Sleep quality in older adults should receive particular attention by clinicians because poor sleep quality can be an early sign of cognitive decline.

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Carrying the apoE e4 allele (E4þ ) is the most important genetic risk for Alzheimer's disease. Unlike non-carriers (E42 ), E4þ seem not to be protected against Alzheimer's disease when consuming fish. We hypothesised that this may be linked to a disturbance in n-3 DHA metabolism in E4þ. The aim of the present study was to evaluate [ 13 C]DHA metabolism over 28 d in E4þ v. E42. A total of forty participants (twenty-six women and fourteen men) received a single oral dose of 40 mg [ 13 C]DHA, and its metabolism was monitored in blood and breath over 28 d. Of the participants, six were E4þ and thirty-four were E42. In E4þ, mean plasma [ 13 C]DHA was 31 % lower than that in E42, and cumulative b-oxidation of [ 13 C]DHA was higher than that in E42 1-28 d post-dose (P#0·05). A genotype £ time interaction was detected for cumulative b-oxidation of [ 13 C]DHA (P#0·01). The whole-body half-life of [ 13 C]DHA was 77 % lower in E4þ compared with E42 (P#0·01). In E4þ and E42, the percentage dose of [ 13 C]DHA recovered/h as 13 CO 2 correlated with [ 13 C]DHA concentration in plasma, but the slope of linear regression was 117 % steeper in E4þ compared with E42 (P# 0·05). These results indicate that DHA metabolism is disturbed in E4þ, and may help explain why there is no association between DHA levels in plasma and cognition in E4þ. However, whether E4þ disturbs the metabolism of 13 C-labelled fatty acids other than DHA cannot be deduced from the present study.

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Objective: Given that aging is associated with higher risk of cognitive decline and dementia, improving early detection of cognitive impairment has become a research and clinical priority. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is a screening instrument used to assess different aspects of cognition. Despite its widespread use, norms adjusted to the sociodemographics of Quebec-French people are not yet available. Such norms are however important because performance on neuropsychological tests varies according to sociodemographic variables including age, sex, and education. As such, the present study aimed to establish normative data for the MoCA in middle-aged and elderly Quebec-French population. Method: For that purpose, 1,019 community-dwelling older adults aged between 41 and 98 were recruited. Participants from 12 recruiting sites completed the MoCA. Regression-based normative data were produced and cross-validated with a validation sample (n = 200). Results: Regression analyses indicated that older age, lower education level, and male sex were associated with poorer MoCA scores. The best predictive model included age (p < .001), education (p < .001), sex (p < .001), and a quadratic term for education (education X education; p < .001). This model explained a significant amount of variance of the MoCA score (p < .001, R 2 = 0.26). A regression equation to calculate Z scores is presented. Conclusions: This study provides normative data for the MoCA test in the middle-aged and elderly French-Quebec people. These data will facilitate more accurate detection and follow-up of the risk of cognitive impairment in this population, taking into account culture, age, education, and sex.

Persons with dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT) are impaired in recognizing emotions from face and voice. Yet clinical practitioners use these mediums to communicate with DAT patients. Music is also used in clinical practice, but little is known about emotional processing from music in DAT. This study aims to assess emotional recognition in mild DAT. Seven patients with DAT and 16 healthy elderly adults were given three tasks of emotional recognition for face, prosody, and music. DAT participants were only impaired in the emotional recognition from the face. These preliminary results suggest that dynamic auditory emotions are preserved in DAT.

Since desire for death is the first step into the suicidal process, health professionals should seriously consider the important and unique contribution of these variables in order to have more opportunities for detection and intervention.

We summarize here the studies examining the association between thyroid function and cognitive performance from an aging perspective. The available data suggest that there may be a continuum in which cognitive dysfunction can result from increased or decreased concentrations of thyroid hormones. Clinical and subclinical hypothyroidism as well as hyperthyroidism in middle-aged and elderly adults are both associated with decreased cognitive functioning, especially memory, visuospatial organization, attention, and reaction time. Mild variations of thyroid function, even within normal limits, can have significant consequences for cognitive function in the elderly. Different cognitive deficits possibly related to thyroid failure do not necessarily follow a consistent pattern, and L-thyroxine treatment may not always completely restore normal functioning in patients with hypothyroidism. There is little or no consensus in the literature regarding how thyroid function is associated with cognitive performance in the elderly.