Altered Dynamic Network Stability in Remitted Late Life Depression Associated with Depression Recurrence.

Background: Late-life depression (LLD) is associated with negative outcomes including high rates of recurrence and cognitive decline. However, the neurobiological changes influencing such outcomes in LLD are not well understood. Disequilibrium in large-scale brain networks may contribute to LLD-related cognitive decline.

Brain age identification from diffusion MRI synergistically predicts neurodegenerative disease.

Estimated brain age from magnetic resonance image (MRI) and its deviation from chronological age can provide early insights into potential neurodegenerative diseases, supporting early detection and implementation of prevention strategies to slow disease progression and onset. Diffusion MRI (dMRI), a widely used modality for brain age estimation, presents an opportunity to build an earlier biomarker for neurodegenerative disease prediction because it captures subtle microstructural changes that precede more perceptible macrostructural changes. However, the coexistence of macro- and micro-structural information in dMRI raises the question of whether current dMRI-based brain age estimation models are leveraging the intended microstructural information or if they inadvertently rely on the macrostructural information.

Tractography from T1-weighted MRI: Empirically exploring the clinical viability of streamline propagation without diffusion MRI.

Over the last few decades, diffusion MRI (dMRI) streamline tractography has emerged as the dominant method forestimation of white matter (WM) pathways in the brain. One key limitation to this technique is that modern tractography implementations require high angular resolution diffusion imaging (HARDI). However, HARDI can be difficult to collect clinically, limiting the reach of tractography analyses to research cohorts and thus limiting many WM investigations to certain populations and pathologies.

Brooding rumination predicts lower cognitive functioning in late-life depression: multivariate multiple regression analyses.

Introduction: Late-life depression (LLD) is associated with cognitive deficits, particularly in memory and executive functions. Rumination, namely brooding, may also negatively impact cognition. Few studies have investigated multivariate relationships between depressive symptoms and different types of rumination on cognition in LLD, which was the focus of the current study.

Network homeostasis: functional brain network alterations and relapse in remitted late-life depression.

Late-life depression (LLD) is highly recurrent and associated with disability and increased mortality. In this study, we aim to identify neurobiological factors that are prospectively associated with relapse risk in late-life depression. We recruited 145 older adults (age ≥ 60): 102 recently remitted LLD participants and 43 healthy comparisons.

White matter hyperintensities and relapse risk in late-life depression.

Background: White matter hyperintensities (WMHs) are associated with late-life depression (LLD) and are considered a hallmark of MRI-defined vascular depression. However, their impact on depression recurrence in LLD is less well known.

Methods: We investigated this relationship using data from a 2-year multi-site, longitudinal study, where baseline WMH volumes were obtained using 3 T FLAIR magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) from 145 participants, of which 102 had remitted LLD and 43 were control participants.

Interdisciplinary Care for Geriatric Syndromes in CKD: A Qualitative Study.

Key Points: Addressing geriatric syndromes in CKD likely requires implementation of an interdisciplinary model of care. Experts shared multilevel barriers to implementation of this model and strategies to mitigate each barrier. Experts felt that patient satisfaction and clinician burnout could improve with implementing interdisciplinary care in CKD.

Brain and cardiovascular responses to acute stress in remitted and recurrent late-life depression.

In individuals with remitted late-life depression (LLD), stress exposure can increase the likelihood of a new, recurrent depressive episode. Variability in the effect of stress on recurrence risk may reflect underlying brain and physiological processes mediating the stress response. We examined how subjective, physiological, and brain responses to an experimental stressor differs in older adults with and without remitted depression, and how these stress responses relate to future relapse.

Reconsidering remission in recurrent late-life depression: clinical presentation and phenotypic predictors of relapse following successful antidepressant treatment.

Background: Late-life depression (LLD) is characterized by repeated recurrent depressive episodes even with maintenance treatment. It is unclear what clinical and cognitive phenotypic characteristics present during remission predict future recurrence.

Methods: Participants (135 with remitted LLD and 69 comparison subjects across three institutions) completed baseline phenotyping, including psychiatric, medical, and social history, psychiatric symptom and personality trait assessment, and neuropsychological testing.

Predicting Age from White Matter Diffusivity with Residual Learning.

