285 research outputs found
Telomere length is age-dependent and reduced in monocytes of Alzheimer patients
No full textAbstractTelomeres are regions of repetitive DNA at the end of eukaryotic chromosomes, which prevent chromosomal instability. Telomere shortening is linked to age-related disease including Alzheimer's disease (AD) and has been reported to be reduced in leukocytes of AD patients. The aim of the present study was to measure telomere length in monocytes of patients with AD or mild cognitive impairment (MCI) compared to healthy subjects. Our data show significant shorter telomere length in AD patients (6.6±0.2kb; p=0.05) compared to controls (7.3±0.2kb). Telomere length of MCI patients did not differ compared to healthy subjects (7.0±0.2kb). We observe a strong correlation between telomere length and age (p=0.01, r=−0.38), but no association between telomere length and Mini-Mental State Examination score. In conclusion, the telomere length is age-dependent in monocytes and decreased in AD patients, which could mean that the AD pathology may contribute to telomere length shortening. The high variability of telomere lengths in individuals suggests that it will not be useful as a general biomarker for AD. However, it could become a biomarker in personalized long-term monitoring of an individuals’ health
Networks of Depression and Cognition in Elderly Psychiatric Patients
No full text Abstract. Objective: Applying the network approach to explore connections between depression and cognition in dependency on cognitive status. Methods: 264 patients from a ward for geriatric psychiatry with depressive symptoms and/or cognitive impairment were included in the study. Assessments of neuropsychological functioning (CERAD, TMT, Clock) and depression (Geriatric Depression Scale) were used. Results: “Hopelessness” and “loss of energy” are the most pivotal nodes in the depression network. Various connections were found when cognitive status differed. “Social withdrawal” connects depression and cognition in the noncognitively impaired group and “subjective memory complaints” and “anxiety” in the cognitively impaired group. Conclusions: Network analyses provide new insights into the complexity of associations. Practical implications for targeted clinical interventions on the connection points are discussed. </jats:p
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