The paper shows the results on the relationship between zinc status, psychological dimensions (cognitive functions, mood, perceived stress) and nutritional aspects in European healthy old subjects recruited for ZINCAGE Project (supported by the European Commission in the Sixth Framework Programme). The old healthy subjects were recruited in Italy, Greece, Germany, France, Poland taking into account the different dietary habits between Northern and Southern European Countries and the pivotal role played by zinc for psychological functions. Measures of the cognitive status, mood and perceived stress level were obtained at baseline, using the "Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE)"; the "Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS - 15 items)" and the "Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)", respectively. Nutritional status was assessed using "Frequency Food Questionnaire". The sample included 853 old subjects, classified in 4 groups of age: 60-69-years-old (n = 359); 70-74-years-old (n = 225); 75-79-years-old (n = 153); 80-84-years-old (n = 116). Subjects were studied on the basis of plasma zinc, in which zinc

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Cognitive decline and dementia represent very important public health problems that impact the ability to maintain social function and independent living. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a nonpharmacological intervention consisting of comprehensive cognitive training in elderly people having one of three different cognitive statuses. In all, 321 elderly people with a diagnoses of mild–moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD), with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and without cognitive decline were randomly assigned to two groups: experimental group (EG, who underwent intervention) and control group (CG), according to a prospective randomized intervention study. In the three groups, immediately after the end of the intervention, we observed a significant effect on some cognitive and noncognitive outcomes in the EGs. At the end of the intervention, we found an intermediate intervention effect on the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale (ADAS) score of subjects with AD, as well as on functional status, as measured by using the Instrumental Activities of Daily Living scale. A significant intervention effect was also observed on enhancement of auditory verbal short-term memory and subjective memory complaints of subjects with MCI. The group of subjects without cognitive decline obtained a significant intervention effect on subjective complaints outcomes. The obtained results demonstrated that participation in the intervention could improve performance with respect to specific cognitive functions and psychological statuses. The role of healthy lifestyle programs, such as the use of comprehensive interventions, has been shown to be efficient for enhancing memory and other abilities in aged individuals with and without cognitive decline.

IL-6 SNP at position -174 is associated with age-related diseases characterized by an impaired Zn status. This polymorphism seems also relevant in regulating the expression of proteins, such as Metallothioneins (MT), involved in the modulation of Zn homeostasis. Since high IL-6 levels in elderly induce hypozinchemia, the IL-6-174 SNP may be useful to identify old subjects who are at risk for Zn deficiency. The objectives of this study are: (1) to choose old subjects who effectively need Zn supplementation and (2) to study the effect of Zn supplementation on Zn, immune and psychological status in genetically selected subjects. For this purpose, a baseline study comprising 895 healthy old subjects recruited in Central-Northern and Southern European Countries was carried out by evaluating their dietary intake, psychological and immune parameters as well as their Zn status. A Zn supplementation trial was performed in 110 old subjects selected on the basis of their plasma Zn levels and IL-6 SNP. After correcting for age and Zn intake, C- carriers displayed higher MT and lower levels of several parameters related to zinc status (plasma Zn, erythrocyte Zn and NO-induced release of Zn in PBMC) than C+ carriers. Better NK cell cytotoxicity and psychological functions (PSS, MMSE) were also found in C+ than C- carriers strictly related to the zinc status. However, independently by the polymorphism, all subjects with plasma zinc < or = 10.5microM showed the worst immune response and psychological functions. Supplementation was carried out in C+ and C- carriers with stable low plasma zinc levels ( < or =10.5microM at baseline and at 1 year follow-up) and in C- carriers with unstable plasma zinc (< or =10.5microM at baseline and >10.5microM at 1 year follow-up). C+ carriers with plasma zinc >10.5microM were not supplemented because showing the best immune and psychological conditions. After 48+/-2 days of supplementation with 10mg/day of Zn-aspartate, the NO-induced release of Zn, erythrocyte Zn and NK cell cytotoxicity increased in all groups selected for supplementation, including C- with unstable plasma zinc. In conclusion, the sole assessment of plasma Zn level is not reliable to exclude C- carriers from Zn supplementation. A possible explanation for the conflicting data on the identification of IL-6-174G as a "risk allele" based on different dietary intake in the studied population is also suggested.

BackgroundObesity is a complex multifactorial disease, which also has an impact on quality of life. The aim of this paper is to identify the correlates of perceived health related quality of life in obese, overweight and normal weight Italians older adults.Methods205 subjects at the age ≥ 60 yrs. were recruited into the Division of Endocrinology of the Polytechnic University of Marche Region, Ancona (Italy). A protocol of questionnaires was constructed for data collection, and included domains such as physical activity, quality of life, socio-psychological aspects. The association of the latter variables with SF-36 Health Survey physical component (PCS-36) were evaluated in the whole sample. Multiple linear regression models were used to assess the effect of independent variables on PCS-36 and the physical subscales of SF-36.ResultsPCS-36 showed a lower score in the obese and overweight subjects than the normal weight group (post-hoc test, p < 0.001 and p < 0.05 respectively). Age, gender (male), Body Mass Index, years of education, Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE) total score, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale anxiety, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale depression, number of medications prescribed and number of diseases were included in the model. Negative and significant PCS-associated variables included depression (p = 0.009), BMI (p = 0.001), age in years (p = 0.007), whereas positive and significant PCS-associated independent variables were years of education (p = 0.022), physical activity (p = 0.026). BMI was negatively associated with all the physical subscales of SF-36 (p < 0.05).ConclusionsResearch funding should be invested in the study of the benefits accruing from reducing obesity in the elderly.