MCI occurs often in this elderly Italian cohort and is associated with greater risk of AD, but only when the impairment involves the memory domain. However, a substantial proportion of MCI cases with memory impairment do not progress to dementia.

No abstract

OBJECTIVE -Little is known about the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome among elderly people in Italy, its association with all-cause mortality, and whether measurement of serum C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin (IL)-6 affects this association.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS -The baseline prevalence of metabolic syndrome, diagnosed according to the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) criteria, and all-cause mortality at 4 years were recorded in an Italian population-based cohort (981 subjects, 55% women, aged 65-97 years). A Cox model adjusted for sociodemographic, lifestyle, and medical variables was used to investigate 1) whether metabolic syndrome was a predictor of mortality and 2) how the association was affected by baseline high CRP (Ͼ3 mg/l) and IL-6 (Ͼ1.33 pg/ml). CONCLUSIONS -Metabolic syndrome by NCEP criteria is highly prevalent in the Italian elderly population. It is not itself associated with mortality but may improve the usefulness of IL-6 as a mortality predictor in older age. RESULTS

No abstract

Current diagnostic criteria for MCI subtypes define heterogeneous populations, but atrial fibrillation can be useful in identifying people with increased risk of conversion to dementia.