Imaging findings inconsistent with those expected at specific chronological age ranges may serve as early indicators of neurological disorders and increased mortality risk. Estimation of chronological age, and deviations from expected results, from structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data has become an important proxy task for developing biomarkers that are sensitive to such deviations. Complementary to structural analysis, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) has proven effective in identifying age-related microstructural changes within the brain white matter, thereby presenting itself as a promising additional modality for brain age prediction.

The relationship of mental health symptoms to chemotherapy toxicity risk in older adults with cancer: Results from the geriatric assessment-driven intervention study.

Background: Depression and anxiety are prevalent in older adults with cancer but are often undertreated. Older adults are also at increased risk of chemotherapy toxicity (CT). This study evaluated the impact of depression and anxiety symptoms on severe CT risk in older adults with cancer.

Effects of open-label transdermal nicotine antidepressant augmentation on affective symptoms and executive function in late-life depression.

Background: Late-life depression (LLD) is characterized by a poor response to antidepressant medications and diminished cognitive performance, particularly in executive functioning. There is currently no accepted pharmacotherapy for LLD that effectively treats both mood and cognitive symptoms. This study investigated whether transdermal nicotine augmentation of standard antidepressant medications benefitted mood and cognitive symptoms in LLD.

Volumetric brain MRI signatures of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction in the setting of dementia.

Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is an important, emerging risk factor for dementia, but it is not clear whether HFpEF contributes to a specific pattern of neuroanatomical changes in dementia. A major challenge to studying this is the relative paucity of datasets of patients with dementia, with/without HFpEF, and relevant neuroimaging. We sought to demonstrate the feasibility of using modern data mining tools to create and analyze clinical imaging datasets and identify the neuroanatomical signature of HFpEF-associated dementia.

Predicting Age from White Matter Diffusivity with Residual Learning.

Imaging findings inconsistent with those expected at specific chronological age ranges may serve as early indicators of neurological disorders and increased mortality risk. Estimation of chronological age, and deviations from expected results, from structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data has become an important proxy task for developing biomarkers that are sensitive to such deviations. Complementary to structural analysis, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) has proven effective in identifying age-related microstructural changes within the brain white matter, thereby presenting itself as a promising additional modality for brain age prediction.

Sequential autoencoders for feature engineering and pretraining in major depressive disorder risk prediction.

Objectives: We evaluated autoencoders as a feature engineering and pretraining technique to improve major depressive disorder (MDD) prognostic risk prediction. Autoencoders can represent temporal feature relationships not identified by aggregate features. The predictive performance of autoencoders of multiple sequential structures was evaluated as feature engineering and pretraining strategies on an array of prediction tasks and compared to a restricted Boltzmann machine (RBM) and random forests as a benchmark.

Advanced Research Institute (ARI): Supporting the Geriatric Mental Health Research Pipeline.

The Advanced Research Institute (ARI) in Mental Health and Aging is a NIMH-funded mentoring network to help transition early-career faculty to independent investigators and scientific leaders. Since 2004, ARI has enrolled 184 Scholars from 61 institutions across 34 states. We describe the ARI components and assess the impact and outcomes of ARI on research careers of participants.

Use of focused computerized cognitive training (Neuroflex) to improve symptoms in women with persistent chemotherapy-related cognitive impairment.

Purpose: Chemotherapy-related cognitive impairment (CRCI) is a distressing and increasingly recognized long-term sequela reported by breast cancer patients following cancer treatment. There is an urgent but unmet clinical need for treatments that improve CRCI. In this context, we proposed the use of a novel cognitive enhancement strategy called Neuroflex to target CRCI experienced by breast cancer survivors.

Cognitive, Disability, and Treatment Outcome Implications of Symptom-Based Phenotyping in Late-Life Depression.

Objective: Late-life depression is associated with substantial heterogeneity in clinical presentation, disability, and response to antidepressant treatment. We examined whether self-report of severity of common symptoms, including anhedonia, apathy, rumination, worry, insomnia, and fatigue were associated with differences in presentation and response to treatment. We also examined whether these symptoms improved during treatment with escitalopram.

Biological factors influencing depression in later life: role of aging processes and treatment implications.

Late-life depression occurring in older adults is common, recurrent, and malignant. It is characterized by affective symptoms, but also cognitive decline, medical comorbidity, and physical disability. This behavioral and cognitive presentation results from altered function of discrete functional brain networks and circuits.