Role of diet and exercise in aging, Alzheimer's disease, and other chronic diseases.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease, characterized by memory loss and multiple cognitive impairments. Genetic mutations cause a small proportion (1-2%) of early-onset AD, with mutations in amyloid precursor protein (APP), presenilin 1 (PS1) and presenilin 2 (PS2). Major contributing factors of late-onset AD are ApoE4 genotype, traumatic brain injury, diabetes, obesity, hypertension, cardiovascular conditions, in addition to lifestyle factors, such as unhealthy diet and lack of physical exercise. Disease progression can be delayed and/or prevented to a greater extent by adopting healthy lifestyle with balanced and antioxidant enriched diet and daily exercise. The interaction and interplay of diet, exercise, age, and pharmacological interventions holds a crucial role in the progression, pathogenesis and management of AD and its comorbidities, including diabetes, obesity, hypertension and cardiovascular conditions. Antioxidant enriched diet contributes to brain health, glucose control, weight management, and cardiovascular well-being. Regular exercise removes toxins including free radicals and enhances insulin sensitivity, and supports cardiovascular function. In the current article, we discussed, the role of diet, and exercise in aging, AD and other conditions including diabetes, obesity, hypertension, cardiovascular conditions. This article also highlights the impact of medication, socioeconomic and lifestyle factors, and pharmacological interventions. These aspects were discussed in different races and ethnic groups in Texas, and the US.

Healthy brain aging and delayed dementia in Texas rural elderly.

Healthy aging is the process of preserving and enhancing one's independence, physical and mental well-being, and overall quality of life. It involves the mental, emotional, and cognitive wellness. Although biological and genetic factors have a significant influence on the process of aging gracefully, other adjustable factors also play a crucial role. Adopting positive behaviors such as maintaining a nutritious and balanced diet, engaging in regular physical activity, effectively managing stress and anxiety, ensuring sufficient sleep, nurturing spiritual coping mechanisms, and prioritizing overall well-being from an early stage can collectively influence both lifespan and the quality of health during advanced years. We aim to explore the potential impacts of biological, psychosocial, and environmental factors on the process of healthy cognitive aging in individuals who exhibit healthy aging. Additionally, we plan to present initial findings that demonstrate how maintaining good cognitive health during aging could potentially postpone the emergence of neurodegenerative disorders. We hypothesize that there will be strong associations between biological, environmental, and social factors that cause some elderly to be superior in cognitive health than others. For preliminary data collection, we recruited 25 cognitively healthy individuals and 5 individuals with MCI/AD between the ages of 60-90 years. We conducted anthropometric measurements, and blood biomarker testing, administered surveys, and obtained structural brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scores and sub-scores for the healthy group were also reported. We found that at baseline, individuals exhibiting healthy cognitive aging, and those with MCI/AD had comparable measures of anthropometrics and blood biomarkers. The healthy group exhibited lower signs of brain volume loss and the ones observed were age-related. Moreover, within the healthy group, there was a significant correlation (p = 0.003) between age and MoCA scores. Conversely, within the individuals with MCI/AD, the MRI scans showed disease signs of grey and white matter and loss of cerebral volume. Healthy brain aging is a scientific area that remains under-explored. Our current study findings support our hypothesis. Future studies are required in diverse populations to determine the various biological, psychological, environmental, lifestyle, and social factors that contribute to it.

Comprehensive Understanding of Hispanic Caregivers: Focus on Innovative Methods and Validations.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Alzheimer's disease-related disorders (ADRD) are late-onset, age-related progressive neurodegenerative disorders, characterized by memory loss and multiple cognitive impairments. Current research indicates that Hispanic Americans are at an increased risk for AD/ADRD and other chronic conditions such as diabetes, obesity, hypertension, and kidney disease, and given their rapid growth in numbers, this may contribute to a greater incidence of these disorders. This is particularly true for the state of Texas, where Hispanics are the largest group of ethnic minorities. Currently, AD/ADRD patients are taken care by family caregivers, which puts a tremendous burden on family caregivers who are usually older themselves. The management of disease and providing necessary/timely support for patients with AD/ADRD is a challenging task. Family caregivers support these individuals in completing basic physical needs, maintaining a safe living environment, and providing necessary planning for healthcare needs and end-of-life decisions for the remainder of the patient's lifetime. Family caregivers are mostly over 50 years of age and provide all-day care for individuals with AD/ADRD, while also managing their health. This takes a significant toll on the caregiver's own physiological, mental, behavioral, and social health, in addition to low economic status. The purpose of our article is to assess the status of Hispanic caregivers. We also focused on effective interventions for family caregivers of persons with AD/ADRD involving both educational and psychotherapeutic components, and a group format further enhances effectiveness. Our article discusses innovative methods and validations to support Hispanic family caregivers in rural West Texas.

Support Provided by Caregivers for Community-Dwelling Obesity Individuals: Focus on Elderly and Hispanics.

