@article {6363, title = {Prognostic implications of microvascular and macrovascular abnormalities in older adults: cardiovascular health study.}, journal = {J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci}, volume = {69}, year = {2014}, month = {2014 Dec}, pages = {1495-502}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Microvascular and macrovascular abnormalities are frequently found on noninvasive tests performed in older adults. Their prognostic implications on disability and life expectancy have not been collectively assessed.

METHODS: This prospective study included 2,452 adults (mean age: 79.5 years) with available measures of microvascular (brain, retina, kidney) and macrovascular abnormalities (brain, carotid, coronary, peripheral artery) in the Cardiovascular Health Study. The burden of microvascular and macrovascular abnormalities was examined in relation to total, activity-of-daily-living disability-free, and severe disability-free life expectancies in the next 10 years (1999-2009).

RESULTS: At 75 years, individuals with low burden of both abnormalities lived, on average, 8.71 years (95\% confidence interval: 8.29, 9.12) of which 7.67 years (7.16, 8.17) were without disability. In comparison, individuals with high burden of both abnormalities had shortest total life expectancy (6.95 years [6.52, 7.37]; p < .001) and disability-free life expectancy (5.60 years [5.10, 6.11]; p < .001). Although total life expectancy was similarly reduced for those with high burden of either type of abnormalities (microvascular: 7.96 years [7.50, 8.42] vs macrovascular: 8.25 years [7.80, 8.70]; p = .10), microvascular abnormalities seemed to have larger impact than macrovascular abnormalities on disability-free life expectancy (6.45 years [5.90, 6.99] vs 6.96 years [6.43, 7.48]; p = .016). These results were consistent for severe disability-free life expectancy and in individuals without clinical cardiovascular disease.

CONCLUSIONS: Considering both microvascular and macrovascular abnormalities from multiple noninvasive tests may provide additional prognostic information on how older adults spend their remaining life. Optimal clinical use of this information remains to be determined.

}, keywords = {Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Aging, Ankle Brachial Index, Disability Evaluation, Electrocardiography, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Forecasting, Humans, Life Expectancy, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Microcirculation, Prognosis, Prospective Studies, Risk Factors, Vascular Malformations}, issn = {1758-535X}, doi = {10.1093/gerona/glu074}, author = {Kim, Dae Hyun and Grodstein, Francine and Newman, Anne B and Chaves, Paulo H M and Odden, Michelle C and Klein, Ronald and Sarnak, Mark J and Patel, Kushang V and Lipsitz, Lewis A} } @article {6684, title = {Genome-wide studies of verbal declarative memory in nondemented older people: the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology consortium.}, journal = {Biol Psychiatry}, volume = {77}, year = {2015}, month = {2015 Apr 15}, pages = {749-63}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Memory performance in older persons can reflect genetic influences on cognitive function and dementing processes. We aimed to identify genetic contributions to verbal declarative memory in a community setting.

METHODS: We conducted genome-wide association studies for paragraph or word list delayed recall in 19 cohorts from the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology consortium, comprising 29,076 dementia- and stroke-free individuals of European descent, aged >=45 years. Replication of suggestive associations (p < 5 {\texttimes} 10(-6)) was sought in 10,617 participants of European descent, 3811 African-Americans, and 1561 young adults.

RESULTS: rs4420638, near APOE, was associated with poorer delayed recall performance in discovery (p = 5.57 {\texttimes} 10(-10)) and replication cohorts (p = 5.65 {\texttimes} 10(-8)). This association was stronger for paragraph than word list delayed recall and in the oldest persons. Two associations with specific tests, in subsets of the total sample, reached genome-wide significance in combined analyses of discovery and replication (rs11074779 [HS3ST4], p = 3.11 {\texttimes} 10(-8), and rs6813517 [SPOCK3], p = 2.58 {\texttimes} 10(-8)) near genes involved in immune response. A genetic score combining 58 independent suggestive memory risk variants was associated with increasing Alzheimer disease pathology in 725 autopsy samples. Association of memory risk loci with gene expression in 138 human hippocampus samples showed cis-associations with WDR48 and CLDN5, both related to ubiquitin metabolism.

CONCLUSIONS: This largest study to date exploring the genetics of memory function in ~40,000 older individuals revealed genome-wide associations and suggested an involvement of immune and ubiquitin pathways.

