No abstract

The suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of the hypothalamus, the master mammalian circadian pacemaker, synchronizes endogenous rhythms with the external day-night cycle. Older humans, particularly those with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), often have difficulty maintaining normal circadian rhythms compared to younger adults, but the basis of this change is unknown. We report that the circadian rhythm amplitude of motor activity in both AD subjects and age-matched controls is correlated with the number of vasoactive intestinal peptide-expressing SCN neurons. AD was additionally associated with delayed circadian phase compared to cognitively healthy subjects, suggesting distinct pathologies and strategies for treating aging- and AD-related circadian disturbances.

AimsThe influences of nonstationarity and nonlinearity on heart rate time series can be mathematically qualified or quantified by multiscale entropy (MSE). The aim of this study is to investigate the prognostic value of parameters derived from MSE in the patients with systolic heart failure.Methods and ResultsPatients with systolic heart failure were enrolled in this study. One month after clinical condition being stable, 24-hour Holter electrocardiogram was recording. MSE as well as other standard parameters of heart rate variability (HRV) and detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) were assessed. A total of 40 heart failure patients with a mea age of 56±16 years were enrolled and followed-up for 684±441 days. There were 25 patients receiving β-blockers treatment. During follow-up period, 6 patients died or received urgent heart transplantation. The short-term exponent of DFA and the slope of MSE between scale 1 to 5 were significantly different between patients with or without β-blockers (p = 0.014 and p = 0.028). Only the area under the MSE curve for scale 6 to 20 (Area6–20) showed the strongest predictive power between survival (n = 34) and mortality (n = 6) groups among all the parameters. The value of Area6–20 21.2 served as a significant predictor of mortality or heart transplant (p = 0.0014).ConclusionThe area under the MSE curve for scale 6 to 20 is not relevant to β-blockers and could further warrant independent risk stratification for the prognosis of CHF patients.