- Email: [email protected]
HIGH DOSE VITAMIN D3 MAY IMPROVE NONVERBAL LEARNING AND MEMORY IN HEALTHY ADULTS
P770
Poster Presentations: P3
memory function, and mental health, telomerase, a marker of cellular health, and low in Alzheimer’s was measured. Results: Compared to controls, the meditation group had significant increases in baseline CBF in important brain areas related to AD and enhanced scores on memory tests. They also had improvement in mood and anxiety.Compared to controls, participants demonstrated improvement in all major outcomes including perceived stress, mood, depression, sleep, blood pressure and memory. Compared to placebo group, the meditation group had higher MMSE’s, less depression, higher levels of well being, and an increase of 43% in telomerase, the largest increase ever recorded, and a decrease in inflammatory markers. MRI revealed marked brain activation in significant areas related to AD. Conclusions: As chronic stress has been revealed in numerous studies to be associated with increased risk of Alzheimer’s, perhaps it is now time to include stress management through Kirtan Kriya, a simple12 minute yoga meditation in the conversation on Alzheimer’s prevention and therapy. This review revealed an improvement in multiple risk factors for AD. Any delay in memory loss progression or in the prevention of Alzheimer’s is meaningful and critically important. P3-382
THE EFFECT OF COGNITIVE STIMULATION ON NURSING HOME ELDERS
Isabel Gil, Joao Luis Alves Apostolo, Daniela Cardoso, Maria Almeida, Maria Cordeiro, Alberto Barata, Susana Duarte, Nursing School of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal. Contact e-mail: [email protected] Background: Cognitive impairment is increasingly recognized as an important public health issue associated with increased risk of developing dementia. Petersen et al. (2010) suggest that approximately 16% of older adults without dementia are affected by mild cognitive impairment. Bunce et al. (2012) suggest the possibility that depression-related cognitive deficits represent a prodrome or risk factor for dementia. The current study aims to analyze the effect of Cognitive Stimulation (CS) in cognition and depressive symptoms of community-dwelling healthy elders. Methods: Thirtythree community-dwelling healthy elders were selected from 3 day-care centers: 27 women and 6 men (mean age¼74.45 years, SD¼6.97). The Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Geriatric Depression Scale-15 (GDS-15) were administered at two time points: baseline and post-test. In 2012, the elders attended 14 sessions of the CS program "Making a difference" (45 minutes each, twice a week). Results: At baseline, 27.30% had depressive symptoms and 10% had cognitive impairment. Results showed a statistically significant difference (mean difference¼-1.64; t¼ 3.072; p¼ 0.004) from baseline to post-test in depressive symptoms (GDS-15), explaining 23% of the variance (Partial Eta Squared ¼ 0.23), power ¼ 0.85. There are not statistically significant differences in cognition (MMSE). However, there were positive evolutions in 24.24% of the cases. Conclusions: The results of the present study support the effectiveness of CS in the community-dwelling healthy elders, particularly in depressive symptoms. Although there were positive evolutions on elderly cognition in some cases, the data did not reveal significant statistical evidence of CS program. Unclear results of the current study on the effect of CS on cognition could be explained by the fact that 90% of participants had no cognitive impairment at baseline.References: Petersen, R. C., Roberts, R. O., Knopman, D. S., Geda, Y. E., Cha, R. H., Pankratz, V. S., & Rocca, W. A. (2010). Prevalence of mild cognitive impairment is higher in men. The Mayo Clinic Study of Aging.Neurology,75(10), 889-897.Bunce, D., Batterham, P. J., Mackinnon, A. J., & Christensen, H. (2012). Depression, anxiety and cognition in community-dwelling adults aged 70 years and over.Journal of psychiatric research, 46(12), 1662-6. P3-383
HIGH DOSE VITAMIN D3 MAY IMPROVE NONVERBAL LEARNING AND MEMORY IN HEALTHY ADULTS
Jacqueline A. Pettersen, University of British Columbia, Prince George, British Columbia, Canada. Contact e-mail: [email protected] Background: Vitamin D insufficiency has been associated with impaired cognitive functioning and dementia. In animal studies, supplementation increases acetylcholine levels and hippocampal neuron densities, processes important for learning and memory. However, the effects of vitamin D3 sup-