}, keywords = {Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Aging, Apolipoproteins E, Claudin-5, Cohort Studies, Female, Genome-Wide Association Study, Genotype, Humans, Male, Memory Disorders, Middle Aged, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, Proteins, Proteoglycans, Regression Analysis, Sulfotransferases, Verbal Learning}, issn = {1873-2402}, doi = {10.1016/j.biopsych.2014.08.027}, author = {Debette, Stephanie and Ibrahim Verbaas, Carla A and Bressler, Jan and Schuur, Maaike and Smith, Albert and Bis, Joshua C and Davies, Gail and Wolf, Christiane and Gudnason, Vilmundur and Chibnik, Lori B and Yang, Qiong and DeStefano, Anita L and de Quervain, Dominique J F and Srikanth, Velandai and Lahti, Jari and Grabe, Hans J and Smith, Jennifer A and Priebe, Lutz and Yu, Lei and Karbalai, Nazanin and Hayward, Caroline and Wilson, James F and Campbell, Harry and Petrovic, Katja and Fornage, Myriam and Chauhan, Ganesh and Yeo, Robin and Boxall, Ruth and Becker, James and Stegle, Oliver and Mather, Karen A and Chouraki, Vincent and Sun, Qi and Rose, Lynda M and Resnick, Susan and Oldmeadow, Christopher and Kirin, Mirna and Wright, Alan F and Jonsdottir, Maria K and Au, Rhoda and Becker, Albert and Amin, Najaf and Nalls, Mike A and Turner, Stephen T and Kardia, Sharon L R and Oostra, Ben and Windham, Gwen and Coker, Laura H and Zhao, Wei and Knopman, David S and Heiss, Gerardo and Griswold, Michael E and Gottesman, Rebecca F and Vitart, Veronique and Hastie, Nicholas D and Zgaga, Lina and Rudan, Igor and Polasek, Ozren and Holliday, Elizabeth G and Schofield, Peter and Choi, Seung Hoan and Tanaka, Toshiko and An, Yang and Perry, Rodney T and Kennedy, Richard E and Sale, Mich{\`e}le M and Wang, Jing and Wadley, Virginia G and Liewald, David C and Ridker, Paul M and Gow, Alan J and Pattie, Alison and Starr, John M and Porteous, David and Liu, Xuan and Thomson, Russell and Armstrong, Nicola J and Eiriksdottir, Gudny and Assareh, Arezoo A and Kochan, Nicole A and Widen, Elisabeth and Palotie, Aarno and Hsieh, Yi-Chen and Eriksson, Johan G and Vogler, Christian and van Swieten, John C and Shulman, Joshua M and Beiser, Alexa and Rotter, Jerome and Schmidt, Carsten O and Hoffmann, Wolfgang and N{\"o}then, Markus M and Ferrucci, Luigi and Attia, John and Uitterlinden, Andr{\'e} G and Amouyel, Philippe and Dartigues, Jean-Fran{\c c}ois and Amieva, H{\'e}l{\`e}ne and R{\"a}ikk{\"o}nen, Katri and Garcia, Melissa and Wolf, Philip A and Hofman, Albert and Longstreth, W T and Psaty, Bruce M and Boerwinkle, Eric and DeJager, Philip L and Sachdev, Perminder S and Schmidt, Reinhold and Breteler, Monique M B and Teumer, Alexander and Lopez, Oscar L and Cichon, Sven and Chasman, Daniel I and Grodstein, Francine and M{\"u}ller-Myhsok, Bertram and Tzourio, Christophe and Papassotiropoulos, Andreas and Bennett, David A and Ikram, M Arfan and Deary, Ian J and van Duijn, Cornelia M and Launer, Lenore and Fitzpatrick, Annette L and Seshadri, Sudha and Mosley, Thomas H} } @article {6852, title = {Microvascular and Macrovascular Abnormalities and Cognitive and Physical Function in Older Adults: Cardiovascular Health Study.}, journal = {J Am Geriatr Soc}, volume = {63}, year = {2015}, month = {2015 Sep}, pages = {1886-93}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate and compare the associations between microvascular and macrovascular abnormalities and cognitive and physical function

DESIGN: Cross-sectional analysis of the Cardiovascular Health Study (1998-1999).

SETTING: Community.

PARTICIPANTS: Individuals with available data on three or more of five microvascular abnormalities (brain, retina, kidney) and three or more of six macrovascular abnormalities (brain, carotid artery, heart, peripheral artery) (N = 2,452; mean age 79.5).

MEASUREMENTS: Standardized composite scores derived from three cognitive tests (Modified Mini-Mental State Examination, Digit-Symbol Substitution Test, Trail-Making Test (TMT)) and three physical tests (gait speed, grip strength, 5-time sit to stand)

RESULTS: Participants with high microvascular and macrovascular burden had worse cognitive (mean score difference = -0.30, 95\% confidence interval (CI) = -0.37 to -0.24) and physical (mean score difference = -0.32, 95\% CI = -0.38 to -0.26) function than those with low microvascular and macrovascular burden. Individuals with high microvascular burden alone had similarly lower scores than those with high macrovascular burden alone (cognitive function: -0.16, 95\% CI = -0.24 to -0.08 vs -0.13, 95\% CI = -0.20 to -0.06; physical function: -0.15, 95\% CI = -0.22 to -0.08 vs -0.12, 95\% CI = -0.18 to -0.06). Psychomotor speed and working memory, assessed using the TMT, were only impaired in the presence of high microvascular burden. Of the 11 vascular abnormalities considered, white matter hyperintensity, cystatin C-based glomerular filtration rate, large brain infarct, and ankle-arm index were independently associated with cognitive and physical function.

