No abstract

Depression seen in nearly every second older individual implies that the problem is very common. It was concluded that primary healthcare should be integrated into community-based care, and it would be appropriate to plan early diagnosis and treatment programs for the elderly.

Amyloid β42 (Aβ42) and proinflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) have been suggested to contribute to the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and vascular dementia (VaD). Our aim was to examine whether the changes in these parameters would be able to discriminate the patients with AD from those with VaD and from healthy individuals. We have analyzed the levels of Aβ42, IL-6 and TNF-α in the serum of newly diagnosed 28 AD patients, 16 VaD patients and 26 healthy non-demented controls. We also investigated whether there is an association between Aβ42, IL-6 and TNF-α levels and mini-mental state examination (MMSE) scores and body mass indexes (BMI) of patients. Our data showed a significant decrease in serum Aβ-42 levels in AD patients compared to VaD patients and controls. Levels of IL-6 and TNF-α were not different between AD patients, VaD patients and controls. We observed a correlation between Aβ-42 levels and MMSE scores and BMI levels in both AD and VaD patients. However, Aβ-42 levels were not correlated with IL-6 and TNF-α levels. Significantly lower levels of Aβ42 found in the serum of AD patients than that of VaD patients and controls suggests that it can be a specific biochemical marker for AD.

There were no significant differences between C677T and A1298C genotypes and allele frequencies in the stroke patients and controls. Total plasma homocysteine level was higher in the 677TT and 1298AA genotypes in stroke patients and especially small-vessel disease patient subgroup. Age, number of males, systolic-diastolic blood pressures, creatinine, vitamin B(12) and homocysteine levels were significantly high among stroke patients. Age, sex, systolic blood pressure and HDL-C were determined as risk factors for homocysteine levels. We also determined that the effect of A1298C polymorphism on homocysteine was not as high as that of C677T polymorphism in acute stroke patients. We conclude that the MTHFR genotype may be a modest risk factor for stroke in Turkish population.

Alzheimer disease (AD) is a progressive, irreversible entity associated with behavioral changes, memory loss and disturbance of daily life activities. Current diagnostic tools can detect neuronal degeneration in AD only after irreversible damage that already existed. Vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (VEMP) test utilizes the sacculocolic reflex arc and has been used in neuro-otology practice for many years. In this study, we aim to determine if VEMP can be used for diagnostic purposes at the earliest stages of AD. Twenty patients with AD and ten patients with mild cognitive impairment were enrolled in this study. Control group was 30 healthy volunteers with no neurological or otological diseases. Abnormal VEMP responses were found in most of the patients at different stages of AD. VEMP test may be used for early diagnosis of AD. Also, it may provide a novel advancement in understanding of pathophysiology of this disease.