Lifelong bilingualism, cognitive reserve and Alzheimer’s disease

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 171-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian T. Gold
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Control Systems ◽  
Executive Control ◽  
Cognitive Reserve ◽  
Symptom Expression ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Aging Society ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Growing Body

Abstract Increasing our understanding about neuroprotective lifestyle variables has become a practical imperative in our aging society. Cognitive reserve (CR) refers to the use brain resources in a way that allows for coping with neuropathology and maintaining cognitive functioning. A growing body of evidence suggests that bilingualism may represent a form of CR against Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The purpose of the present review is to summarize both behavioral and neuroimaging evidence for bilingualism as a reserve variable against AD. The potential influences of literacy, intelligence, immigration status are discussed. Evidence is reviewed suggesting that bilingualism may delay clinical AD symptoms by protecting against age-related declines in the brain’s executive control circuitry. It is suggested that such potential beneficial effects within executive control systems may enable bilinguals to circumvent the typical effects of AD pathology on symptom expression for several years.

scholarly journals Experimental Evidence of the Benefits of Acupuncture for Alzheimer's Disease: An Updated Review

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chao-Chao Yu ◽  
Yan-Jun Du ◽  
Shu-Qin Wang ◽  
Le-Bin Liu ◽  
Feng Shen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Neuronal Apoptosis ◽  
Tau Phosphorylation ◽  
Therapeutic Effects ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Brain Responses ◽  
Growing Body ◽  
Neuron Function ◽  
Global Population

As the global population ages, the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease (AD), the most common form of dementia, is also increasing. At present, there are no widely recognized drugs able to ameliorate the cognitive dysfunction caused by AD. The failure of several promising clinical trials in recent years has highlighted the urgent need for novel strategies to both prevent and treat AD. Notably, a growing body of literature supports the efficacy of acupuncture for AD. In this review, we summarize the previously reported mechanisms of acupuncture's beneficial effects in AD, including the ability of acupuncture to modulate Aβ metabolism, tau phosphorylation, neurotransmitters, neurogenesis, synapse and neuron function, autophagy, neuronal apoptosis, neuroinflammation, cerebral glucose metabolism, and brain responses. Taken together, these findings suggest that acupuncture provides therapeutic effects for AD.

scholarly journals Delaying Onset of Dementia: Are Two Languages Enough?

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morris Freedman ◽  
Suvarna Alladi ◽  
Howard Chertkow ◽  
Ellen Bialystok ◽  
Fergus I. M. Craik ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Protective Effect ◽  
Executive Control ◽  
Cognitive Reserve ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Occupational Status ◽  
Protective Effects ◽  
Significant Protective Effect ◽  
Multicultural Perspective

There is an emerging literature suggesting that speaking two or more languages may significantly delay the onset of dementia. Although the mechanisms are unknown, it has been suggested that these may involve cognitive reserve, a concept that has been associated with factors such as higher levels of education, occupational status, social networks, and physical exercise. In the case of bilingualism, cognitive reserve may involve reorganization and strengthening of neural networks that enhance executive control. We review evidence for protective effects of bilingualism from a multicultural perspective involving studies in Toronto and Montreal, Canada, and Hyderabad, India. Reports from Toronto and Hyderabad showed a significant effect of speaking two or more languages in delaying onset of Alzheimer’s disease by up to 5 years, whereas the Montreal study showed a significant protective effect of speaking at least four languages and a protective effect of speaking at least two languages in immigrants. Although there were differences in results across studies, a common theme was the significant effect of language use history as one of the factors in determining the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. Moreover, the Hyderabad study extended the findings to frontotemporal dementia and vascular dementia.

scholarly journals 402 - Cognitive reserve and linguistic skills in Spanish older adults with Alzheimer’s disease

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (S1) ◽  
pp. 118-118
Author(s):  
Cristina G. Dumitrache ◽  
Laura Rubio ◽  
Nuria Calet ◽  
José Andrés González ◽  
Ian C. Simpson
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Regression Analysis ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Cognitive Reserve ◽  
Short Form ◽  
Semantic Fluency ◽  
Global Deterioration Scale ◽  
Age Related

Background:Cognitive reserve, or the extent to which brain can cope with damage, is associated with extended healthy aging and with slow age-related cognitive decline, as well as a lower number of dementia-associated clinical cognitive signs. Thus, understanding how cognitive reserve might affect different cognitive abilities is important. This study aims at investigating the associations between cognitive reserve and linguistic abilities in a group of Spanish older adults with Alzheimer’s disease.Method:The sample comprised 25 older adults with a clinical diagnostic of AD with mild to moderate dementia, and 25 controls who were residing in care homes from the province of Granada and with ages between 52 and 92 years old (M= 83.40, SD= 7.18). The Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Global Deterioration Scale, the Cognitive Reserve Questionnaire, and the Short Form of the Boston Naming Test for Individuals with Aphasia were used to collect data. Correlations and regression analysis were performed.Results:Results showed that cognitive reserve positively and significantly correlated with naming and with phonological fluency but not with semantic fluency word or sentence repetitions or with the global cognitive functioning and the severity of cognitive impairment. The regression analysis showed that cognitive reserve explained 24.7% of the variance in spontaneous naming (F=3.764, p=.039). On the contrary cognitive reserve did not predict verbal fluency.Conclusions:People with higher cognitive reserve score obtained higher scores in phonological fluency and in spontaneous naming and in naming after a semantic clue. Thus, cognitive reserve is linked with better linguistic abilities in AD patients and therefore it should be considered when designing speech therapy interventions for these patients.