Obesity is a chronic disease marked by the buildup of extra adipose tissue and a higher chance of developing concomitant illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and some malignancies. Over the past few decades, there has been a global increase in the prevalence of obesity, which now affects around one-third of the world's population. According to recent studies, a variety of factors, including genetics and biology as well as environmental, physiological, and psychosocial factors, may have a role in the development of obesity. The prevalence of obesity is often higher among Hispanic American groups than among White people in the U.S. Obesity is a widespread condition with a high risk of morbidity and death, and it is well-recognized that the prevalence of comorbidities rises with rising levels of obesity or body mass index. To combat the rising prevalence of obesity in the USA, especially among Hispanics, one of the fastest-growing racial/ethnic groups in the country, there is an urgent need for obesity therapies. The exact cause of this disparity is unclear, but some responsible factors are a lack of education, high unemployment rates, high levels of food insecurity, an unhealthy diet, inadequate access to physical activity resources, a lack of health insurance, and constricted access to culturally adequate healthcare. Additionally, managing obesity and giving needed/timely support to obese people is a difficult responsibility for medical professionals and their loved ones. The need for caregivers is increasing with the increased number of individuals with obesity, particularly Hispanics. Our article summarizes the status of obesity, focusing on Hispanic populations, and we also highlight specific factors that contribute to obesity, including genetics, epigenetics, biological, physiological, and psychosocial factors, medication and disease, environment, and socio-demographics. This article also reviews caregiver duties and challenges associated with caring for people with obesity.

Current Status of Obesity: Protective Role of Catechins.

Obesity is a growing health concern in today's society. Current estimates indicate that obesity occurs in both adults and young people. Recent research also found that the Hispanic population in the U.S. is 1.9 times more likely to be overweight as compared to their non-Hispanic population. Obesity is a multifactorial disease that has a variety of causes. All current treatment options incorporate dietary changes aimed at establishing a negative energy balance. According to current scientific research, multiple factors are involved with the development of obesity, including genetic, biochemical, psychological, environmental, behavioral, and socio-demographic factors. The people who suffer from obesity are far more likely to suffer serious health problems, such as stroke, diabetes, lung disease, bone and joint disease, cancer, heart disease, neurological disorders, and poor mental health. Studies indicate that multiple cellular changes are implicated in the progression of obesity, mitochondrial dysfunction, deregulated microRNAs, inflammatory changes, hormonal deregulation, and others. This article highlights the role that oxidative stress plays in obesity and current obesity-prevention techniques with an emphasis on the impact of catechins to prevent and treat obesity.

Impact of Chronic Conditions and Dementia in Rural West Texas: A Healthy Aging Study.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a devastating illness in elderly individuals, that currently has no known cure. Causal genetic factors only account for 1-2% of AD patients. However, other causal factors are still unknown for a majority of AD patients. Currently, multiple factors are implicated in late-onset AD, including unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, traumatic brain injury, chronic conditions, epigenetic factors, and environmental exposures. Although clinical symptoms of dementia are common to all races and ethnic groups, conditions that lead to dementia are different in terms of lifestyle, genetic profile, and socio-economic conditions. Increasing evidence also suggests that some elderly individuals age without cognitive impairments in their 60-90s as seen in rural West Texas, while some individuals progress with chronic conditions and cognitive impairments into their 60s. To understand these discriminations, we assessed current literature on demographic features of health in rural West Texas. This paper also outlines our initiated clinical study with a purpose of understanding the factors that allow some individuals to live without cognitive impairments at the age of 60-90 years, whereas others develop deficits in cognitive function around or above 60 years. Our ongoing study hopes to determine the factors that delay aging in some individuals by investigating various aspects including genetics, epigenetics, ethnicity, biology, culture, and lifestyle. This will be achieved by gathering information about participants' ethnographic profiles, cognitive assessments, blood-profiles, brain scans, and blood-based genomic analyses in relation to lifestyle. The outcomes of our study will provide insights into healthy aging in rural West Texas.

Defective mitophagy and synaptic degeneration in Alzheimer's disease: Focus on aging, mitochondria and synapse.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease characterized by memory loss and multiple cognitive impairments. AD is marked by multiple cellular changes, including deregulation of microRNAs, activation of glia and astrocytes, hormonal imbalance, defective mitophagy, synaptic degeneration, in addition to extracellular neuritic amyloid-beta (Aß) plaques, phosphorylated tau (P-tau), and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs). Recent research in AD revealed that defective synaptic mitophagy leads to synaptic degeneration and cognitive dysfunction in AD neurons. Our critical analyses of mitochondria and Aß and P-tau revealed that increased levels of Aß and P-Tau, and abnormal interactions between Aß and Drp1, P-Tau and Drp1 induced increased mitochondrial fragmentation and proliferation of dysfunctional mitochondria in AD neurons and depleted Parkin and PINK1 levels. These events ultimately lead to impaired clearance of dead and/or dying mitochondria in AD neurons. The purpose of our article is to highlight the recent research on mitochondria and synapses in relation to Aß and P-tau, focusing on recent developments.