Samuel Gibbon, Graciela Muniz-Terrera, Fabian S. L. Yii, Charlene Hamid, Simon Cox, Ian J. C. Maccormick, Andrew J. Tatham, Craig Ritchie, Emanuele Trucco, Baljean Dhillon, Thomas J. MacGillivray
Neuro-ophthalmology (2024)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1167/tvst.13.5.20
Summary
In dementia, nerve cells in the brain called neurons stop functioning properly, lose connections with other neurons, and eventually die prematurely. The eye is a window into the human body where we can easily study the nerves of the retina which might reflect the health and condition of similar, but less accessible, tissues in the brain. In this paper we explain how we have developed software that quantifies the appearance of the optic nerve head in fundus images as a marker of loss of nerve tissue that makes this feature appear lighter and paler. Our technique could potentially become a straightforward test to monitor for change over time and spot people most at risk of developing dementia later in life. In turn, this could help target the recruitment of clinical trials of new treatments at the most suitable individuals.
Craig W Ritchie, Katie Bridgeman, Sarah Gregory, John T O’Brien, Samuel O Danso, Maria-Eleni Dounavi, Isabelle Carriere, David Driscoll, Robert Hillary, Ivan Koychev, Brian Lawlor, Lorina Naci, Li Su, Audrey Low, Elijah Mak, Paresh Malhotra, Jean Manson, Riccardo Marioni, Lee Murphy, Georgios Ntailianis, William Stewart, Graciela Muniz-Terrera, Karen Ritchie
Brain Communications (2024)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.numecd.2023.07.020
Summary
The PREVENT cohort offers a novel dataset to explore midlife risk factors and early signs of neurodegenerative disease. The cohort includes 700 participants recruited across five sites in the United Kingdom and Ireland (Cambridge, Dublin, Edinburgh, London and Oxford). At baseline, participants had a mean age of 51.2 years, with the majority female (n=433, 61.9%). There was a near equal distribution of participants with and without a parental history of dementia (51.4% vs 48.6%) and a relatively high prevalence of APOEɛ4 carriers (n=264, 38.0%). Participants were highly educated (16.7 ± 3.44 years of education), and mainly of European Ancestry (n=672, 95.9%). This paper provides an overview of the study protocol and presents the first summary results from the initial baseline data to describe the cohort.
Sarah Gregory, Alex Griffiths, Amy Jennings, Fiona C. Malcolmson, Jamie Matu, Anne-Marie Minihane, Graciela Muniz-Terrera, Craig W. Ritchie, Solange Parra-Soto, Emma Stevenson, Rebecca Townsend, Nicola Ann Ward, Oliver Shannon
Nutrition & Metabolism (2024)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.numecd.2023.07.020
Summary
The Eatwell Guide is the UK government’s recommendation for a healthy diet. Although other healthy patterns of eating have been linked to better health (heart health and brain health), few studies have looked at the Eatwell Guide. Using data from PREVENT, we found that eating in line with the Eatwell Guide was associated with lower blood pressure and a lower body mass index (or BMI). These are both important risk factors for dementia, and as such eating a healthy diet, such as the Eatwell Guide, may be helpful in reducing dementia risk.
Elijah Mak, Maria-Eleni Dounavi, Grégory Operto, Elina T Ziukelis, Peter Simon Jones, Audrey Low, Peter Swann, Coco Newton, Graciela Muniz Terrera, Paresh Malhotra, Ivan Koychev, Carles Falcon, Clare Mackay, Brian Lawlor, Lorina Naci, Katie Wells, Craig Ritchie, Karen Ritchie, Li Su, Juan Domingo Gispert, John T O’Brien.
Brain Communications (2024)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.numecd.2023.07.020
Summary
The APOE ε4 gene is the strongest genetic risk factor for the most common form of Alzheimer’s disease, however, exactly how APOE4 contributes to Alzheimer’s is not fully clear. This was addressed in a collaboration between the PREVENT Dementia programme and the ALFA (ALzheimer’s and FAmilies) cohort in Barcelona.
Using an advanced brain imaging technique called Neurite Orientation Dispersion and Density Imaging (NODDI) in nearly 2,000 cognitively normal adults, the research teams found APOE4 worsened age-related loss of complexity of brain cell connections. These effects were most pronounced in areas of the brain vulnerable to Alzheimer’s disease and involved in memory function.
The findings, suggest APOE4 may promote the development of Alzheimer’s disease by hastening disruptive aging processes in neuron connectivity, especially in memory-critical areas.
Benjamin Tari, Michael Ben Yehuda, Axel Anders Stefan Laurell, Karen Ritchie, Yves Dauvilliers, Craig W. Ritchie, Brian Lawlor, Lorina Naci, Graciela Muniz Terrera, Paresh Malhotra, Tam Watermeyer, Robert Dudas, Benjamin R Underwood, John T O’Brien, Vanessa Raymont, Ivan Koychev.
Frontiers in Sleep (2023)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.numecd.2023.07.020
Summary
As the global population ages, it is critical to understand factors associated with cognitive decline, such as sleep. Sleep has been shown to maintain cognitive function and protect against the onset of chronic disease, but too much or too little has been linked to cognitive impairment, depression and dementia onset. Here, we aimed to identify links between sleep, depression and cognition. Our analyses found that sleep was related to participants’ ratings of symptoms of depression, and that their feelings of depression were associated with cognitive performance. Our results provide a base from which cognition, dementia onset, and potential points of intervention, may be better understood.