plementation on cognition is unclear. The present study sought to address this question, hypothesizing that high dose vitamin D3 supplementation would result in enhanced cognitive functioning, particularly among adults whose vitamin D levels were insufficient (<75 nmol/L) at baseline. Methods: Participants were healthy adults living at a northern latitude (54 N) with baseline serum vitamin D [25OHD] levels <100 nmol/L, who were randomized and blinded to low (400 IU/d) or high (4000 IU/d) dose vitamin D3 supplementation over 18 weeks. Cognitive testing at baseline and follow-up consisted of: Symbol Digits Modalities Test, verbal (phonemic) fluency, digit span and CANTAB battery, including Verbal Recognition Memory (VRM), Pattern Recognition Memory (PRM) and Paired Associates Learning (PAL) tasks. Alternate test versions were utilized in a counterbalanced fashion to minimize practice effects. Serum levels of 25OHD were obtained at baseline and follow-up. Results: There were 82 participants, 54.7 6 13 yrs of age, with 14.7 6 3 yrs of education, 67.1% female and 62% were vitamin D insufficient at baseline. There were no significant baseline differences between Low (n¼40) and High Dose (n¼42) groups. Serum 25OHD levels increased significantly more in in the High Dose (from 67.2 6 20 to 130.6 6 26 nmol/L) than the Low Dose group (from 60.5 6 22 to 85.9 6 16 nmol/L), p¼0.0001. Performance improved in the High Dose group on the PRM-delayed task from 84.1 6 14.9 to 88.3 6 13.2, t¼-2.10, p¼.04 and the PAL task, number of stages completed, from 4.86 6.35 to 4.95 6.22, t¼-2.09, p¼.04, but could not be explained by vitamin D sufficiency status at baseline (p>.05). The Low Dose group did not improve significantly on the cognitive tasks. Conclusions: Vitamin D may be especially important for nonverbal (pattern) learning and memory. While the optimal level of vitamin D for bone health has been cited as 75 nmol/L. the optimal level for cognition is not known. These results suggest that higher levels may be better, at least for learning and memory tasks involving nonverbal information. P3-384
GROUP REMINISCENCE APPROACH CAN INCREASE SELF-AWARENESS OF MEMORY DEFICITS AND EVOCATION OF REMOTE MEMORY IN OLD-OLD POPULATION WITH MCI: A SECONDARY ANALYSIS OF THE KURIHARA PROJECT DATA
Kei Nakamura, Mari Kasai, Kenichi Meguro, Masahiro Nakatsuka, Cyclotron and Radioisotope Center (CYRIC), Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan. Contact e-mail: [email protected] Background: We previously reported the effect of three types of psychosocial interventions for old-old population with MCI (AAIC 2013), i.e. Physical activities (PA), group reminiscence approach with reality orientation (GRA), and cognitive trainings (CT). All groups showed improvements in executive function and QOL scores, greater improvements noted by those with subjective good impressions through the contents (AAIC 2013). Regarding the GRA, we previously reported the positive effects manifesting improvements on executive functions, supported by other studies’ executive functions, emotion, and social behavior improvements. Since reminiscence approach has the perspectives of a "life review" enriching the inner life via summarizing their own life, the effect on self-awareness of memory loss is hypothesized. Methods: Based on the database of the Kurihara Project, we retrospectively analyzed the participants’ description on their impressions about the intervention (gratitude to therapist, intervention content or reminiscence, mood, bodily well-being, memory loss, other). The content on their life reviews were focused especially for the GRA group. As the qualitative measures, we counted the number of letters and the content of what they wrote. Results: Of the 128, 94 subjects (23 PA subjects, 38 GRA subjects, and 32 CT subjects) described their impressions (72.7%). There were no significant differences in age, MMSE score, and QoL score among the three groups. CT groups had lower education than other groups. Compared with the PA and CT groups, the GRA subjects described their impressions on the intervention content or reminiscence and their own memory problems.For the qualitative measures, we found that the numbers of letters were significantly greater in the GRA group than the PA or CT groups (Kruskal Wallis test, H¼21.131, p<0.0001). Conclusions: This study suggests that the GRA not only stimulates remote memory but also increases self-awareness of memory deficits. This awareness