CONCLUSION: Microvascular and macrovascular abnormalities assessed using noninvasive tests of the brain, kidney, and peripheral artery were independently associated with poor cognitive and physical function in older adults. Future research should evaluate the usefulness of these tests in prognostication.

}, keywords = {Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Cognition, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Humans, Male, Neuropsychological Tests, Vascular Malformations}, issn = {1532-5415}, doi = {10.1111/jgs.13594}, author = {Kim, Dae Hyun and Grodstein, Francine and Newman, Anne B and Chaves, Paulo H M and Odden, Michelle C and Klein, Ronald and Sarnak, Mark J and Lipsitz, Lewis A} } @article {9578, title = {Multi-omics and pathway analyses of genome-wide associations implicate regulation and immunity in verbal declarative memory performance.}, journal = {Alzheimers Res Ther}, volume = {16}, year = {2024}, month = {2024 Jan 20}, pages = {14}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Uncovering the functional relevance underlying verbal declarative memory (VDM) genome-wide association study (GWAS) results may facilitate the development of interventions to reduce age-related memory decline and dementia.

METHODS: We performed multi-omics and pathway enrichment analyses of paragraph (PAR-dr) and word list (WL-dr) delayed recall GWAS from 29,076 older non-demented individuals of European descent. We assessed the relationship between single-variant associations and expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) in 44 tissues and methylation quantitative trait loci (meQTLs) in the hippocampus. We determined the relationship between gene associations and transcript levels in 53 tissues, annotation as immune genes, and regulation by transcription factors (TFs) and microRNAs. To identify significant pathways, gene set enrichment was tested in each cohort and meta-analyzed across cohorts. Analyses of differential expression in brain tissues were conducted for pathway component genes.

RESULTS: The single-variant associations of VDM showed significant linkage disequilibrium (LD) with eQTLs across all tissues and meQTLs within the hippocampus. Stronger WL-dr gene associations correlated with reduced expression in four brain tissues, including the hippocampus. More robust PAR-dr and/or WL-dr gene associations were intricately linked with immunity and were influenced by 31 TFs and 2 microRNAs. Six pathways, including type I diabetes, exhibited significant associations with both PAR-dr and WL-dr. These pathways included fifteen MHC genes intricately linked to VDM performance, showing diverse expression patterns based on cognitive status in brain tissues.

CONCLUSIONS: VDM genetic associations influence expression regulation via eQTLs and meQTLs. The involvement of TFs, microRNAs, MHC genes, and immune-related pathways contributes to VDM performance in older individuals.

}, keywords = {Aged, Cognition, Genome-Wide Association Study, Humans, Memory, MicroRNAs, Multiomics, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide}, issn = {1758-9193}, doi = {10.1186/s13195-023-01376-6}, author = {Mei, Hao and Simino, Jeannette and Li, Lianna and Jiang, Fan and Bis, Joshua C and Davies, Gail and Hill, W David and Xia, Charley and Gudnason, Vilmundur and Yang, Qiong and Lahti, Jari and Smith, Jennifer A and Kirin, Mirna and De Jager, Philip and Armstrong, Nicola J and Ghanbari, Mohsen and Kolcic, Ivana and Moran, Christopher and Teumer, Alexander and Sargurupremraj, Murali and Mahmud, Shamsed and Fornage, Myriam and Zhao, Wei and Satizabal, Claudia L and Polasek, Ozren and R{\"a}ikk{\"o}nen, Katri and Liewald, David C and Homuth, Georg and Callisaya, Michele and Mather, Karen A and Windham, B Gwen and Zemunik, Tatijana and Palotie, Aarno and Pattie, Alison and van der Auwera, Sandra and Thalamuthu, Anbupalam and Knopman, David S and Rudan, Igor and Starr, John M and Wittfeld, Katharina and Kochan, Nicole A and Griswold, Michael E and Vitart, Veronique and Brodaty, Henry and Gottesman, Rebecca and Cox, Simon R and Psaty, Bruce M and Boerwinkle, Eric and Chasman, Daniel I and Grodstein, Francine and Sachdev, Perminder S and Srikanth, Velandai and Hayward, Caroline and Wilson, James F and Eriksson, Johan G and Kardia, Sharon L R and Grabe, Hans J and Bennett, David A and Ikram, M Arfan and Deary, Ian J and van Duijn, Cornelia M and Launer, Lenore and Fitzpatrick, Annette L and Seshadri, Sudha and Bressler, Jan and Debette, Stephanie and Mosley, Thomas H} }