Cortisol, Anxiety, and TNFα Mediate the Relationship Between BMI and Executive Functions.

Overweight and obesity are associated with poorer executive functions (EF). The underlying mechanisms contributing to this relationship are not yet conclusive, but cortisol, anxiety, and inflammation are likely among the contributing factors. Our objective was to evaluate whether fibrinogen, tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFα), cortisol, and anxiety significantly mediate the association between body mass index (BMI) z-score and EF (i.

Allostatic load, adverse childhood experiences, executive functions, and BMI status in adolescents and young adults.

Objectives: Chronic stress induces preclinical changes in the metabolic, cardiovascular, and immune systems. This phenomenon, known as allostatic load (AL), can impair executive functions (EF), which may be even more affected in individuals with excess weight due to their characteristic inflammatory state and cardiometabolic changes. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) contribute to AL and may influence executive functioning presumably via alterations within the hypothalamic-pituitary axis, including epigenetic modifications.

From the reward network to whole-brain metrics: structural connectivity in adolescents and young adults according to body mass index and genetic risk of obesity.

Background: Obesity is a multifactorial condition. Genetic variants, such as the fat mass and obesity related gene (FTO) polymorphism, may increase the vulnerability of developing obesity by disrupting dopamine signaling within the reward network. Yet, the association of obesity, genetic risk of obesity, and structural connectivity of the reward network in adolescents and young adults remains unexplored.

Body mass index, systemic inflammation and cognitive performance in adolescents: A cross-sectional study.

Background: Excessive body weight has been related to lower cognitive performance. One of the mechanisms through which excess body weight may affect cognition is inflammation.

Hypothesis: Our hypothesis is that both body mass index (BMI) and circulating levels of inflammatory biomarkers will be negatively related to cognitive performance.

The Impact of COVID-19 Confinement on Cognition and Mental Health and Technology Use Among Socially Vulnerable Older People: Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background: COVID-19 forced the implementation of restrictive measures in Spain, such as lockdown, home confinement, social distancing, and isolation. It is necessary to study whether limited access to basic services and decreased family and social support could have deleterious effects on cognition, quality of life, and mental health in vulnerable older people.

Objective: This study aims to explore the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on cognition in older adults with mild cognitive impairment or dementia as the main outcome and the quality of life, perceived health status, and depression as secondary outcomes and to analyze the association of living alone and a change in living arrangements with those outcomes and other variables related with the use of technology and health services.

Associations Between Mobile Health Technology use and Self-rated Quality of Life: A Cross-sectional Study on Older Adults with Cognitive Impairment.

Quality of life (QoL) is affected even at early stages in older adults with cognitive impairment. The use of mobile health (mHealth) technology can offer support in daily life and improve the physical and mental health of older adults. However, a clarification of how mHealth technology can be used to support the QoL of older adults with cognitive impairment is needed.

Attitudes and Use of Information and Communication Technologies in Older Adults With Mild Cognitive Impairment or Early Stages of Dementia and Their Caregivers: Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Information and communication technologies are promising tools to increase the quality of life of people with dementia or mild cognitive impairment and that of their caregivers. However, there are barriers to their use associated with sociodemographic factors and negative attitudes, as well as inadequate knowledge about technologies.

Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze technophilia (attitudes toward new technologies) and the use of smartphones and tablets along with associated factors in people with dementia/mild cognitive impairment and their caregivers.

Inflammatory agents partially explain associations between cortical thickness, surface area, and body mass in adolescents and young adulthood.

Background/objectives: Excessive body mass index (BMI) has been linked to a low-grade chronic inflammation state. Unhealthy BMI has also been related to neuroanatomical changes in adults. Research in adolescents is relatively limited and has produced conflicting results.

The Effects of the Digital Platform Support Monitoring and Reminder Technology for Mild Dementia (SMART4MD) for People With Mild Cognitive Impairment and Their Informal Carers: Protocol for a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Many countries are witnessing a trend of growth in the number and proportion of older adults within the total population. In Europe, population aging has had and will continue to have major social and economic consequences. This is a fundamentally positive development where the added life span is of great benefit for both the individual and the society.

Allostatic load and disordered white matter microstructure in overweight adults.

Overweight and stress are both related to brain structural abnormalities. The allostatic load model states that frequent disruption of homeostasis is inherently linked to oxidative stress and inflammatory responses that in turn can damage the brain. However, the effects of the allostatic load on the central nervous system remain largely unknown.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation intervention in Alzheimer's disease: a research proposal for a randomized controlled trial.

Objective: Alzheimer's disease is a major health problem in our society. To date, pharmacological treatments have obtained poor results and there is a growing interest in finding non-pharmacological interventions for this disease. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a non-invasive technique that is able to induce changes in brain activity and long-term modifications in impaired neural networks, becoming a promising clinical intervention.

The effect of depressive symptoms on cognition in patients with fibromyalgia.

Background: Fibromyalgia (FM) patients frequently complain of cognitive problems, but it remains unclear whether these cognitive complaints can be attributed to a dysfunction of the central nervous system or if they can be explained by other factors associated with the disease, such as depression, anxiety and sleep dysfunction.

Methods: One hundred and ten patients with FM were compared with thirty-three patients diagnosed with a depressive disorder (DD) and fifty healthy controls (HC). Several measures of attention and executive functions were used to make these comparisons and the patients were also asked to complete questionnaires on depression, anxiety and sleep quality.

Anxiety, hospital fears and conduct and behavioral alterations during pediatric hospitalization.

Introduction: A hospital admission is an experience capable of generating emotional and behavioral alterations at any age. This study pretends to analyze the response of anxiety, fears and/or behavioral alterations in pediatric patients exposed to a conventional non-surgical hospital admission and the existing relationship between these responses and certain modulating variables. Metodology.

Aging in HIV-Infected Subjects: A New Scenario and a New View.

The prevalence of HIV-infected people aged 50 years or older is increasing rapidly; the proportion will increase from 28% to 73% in 2030. In addition, HIV-infected individuals may be more vulnerable to age-related condition. There is growing evidence that the prevalence of comorbidities and other age-related conditions (geriatric syndromes, functional or neurocognitive/mental problems, polypharmacy, and social difficulties) is higher in the HIV-infected population than in their uninfected counterparts.

Allostatic Load Is Linked to Cortical Thickness Changes Depending on Body-Weight Status.

Overweight (body mass index or BMI ≥ 25 kg/m) and stress interact with each other in complex ways. Overweight promotes chronic low-inflammation states, while stress is known to mediate caloric intake. Both conditions are linked to several avoidable health problems and to cognitive decline, brain atrophy, and dementia.

Comparison of neuropsychological and functional outcomes in Alzheimer's disease patients with good or bad response to a cognitive stimulation treatment: a retrospective analysis.

Background: The benefit of cognitive stimulation (CS) treatments in dementia is unequal. This study has sought to identify cognitive and functional measurements before and after the treatment which are indicative of a better response to a one-year CS program.

Methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted between 2004 and 2012 in a sample of 60 users diagnosed with mild Alzheimer's disease (AD) who followed a one-year CS program and underwent a cognitive and functional assessment before and after the intervention.