Poster Presentations: P3
memory function, and mental health, telomerase, a marker of cellular health, and low in Alzheimer’s was measured. Results: Compared to controls, the meditation group had significant increases in baseline CBF in important brain areas related to AD and enhanced scores on memory tests. They also had improvement in mood and anxiety.Compared to controls, participants demonstrated improvement in all major outcomes including perceived stress, mood, depression, sleep, blood pressure and memory. Compared to placebo group, the meditation group had higher MMSE’s, less depression, higher levels of well being, and an increase of 43% in telomerase, the largest increase ever recorded, and a decrease in inflammatory markers. MRI revealed marked brain activation in significant areas related to AD. Conclusions: As chronic stress has been revealed in numerous studies to be associated with increased risk of Alzheimer’s, perhaps it is now time to include stress management through Kirtan Kriya, a simple12 minute yoga meditation in the conversation on Alzheimer’s prevention and therapy. This review revealed an improvement in multiple risk factors for AD. Any delay in memory loss progression or in the prevention of Alzheimer’s is meaningful and critically important. P3-382
THE EFFECT OF COGNITIVE STIMULATION ON NURSING HOME ELDERS
Isabel Gil, Joao Luis Alves Apostolo, Daniela Cardoso, Maria Almeida, Maria Cordeiro, Alberto Barata, Susana Duarte, Nursing School of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal. Contact e-mail: [email protected] Background: Cognitive impairment is increasingly recognized as an important public health issue associated with increased risk of developing dementia. Petersen et al. (2010) suggest that approximately 16% of older adults without dementia are affected by mild cognitive impairment. Bunce et al. (2012) suggest the possibility that depression-related cognitive deficits represent a prodrome or risk factor for dementia. The current study aims to analyze the effect of Cognitive Stimulation (CS) in cognition and depressive symptoms of community-dwelling healthy elders. Methods: Thirtythree community-dwelling healthy elders were selected from 3 day-care centers: 27 women and 6 men (mean age¼74.45 years, SD¼6.97). The Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Geriatric Depression Scale-15 (GDS-15) were administered at two time points: baseline and post-test. In 2012, the elders attended 14 sessions of the CS program "Making a difference" (45 minutes each, twice a week). Results: At baseline, 27.30% had depressive symptoms and 10% had cognitive impairment. Results showed a statistically significant difference (mean difference¼-1.64; t¼ 3.072; p¼ 0.004) from baseline to post-test in depressive symptoms (GDS-15), explaining 23% of the variance (Partial Eta Squared ¼ 0.23), power ¼ 0.85. There are not statistically significant differences in cognition (MMSE). However, there were positive evolutions in 24.24% of the cases. Conclusions: The results of the present study support the effectiveness of CS in the community-dwelling healthy elders, particularly in depressive symptoms. Although there were positive evolutions on elderly cognition in some cases, the data did not reveal significant statistical evidence of CS program. Unclear results of the current study on the effect of CS on cognition could be explained by the fact that 90% of participants had no cognitive impairment at baseline.References: Petersen, R. C., Roberts, R. O., Knopman, D. S., Geda, Y. E., Cha, R. H., Pankratz, V. S., & Rocca, W. A. (2010). Prevalence of mild cognitive impairment is higher in men. The Mayo Clinic Study of Aging.Neurology,75(10), 889-897.Bunce, D., Batterham, P. J., Mackinnon, A. J., & Christensen, H. (2012). Depression, anxiety and cognition in community-dwelling adults aged 70 years and over.Journal of psychiatric research, 46(12), 1662-6. P3-383
HIGH DOSE VITAMIN D3 MAY IMPROVE NONVERBAL LEARNING AND MEMORY IN HEALTHY ADULTS
Jacqueline A. Pettersen, University of British Columbia, Prince George, British Columbia, Canada. Contact e-mail: [email protected] Background: Vitamin D insufficiency has been associated with impaired cognitive functioning and dementia. In animal studies, supplementation increases acetylcholine levels and hippocampal neuron densities, processes important for learning and memory. However, the effects of vitamin D3 sup-
