The Cognitive Abilities Screening Instrument (CASI): A Practical Test for Cross-Cultural Epidemiological Studies of Dementia

Human longevity is a complex phenotype with a significant familial component, yet little is known about its genetic antecedents. Increasing evidence from animal models suggests that the insulin/ IGF-1 signaling (IIS) pathway is an important, evolutionarily conserved biological pathway that influences aging and longevity. However, to date human data have been scarce. Studies have been hampered by small sample sizes, lack of precise phenotyping, and population stratification, among other challenges. Therefore, to more precisely assess potential genetic contributions to human longevity from genes linked to IIS signaling, we chose a large, homogeneous, long-lived population of men well-characterized for aging phenotypes, and we performed a nested-case control study of 5 candidate longevity genes. Genetic variation within the FOXO3A gene was strongly associated with human longevity. The OR for homozygous minor vs. homozygous major alleles between the cases and controls was 2.75 (P ‫؍‬ 0.00009; adjusted P ‫؍‬ 0.00135). Long-lived men also presented several additional phenotypes linked to healthy aging, including lower prevalence of cancer and cardiovascular disease, better self-reported health, and high physical and cognitive function, despite significantly older ages than controls. Several of these aging phenotypes were associated with FOXO3A genotype. Long-lived men also exhibited several biological markers indicative of greater insulin sensitivity and this was associated with homozygosity for the FOXO3A GG genotype. Further exploration of the FOXO3A gene, human longevity and other aging phenotypes is warranted in other populations.gene ͉ insulin ͉ healthy aging ͉ disease ͉ disability

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“…Functionally, they appeared better able to walk but had lower grip strength. There was no difference in cognitive score (43).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 72%

FOXO3A genotype is strongly associated with human longevity

Willcox

Donlon²,

He³

et al. 2008

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

864

690

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“…In brief, all subjects were first screened with the CASI (Teng et al, 1994), a measure of global cognitive function. Then those who met screen positive criteria were further examined, including a proxy interview, neuropsychological testing based on the CERAD battery (Morris et al, 1989), a neurological exam, and neuroimaging.…”

Section: Subjects and Image Acquisitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Age effects on hippocampal structural changes in old men: The HAAS

Valentino

Scher

et al. 2008

NeuroImage

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Understanding the variability of the hippocampus in human brain research is essential. The effect of age on the hippocampus has been explored in several studies that have been focused on either normal aging or neural degeneration. Shape analysis of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides morphological measures for brain structures. This study further investigates the age effects on hippocampal morphology in three groups (104 normal controls, 24 Alzheimer's disease (AD) and 14 vascular dementia (VaD) patients). By utilizing a parametric shape analysis of hippocampal MRI scans, each individual distance map is generated and analyzed statistically. Specifically, after eliminating similarity parameters (rotation, translation, and scaling) effects for each hippocampus, an individual distance map is generated from parametric hippocampal surfaces and medial axes. Then statistical methods, including regression, and permutation tests, are applied to detect the differences in hippocampal distance maps and volumes under the effect of age in each group. Statistical analyses reveal that the loss of hippocampal volume and changes in shape are more significantly related to aging in the control group than in AD/VaD. The results also show that the asymmetry of hippocampus in healthy subjects is greater than that in either of the disease groups. Our study shows that 3D statistical shape analysis could enhance the understanding of age effects on local areas of hippocampi. However, the sample sizes of disease groups are relatively low; further studies with more AD/VaD data are needed.

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“…On his first visit in 2005, his Mini-mental State Examination (MMSE) (Folstein et al 1975) score was 21/30 and his Cognitive Ability Screening Instrument (CASI) (Teng et al 1994) score was 69/100, with deficits on the items of recent memory and verbal fluency. His cerebral blood flow study by HMPAO-SPECT showed hypo-perfusion in the frontal lobes in addition to temporal and parietal lobes.…”

Section: Presentation Of Patients and Clinical Settings Patient A: Anmentioning

confidence: 99%

Delusions and Visual Hallucinations in Dementia Patients: Focus on Personal History of the Patients

Pai

2008

Tohoku J. Exp. Med.

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Psychotic features are frequently seen in dementia patients, which indeed cast a huge psychological and physical burden onto their care givers. This is especially true for delusions and hallucinations. If inquired into in greater detail, some of the delusions and even hallucinations can be found to arise from plausible origins. In this article, the author reports two dementia patients, with an attempt to link the unique psychotic features to the personal history of the individual patient. In addition to biological predisposition, the background and the personal history of each patient may play a role in the development of such psychotic features. To emphasize the background of the patients and to treat him or her as a person is also the core spirit of medical humanity, which is an issue important for dementia care. The author also discusses the two topics: visual hallucination in patients with dementia with Lewy bodies and the genetic polymorphism of dopamine D2 receptor gene in dementia patients with delusions. If clinicians spend more time to understanding the history of their patients, at least some of the need to use medical treatment can be reduced.

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The Cognitive Abilities Screening Instrument (CASI): A Practical Test for Cross-Cultural Epidemiological Studies of Dementia

Cited by 806 publications

References 4 publications

FOXO3A genotype is strongly associated with human longevity

FOXO3A genotype is strongly associated with human longevity

Age effects on hippocampal structural changes in old men: The HAAS

Delusions and Visual Hallucinations in Dementia Patients: Focus on Personal History of the Patients

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