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Neurotrophic factors are now recognized to play important roles in the normal function of the mature central nervous system. This knowledge has motivated experiments to evaluate the potential benefits of administering neurotrophic factors to the aged brain. This article provides a review of studies to date that have determined the behavioral effects of such treatments. Nerve growth factor (NGF) administration...
Dietary supplementation with fruit or vegetable extracts can ameliorate age-related declines in measures of learning, memory, motor performance, and neuronal signal transduction in a rat model. To date, blueberries have proved most effective at improving measures of motor performance, spatial learning and memory, and neuronal functioning in old rats. In an effort to further characterize the bioactive...
The role of growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) in normal brain function is not well understood. Studies looking at cognition in humans with GH deficiency have produced controversial results. Experiments in which GH is administered to rodents have shown an apparent improvement in learning and memory. However, studies in which GH deficient or resistant mice were tested in learning...
Androgen levels decline with aging. Some androgens may exert anti-anxiety and cognitive-enhancing effects; however, determining which androgens have anxiolytic-like and/or mnemonic effects is of interest given the different mechanisms that may underlie some of their effects. For example, the 5α-reduced metabolite of testosterone (T), dihydrotesterone, can be further converted to 5α-androstane,17β-diol-3α-diol...
On 28–29 September 2004, the National Institute on Aging (NIA) convened scientists for a workshop on the aging female brain focused on translating into clinical practice discoveries concerning estrogens and progestogens. Workshop objectives were to examine effects of estrogen and progestogen on brain and cognitive function in relation to aging, to examine consistencies and apparent discrepancies between...
Androgen levels decline with aging. Some androgens may exert anti-anxiety and cognitive-enhancing effects; however, determining which androgens have anxiolytic-like and/or mnemonic effects is of interest given the different mechanisms that may underlie some of their effects. For example, the 5α-reduced metabolite of testosterone (T), dihydrotesterone, can be further converted to 5α-androstane,17β-diol-3α-diol...
Emotion and spatial cognitive aspects were assessed in adult and middle-aged rats using the elevated T-maze (ETM) and the Morris water maze (MWM) tasks. Both adult and middle-aged rats were able to acquire inhibitory avoidance behaviour, though the middle-aged subjects showed larger latencies along the trials, including the baseline, which was significantly longer than that showed by adult rats. Further,...
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most prevalent form of dementia, affecting an estimated 4.8 million people in North America. For the past decade, the amyloid cascade hypothesis has dominated the field of AD research. This theory posits that the deposition of amyloid-beta protein (Aβ) in the brain is the key pathologic event in AD, which induces a series of neuropathological changes that manifest as...
Inflammation may contribute to cognitive decline and dementia. This study examined the cross-sectional relationships between markers of systemic inflammation (C-reactive protein, interleukins-1β, -6, -8, -10, -12, plasminogen activator inhibitor, serum amyloid A, tumour necrosis factor-α and vascular adhesion molecule-1) and cognitive function in 873 non-demented community-dwelling elderly participants...
Behavioral analysis is a high-end read-out of aging impact on an organism, and here, we have analyzed behaviors in 4-, 22-, and 28-month-old male C57BL/6J with a broad range of tests. For comparison, a group of 28-month-old males maintained on dietary restriction (DR) was included. The most conspicuous alteration was the decline in exploration activity with advancing age. Aging also affected other...
The Bcl-2 gene is a major regulator of neural plasticity and cellular resilience. A single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the Bcl-2 gene, Bcl-2 rs956572, significantly modulates the expression of Bcl-2 protein and cellular vulnerability to apoptosis. This study investigated the association between the Bcl-2 rs956572 SNP and brain structural abnormalities in non-demented elders, and to test the relationship...
Identification of predictors of cognitive trajectories through the establishment of composite or single-parameter dimensional categories of cognition and mood may facilitate development of strategies to improve quality of life in the elderly. Participants (n = 487, aged 50+ years) were representative of the Portuguese population in terms of age, gender, and educational status. Cognitive and mood profiles...
The molecular mechanisms underlying cognitive decline during healthy aging remain largely unknown. Utilizing aged wild-type C57BL/6 mice as a model for normal aging, we tested the hypothesis that cognitive performance, memory, and learning as assessed in established behavioral testing paradigms are correlated with the differential expression of isoforms of the Homer family of synaptic scaffolding...
Obestatin has been proposed to have anorexigenic and anti-ghrelin actions. The objective was to study obestatin concentrations in relation to handgrip strength, functional capacity and cognitive state in old women. The prospective study included 110 women (age, 76.93 ± 6.32) from the Mataró Ageing Study. Individuals were characterized by anthropometric variables, grip strength, Barthel and assessment...
Moderate alcohol consumption (one to two drinks per day) has been associated with better cognitive function and lower risk of developing dementia in the elderly. In light of alcohol’s well-known neurotoxic properties, more evidence from well-controlled population-based studies is required. The objective of this study was to examine whether self-reported alcohol intake at age 70 is linked to cognitive...
Type 2 diabetes predicts accelerated cognitive decline and brain atrophy. We hypothesized that impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and incident glucose disorders have detrimental effects on global cognition and brain volume. We further hypothesized that metabolic and inflammatory derangements accompanying hyperglycaemia contribute to change in brain structure and function. This was a longitudinal study...
In the aging society, it is important to identify very old persons at high risk of functional decline, cardiovascular disease and mortality. However, traditional risk markers lose their predictive value with age. We investigated whether plasma N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels predict change in functional status, cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in very old age. Here...
Vascular aging consists of complex and multifaceted processes that may be influenced by genetic polymorphisms of the renin-angiotensin system. A polymorphism in the angiotensin II type 1 receptor gene (AGTR1/rs5186) has been associated with an increased risk for arterial stiffness, hypertension, and ischemic stroke. Despite these identified relationships, the impact of AGTR1 A1166C on white matter...
The APOE ε2/3/4 genotype has been associated with low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and Alzheimer disease. However, evidence for associations with measures of cognitive performance in adults without dementia has been mixed, as it is for physical performance. Associations may also be evident in other genotypes implicated in LDL-C levels. As part of the Healthy Ageing across the Life Course...
The effects of physical activity on cognition in older adults have been extensively investigated in the last decade. Different interventions such as aerobic, strength, and gross motor training programs have resulted in improvements in cognitive functions. However, the mechanisms underlying the relationship between physical activity and cognition are still poorly understood. Recently, it was shown...
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