scholarly journals Pharmacological inhibition of soluble epoxide hydrolase as a new therapy for Alzheimer’s Disease

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Griñán-Ferré ◽  
Sandra Codony ◽  
Eugènia Pujol ◽  
Jun Yang ◽  
Rosana Leiva ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Epoxide Hydrolase ◽  
Soluble Epoxide Hydrolase ◽  
Therapeutic Effects ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Novel Target ◽  
Age Related Cognitive Decline

AbstractThe inhibition of the enzyme soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) has demonstrated clinical therapeutic effects in several peripheral inflammatory-related diseases, with two compounds that have entered clinical trials. However, the role of this enzyme in the neuroinflammation process has been largely neglected. Herein, we disclose the pharmacological validation of sEH as a novel target for the treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). Of interest, we have found that sEH is upregulated in brains from AD patients. We have evaluated the cognitive impairment and the pathological hallmarks in two models of age-related cognitive decline and AD using three structurally different and potent sEH inhibitors as chemical probes. Our findings supported our expectations on the beneficial effects of central sEH inhibition, regarding of reducing cognitive impairment, tau hyperphosphorylation pathology and the number of amyloid plaques. Interestingly, our results suggest that reduction of inflammation in the brain is a relevant therapeutic strategy for all stages of AD.

scholarly journals The Effects of SIRT1 on Alzheimer's Disease Models

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gizem Donmez
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Risk Factor ◽  
Animal Models ◽  
Mouse Models ◽  
Neurodegenerative Disorders ◽  
Disease Models ◽  
Protective Effects ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Age Related

Sirtuins are highly conserved NAD+-dependent enzymes that were shown to have beneficial effects against age-related diseases. Aging is the major risk factor for all neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). Sirtuins have been widely studied in the context of AD using different mouse models. In most of these studies, overexpression of SIRT1 has been shown to have protective effects against AD. Therefore, designing therapeutics based on increasing SIRT1 activity might be important for investigating the ways of treatment for this disease. This paper summarizes the recent research on the effect of SIRT1 in AD animal models and also the potential of SIRT1 being a therapeutical target for AD.

P2-296: BILINGUALISM, EXECUTIVE CONTROL, AND COGNITIVE RESERVE: IMPLICATIONS FOR PREVENTION OF ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. P586-P586 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony Martyr ◽  
John V. Hindle ◽  
Christopher J. Whitaker ◽  
Fergus I.M. Craik ◽  
Ellen Bialystok ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Executive Control ◽  
Cognitive Reserve

Emerging Promise of Immunotherapy for Alzheimer’s Disease: A New Hope for the Development of Alzheimer’s Vaccine

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (13) ◽  
pp. 1214-1234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Md. Tanvir Kabir ◽  
Md. Sahab Uddin ◽  
Bijo Mathew ◽  
Pankoj Kumar Das ◽  
Asma Perveen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Immune Response ◽  
Neutralizing Antibodies ◽  
Neurodegenerative Disorder ◽  
Symptomatic Relief ◽  
Aβ Oligomers ◽  
Th2 Immune Response ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Anti Inflammatory

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disorder and the characteristics of this devastating disorder include the progressive and disabling deficits in the cognitive functions including reasoning, attention, judgment, comprehension, memory, and language. Objective: In this article, we have focused on the recent progress that has been achieved in the development of an effective AD vaccine. Summary: Currently, available treatment options of AD are limited to deliver short-term symptomatic relief only. A number of strategies targeting amyloid-beta (Aβ) have been developed in order to treat or prevent AD. In order to exert an effective immune response, an AD vaccine should contain adjuvants that can induce an effective anti-inflammatory T helper 2 (Th2) immune response. AD vaccines should also possess the immunogens which have the capacity to stimulate a protective immune response against various cytotoxic Aβ conformers. The induction of an effective vaccine’s immune response would necessitate the parallel delivery of immunogen to dendritic cells (DCs) and their priming to stimulate a Th2-polarized response. The aforesaid immune response is likely to mediate the generation of neutralizing antibodies against the neurotoxic Aβ oligomers (AβOs) and also anti-inflammatory cytokines, thus preventing the AD-related inflammation. Conclusion: Since there is an age-related decline in the immune functions, therefore vaccines are more likely to prevent AD instead of providing treatment. AD vaccines might be an effective and convenient approach to avoid the treatment-related huge expense.

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