plementation on cognition is unclear. The present study sought to address this question, hypothesizing that high dose vitamin D3 supplementation would result in enhanced cognitive functioning, particularly among adults whose vitamin D levels were insufficient (<75 nmol/L) at baseline. Methods: Participants were healthy adults living at a northern latitude (54 N) with baseline serum vitamin D [25OHD] levels <100 nmol/L, who were randomized and blinded to low (400 IU/d) or high (4000 IU/d) dose vitamin D3 supplementation over 18 weeks. Cognitive testing at baseline and follow-up consisted of: Symbol Digits Modalities Test, verbal (phonemic) fluency, digit span and CANTAB battery, including Verbal Recognition Memory (VRM), Pattern Recognition Memory (PRM) and Paired Associates Learning (PAL) tasks. Alternate test versions were utilized in a counterbalanced fashion to minimize practice effects. Serum levels of 25OHD were obtained at baseline and follow-up. Results: There were 82 participants, 54.7 6 13 yrs of age, with 14.7 6 3 yrs of education, 67.1% female and 62% were vitamin D insufficient at baseline. There were no significant baseline differences between Low (n¼40) and High Dose (n¼42) groups. Serum 25OHD levels increased significantly more in in the High Dose (from 67.2 6 20 to 130.6 6 26 nmol/L) than the Low Dose group (from 60.5 6 22 to 85.9 6 16 nmol/L), p¼0.0001. Performance improved in the High Dose group on the PRM-delayed task from 84.1 6 14.9 to 88.3 6 13.2, t¼-2.10, p¼.04 and the PAL task, number of stages completed, from 4.86 6.35 to 4.95 6.22, t¼-2.09, p¼.04, but could not be explained by vitamin D sufficiency status at baseline (p>.05). The Low Dose group did not improve significantly on the cognitive tasks. Conclusions: Vitamin D may be especially important for nonverbal (pattern) learning and memory. While the optimal level of vitamin D for bone health has been cited as 75 nmol/L. the optimal level for cognition is not known. These results suggest that higher levels may be better, at least for learning and memory tasks involving nonverbal information. P3-384
GROUP REMINISCENCE APPROACH CAN INCREASE SELF-AWARENESS OF MEMORY DEFICITS AND EVOCATION OF REMOTE MEMORY IN OLD-OLD POPULATION WITH MCI: A SECONDARY ANALYSIS OF THE KURIHARA PROJECT DATA
Kei Nakamura, Mari Kasai, Kenichi Meguro, Masahiro Nakatsuka, Cyclotron and Radioisotope Center (CYRIC), Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan. Contact e-mail: [email protected] Background: We previously reported the effect of three types of psychosocial interventions for old-old population with MCI (AAIC 2013), i.e. Physical activities (PA), group reminiscence approach with reality orientation (GRA), and cognitive trainings (CT). All groups showed improvements in executive function and QOL scores, greater improvements noted by those with subjective good impressions through the contents (AAIC 2013). Regarding the GRA, we previously reported the positive effects manifesting improvements on executive functions, supported by other studies’ executive functions, emotion, and social behavior improvements. Since reminiscence approach has the perspectives of a "life review" enriching the inner life via summarizing their own life, the effect on self-awareness of memory loss is hypothesized. Methods: Based on the database of the Kurihara Project, we retrospectively analyzed the participants’ description on their impressions about the intervention (gratitude to therapist, intervention content or reminiscence, mood, bodily well-being, memory loss, other). The content on their life reviews were focused especially for the GRA group. As the qualitative measures, we counted the number of letters and the content of what they wrote. Results: Of the 128, 94 subjects (23 PA subjects, 38 GRA subjects, and 32 CT subjects) described their impressions (72.7%). There were no significant differences in age, MMSE score, and QoL score among the three groups. CT groups had lower education than other groups. Compared with the PA and CT groups, the GRA subjects described their impressions on the intervention content or reminiscence and their own memory problems.For the qualitative measures, we found that the numbers of letters were significantly greater in the GRA group than the PA or CT groups (Kruskal Wallis test, H¼21.131, p<0.0001). Conclusions: This study suggests that the GRA not only stimulates remote memory but also increases self-awareness of memory deficits. This awareness