale, funzioni esecutivo/motorie, e con un punteggio cognitivo composito.Questi dati suggeriscono che: 1) tra le numerose cause che possono produrre la PSD, la localizzazione della lesione sembra essere il fattore principale nel primo mese dopo l'episodio cerebrovascolare; 2) la PSD produce disturbi attentivi, di apprendimento visuospaziale ed esecutivi/motori senza determinare disturbi nella sfera del linguaggio e di altre funzioni cognitive.