Autonomic modulation and the risk of dementia in a middle-aged cohort: A 17-year follow-up study

Response to "letter to editor" from Nicolini et al. Regarding "Autonomic modulation and the risk of dementia in a middle-aged cohort: A 17-year follow-up study"

“…As mentioned in the “letter to the editor”, the authors observed that a higher sympathetic activation was related to cognitive decline whereas a greater parasympathetic HRV response predicted a lesser decline in executive functioning for MCI elderly [ 1 ]. Considering that the presence of cognitive impairment usually precedes the diagnosis of dementia, these results were compatible with our findings [ 2 ].…”

“…However, the activity of individual units of CAN (e.g. the hippocampus, insula, locus coeruleus and prefrontal cortex) was not examined in our previous study [ 2 ]. Besides, the diagnostic information of dementia was obtained by ICD code from an established database, whereas the examine of cognitive impairment includes various validated questionnaires and scales, which were not available in our study [ 2 ].…”

“…the hippocampus, insula, locus coeruleus and prefrontal cortex) was not examined in our previous study [ 2 ]. Besides, the diagnostic information of dementia was obtained by ICD code from an established database, whereas the examine of cognitive impairment includes various validated questionnaires and scales, which were not available in our study [ 2 ]. In light of that the process of cognitive impairment and dementia might be insidious and may take many years for detecting the abnormality, we agree that further large prospective cohort studies using comprehensive evaluating tools for cognitive impairment and analyzing the cognitive test changes with time may be helpful to clarify the interaction between autonomic modulation and cognitive function.…”

Aging like fine wine: Mischievous microbes and other factors influencing senescence

“…underscoring the mounting evidence implicating the Central Autonomic Network (CAN) as a neural correlate within the brain-heart axis. They advocate for the initiation of large-scale prospective studies aimed at investigating continuous outcomes in this domain [ 40 , 41 ].…”

“…revisit the findings articulated by Nicolini et al., concurring that the CAN plays a pivotal role in modulating processes integral to the onset of dementia. They endorse the initiative to conduct additional cohort studies aimed at elucidating the complex interplay between autonomic modulation and cognitive function [ 40 , 41 ].…”