scholarly journals The Role of Acupuncture Improving Cognitive Deficits due to Alzheimer’s Disease or Vascular Diseases through Regulating Neuroplasticity

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Shaozhen Ji ◽  
Jiayu Duan ◽  
Xiaobing Hou ◽  
Li Zhou ◽  
Weilan Qin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Cognitive Deficits ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Vascular Diseases ◽  
Network Connectivity ◽  
Complementary Therapy ◽  
Vascular Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Brain Network ◽  
Brain Network Connectivity

Dementia affects millions of elderly worldwide causing remarkable costs to society, but effective treatment is still lacking. Acupuncture is one of the complementary therapies that has been applied to cognitive deficits such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and vascular cognitive impairment (VCI), while the underlying mechanisms of its therapeutic efficiency remain elusive. Neuroplasticity is defined as the ability of the nervous system to adapt to internal and external environmental changes, which may support some data to clarify mechanisms how acupuncture improves cognitive impairments. This review summarizes the up-to-date and comprehensive information on the effectiveness of acupuncture treatment on neurogenesis and gliogenesis, synaptic plasticity, related regulatory factors, and signaling pathways, as well as brain network connectivity, to lay ground for fully elucidating the potential mechanism of acupuncture on the regulation of neuroplasticity and promoting its clinical application as a complementary therapy for AD and VCI.

Structural Brain Network Correlated with Reading Impairment in Alzheimer’s Disease

2020 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 264-269
Author(s):  
Miho Ota ◽  
Yuko Koshibe ◽  
Shinji Higashi ◽  
Kiyotaka Nemoto ◽  
Eriko Tsukada ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Negative Correlation ◽  
Network Connectivity ◽  
Japanese Patients ◽  
Significant Negative Correlation ◽  
Brain Network ◽  
Clustering Coefficient ◽  
Reading Impairment ◽  
Brain Network Connectivity

<b><i>Aim:</i></b> Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common age-related neurodegenerative disease and leads to dementia. AD is characterized by progressive declines in memory and, as the disease progresses, language dysfunction. Although it has been reported that AD patients show progressive aphasia, no study has examined the relationship between language functions estimated by the Standard Language Test for Aphasia (SLTA) and brain network connectivity in Japanese AD patients. If present, such a relationship would be of particular interest because Japanese speakers are accustomed to mingling ideography and phonography. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> 22 Japanese patients with AD who underwent 1.5-tesla MRI scan and SLTA, the scale for speech and reading impairment, participated in this study. We computed brain network connectivity metrics such as degree, betweenness centrality, and clustering coefficient, and estimated their relationships with the subscores of SLTA. <b><i>Results</i></b>: There was a significant negative correlation between the score for “reading aloud Kanji words” and the clustering coefficient in the left inferior temporal region, bilateral hippocampal regions, and right parietotemporal region. We also found a significant negative correlation between the score for “auditory comprehension of words” and the clustering coefficient in the left prefrontal region. No significant relationship was found between the other SLTA scores and the network metrics. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> Our data suggest relationships between reading impairments and regional brain network connectivity in Japanese patients with AD. The brain connectome may provide adjunct biological information that could improve our understanding of reading impairment.

Abnormal Brain Network Connectivity in a Triple-Network Model of Alzheimer’s Disease

2019 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 237-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chenxi Li ◽  
Youjun Li ◽  
Liang Zheng ◽  
Xiaoqi Zhu ◽  
Bixin Shao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Network Model ◽  
Network Connectivity ◽  
Brain Network ◽  
Model Of Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Brain Network Connectivity ◽  
Abnormal Brain

Graph Theory-Based Brain Network Connectivity Analysis and Classification of Alzheimer’s Disease

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Thushara ◽  
C. Ushadevi Amma ◽  
Ansamma John
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Graph Theory ◽  
Neurodegenerative Disorder ◽  
Brain Networks ◽  
Network Connectivity ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Brain Network ◽  
Fiber Tracts ◽  
The Brain

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is basically a progressive neurodegenerative disorder associated with abnormal brain networks that affect millions of elderly people and degrades their quality of life. The abnormalities in brain networks are due to the disruption of White Matter (WM) fiber tracts that connect the brain regions. Diffusion-Weighted Imaging (DWI) captures the brain’s WM integrity. Here, the correlation betwixt the WM degeneration and also AD is investigated by utilizing graph theory as well as Machine Learning (ML) algorithms. By using the DW image obtained from Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) database, the brain graph of each subject is constructed. The features extracted from the brain graph form the basis to differentiate between Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), Control Normal (CN) and AD subjects. Performance evaluation is done using binary and multiclass classification algorithms and obtained an accuracy that outperforms the current top-notch DWI-based studies.

scholarly journals Plasma osteopontin as a biomarker of Alzheimer’s disease and vascular cognitive impairment

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuek Ling Chai ◽  
Joyce R. Chong ◽  
Ainiah R. Raquib ◽  
Xin Xu ◽  
Saima Hilal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Inflammatory Cytokines ◽  
Inflammatory Marker ◽  
Vascular Diseases ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Vascular Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional

