Background Metabolic dysfunction and dysregulation of leptin signaling have been linked to Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)’s pathophysiology. The objectives of this study were to examine the associations between plasma leptin, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) beta-amyloid (Aβ) and tau biomarkers (AT(N) status) and with the stage of cognitive impairment. Methods Cross-sectional analysis of data from cognitively impaired patients from a tertiary memory clinic. Plasma leptin levels were compared according to the stage of cognitive impairment and biomarker profiles, using the AT(N) classification. Linear regression models were performed to examine the relationship between leptin and CSF biomarkers. Results were adjusted for age, gender, body mass index (BMI) and APOE ε4. In a subgroup of A+T+ individuals, we compared the 2-year evolution of Mini Mental Status scores, according to the participants’ tertile of plasma leptin levels. Results We included 1036 participants (age 68.7±9.1, females=54.1%). A+T+ and A+T- patients had significantly lower plasma leptin levels than amyloid negative subjects (p<0.01). CSF Aβ concentration was significantly associated with lower plasma leptin β= -4.3 (1.5), p=0.005 unadjusted; and β= -3.4 (1.6), p=0.03 after adjustment for age, female gender, BMI and APOE ε4. Patients with major neurocognitive disorder due to AD had a difference of leptin of -7.3 ng/ml 95%CI[-11.8;-2.8],p=0.0002, compared to individuals with other causes of cognitive impairment. Leptin was not associated with the slope of cognitive decline. Conclusion Plasma leptin levels were associated with CSF Aβ and with the diagnosis of AD confirmed by CSF biomarkers, suggesting a molecular interplay between leptin metabolism and brain amyloid deposition.
Stray light and subjective photopic phenomena do not show any basic correlation. Measurements in patients with refractive MIOLs showed less stray light than near segment or diffractive MIOLs. However, refractive MIOLs induced more halos compared to the other groups analyzed.
Objective: To use quantitative and qualitative methods to characterize the work patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) enact and explore the interactions between illness, treatment, and life. Patients and Methods: In this mixed-methods, descriptive study, adult patients with T2DM seen at the outpatient diabetes clinic at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, from February 1, 2016, through March 31, 2017, were invited to participate. The study had 3 phases. In phase 1, the Patient Experience with Treatment and Self-management (PETS) scale was used to quantify treatment burden. In phase 2, a convenience sample of patients used a smartphone application to describe, in real time, time spent completing diabetes self-management tasks and to upload descriptive digital photographs. In phase 3, these data were explored in qualitative interviews that were analyed by 2 investigators using deductive analysis. Results: Of 162 participants recruited, 160 returned the survey (phase 1); of the 50 participants who used the smartphone application (phase 2), we interviewed 17 (phase 3). The areas in which patients reported highest treatment burden were difficulty with negotiating health services (eg, coordinating medical appointments), medical expenses, and mental/physical exhaustion with self-care. Participants reported that medical appointments required about 2.5 hours per day, and completing administrative tasks related to health care required about 45 minutes. Time spent on health behaviors varied widelydfrom 2 to 60 minutes in a given 3-hour period. Patients' experience of a task's burden did not always correlate with the time spent on that task. Conclusion:The most burdensome tasks to patients with T2DM included negotiating health care services, affording medications, and completing administrative tasks even though they were not the most timeconsuming activities. To be minimally disruptive, diabetes care should minimize the delegation of administrative tasks to patients.
Introduction In nursing homes, where residents are at elevated risk for malnutrition, the specific additive effect of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on weight loss has not yet been adequately evaluated. This study aimed to determine the factors independently associated with weight loss in nursing home residents who survived the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, whether they have contracted COVID-19 or not. Methods This research was a retrospective study conducted in three nursing homes. Residents who survived the first French COVID-19 lockdown (March to May 2020) were included, provided their weight records were available. Baseline data included the body mass index (BMI), capacity to self-feed, need for texture-modified food, disability, and legal guardianship status. The diagnosis of COVID-19 was based on the results of a positive reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction test. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to investigate associations between resident characteristics, COVID-19 status and at least 5% weight loss. Results Of the 316 included residents (72% female, mean age of 88 years, 48% severely disabled, and 38% under legal guardianship), 111 (35%) contracted COVID-19 and 102 (32%) lost at least 5% of their body weight. No difference was observed between the baseline characteristics of residents subsequently affected or unaffected by COVID-19. In the univariate analysis, old age, severe disability, texture-modified food, the need for close mealtime supervision, and COVID-19 were significantly associated with at least 5% weight loss. In the multivariate logistic regression analysis, COVID-19 (p = 0.02) and the need for close mealtime supervision (p = 0.02) were associated with weight loss in a model that also included age, BMI, texture-modified food, disability and nursing home. Discussion/Conclusion For nursing home residents, COVID-19 was an independent risk factor for weight loss. Weight loss was most common in residents needing close mealtime supervision, suggesting that organizational issues may have affected the quality of the nutritional care provided during the lockdown.
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