AbstractCerebrovascular disease (CeVD) and neurodegenerative dementia such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are frequently associated comorbidities in the elderly, sharing common risk factors and pathophysiological mechanisms including neuroinflammation. Osteopontin (OPN) is an inflammatory marker found upregulated in vascular diseases as well as in AD. However, its involvement in vascular dementia (VaD) and pre-dementia stages, namely cognitive impairment no dementia (CIND), both of which fall under the spectrum of vascular cognitive impairment (VCI), has yet to be examined. Its correlations with inflammatory cytokines in cognitive impairment also await investigation. 80 subjects with no cognitive impairment (NCI), 160 with CIND and 144 with dementia were included in a cross-sectional study on a Singapore-based memory clinic cohort. All subjects underwent comprehensive clinical, neuropsychological and brain neuroimaging assessments, together with clinical diagnoses based on established criteria. Blood samples were collected and OPN as well as inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) were measured using immunoassays. Multivariate regression analyses showed significant associations between increased OPN and VCI groups, namely CIND with CeVD, AD with CeVD and VaD. Interestingly, higher OPN was also significantly associated with AD even in the absence of CeVD. We further showed that increased OPN significantly associated with neuroimaging markers of CeVD and neurodegeneration, including cortical infarcts, lacunes, white matter hyperintensities and brain atrophy. OPN also correlated with elevated levels of IL-6, IL-8 and TNF. Our findings suggest that OPN may play a role in both VCI and neurodegenerative dementias. Further longitudinal analyses are needed to assess the prognostic utility of OPN in disease prediction and monitoring.

Plasma Osteopontin as a Biomarker of Alzheimer’s Disease and Vascular Cognitive Impairment: A Case-Control Study

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuek Ling Chai ◽  
Joyce R Chong ◽  
Ainiah R Raquib ◽  
Xin Xu ◽  
Saima Hilal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Inflammatory Cytokines ◽  
Inflammatory Marker ◽  
Vascular Diseases ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Vascular Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional

Abstract Background: Cerebrovascular disease (CeVD) and neurodegenerative dementia such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are frequently associated comorbidities in the elderly, sharing common risk factors and pathophysiological mechanisms including neuroinflammation. Osteopontin (OPN) is an inflammatory marker found upregulated in vascular diseases as well as in AD. However, its involvement in vascular dementia (VaD) and pre-dementia stages, namely cognitive impairment no dementia (CIND), both of which fall under the spectrum of vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) has yet to be examined. Its correlations with inflammatory cytokines in cognitive impairment also await investigation. Methods: 80 subjects with no cognitive impairment (NCI), 160 with CIND and 144 with dementia were included in a cross-sectional study on a Singapore-based memory clinic cohort. All subjects underwent comprehensive clinical, neuropsychological and brain neuroimaging assessments, together with clinical diagnoses based on established criteria. Blood samples were collected and OPN as well as inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) were measured using immunoassays. Results: Multivariate regression analyses showed significant associations between increased OPN and VCI groups, namely CIND with CeVD, AD with CeVD and VaD. Interestingly, higher OPN was also significantly associated with AD even in the absence of CeVD. We further showed that increased OPN significantly associated with neuroimaging markers of CeVD and neurodegeneration, including cortical infarcts, lacunes, white matter hyperintensities and brain atrophy. OPN also correlated with elevated levels of IL-6, IL-8 and TNF. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that OPN may play a role in both VCI and neurodegenerative dementias. Further longitudinal analyses are needed to assess the prognostic utility of OPN in disease prediction and monitoring.

scholarly journals Neuroinflammation and functional connectivity in Alzheimer’s disease: interactive influences on cognitive performance

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Passamonti ◽  
K.A. Tsvetanov ◽  
P.S. Jones ◽  
W.R. Bevan-Jones ◽  
R. Arnold ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Cognitive Deficits ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Temporal Cortex ◽  
Network Connectivity ◽  
Cognitive Status ◽  
Network Function

AbstractNeuroinflammation is a key part of the etio-pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease. We test the relationship between neuroinflammation and the disruption of functional connectivity in large-scale networks, and their joint influence on cognitive impairment.We combined [11C]PK11195 positron emission tomography (PET) and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) in 28 humans (13 females/15 males) with clinical diagnosis of probable Alzheimer’s disease or mild cognitive impairment with positive PET biomarker for amyloid, and 14 age-, sex-, and education-matched healthy humans (8 females/6 males). Source-based ‘inflammetry’ was used to extract principal components of [11C]PK11195 PET signal variance across all participants. rs-fMRI data were pre-processed via independent component analyses to classify neuronal and non-neuronal signals. Multiple linear regression models identified sources of signal co-variance between neuroinflammation and brain connectivity profiles, in relation to group and cognitive status.Patients showed significantly higher [11C]PK11195 binding relative to controls, in a distributed spatial pattern including the hippocampus, medial, and inferior temporal cortex. Patients with enhanced loading on this [11C]PK11195 binding distribution displayed diffuse abnormal functional connectivity. The expression of a stronger association between such abnormal connectivity and higher levels of neuroinflammation correlated with worse cognitive deficits.Our study suggests that neuroinflammation relates to the pathophysiological changes in network function that underlie cognitive deficits in Alzheimer’s disease. Neuroinflammation, and its association with functionally-relevant reorganisation of brain networks, is proposed as a target for emerging immuno-therapeutic strategies aimed at preventing or slowing the emergence of dementia.Significance StatementNeuroinflammation is an important aspect of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), but it was not known whether the influence of neuroinflammation on brain network function in humans was important for cognitive deficit.Our study provides clear evidence that in vivo neuroinflammation in AD impairs large-scale network connectivity; and that the link between inflammation and functional network connectivity is relevant to cognitive impairment.We suggest that future studies should address how neuroinflammation relates to network function as AD progresses; and whether the neuroinflammation in AD is reversible, as the basis of immunotherapeutic strategies to slow the progression of AD.

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