Clinical laboratory tests and dementia incidence: A prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Dementia is a major public health issue and a heavy economic burden. It is urgently necessary to understand the underlying biological processes and to identify biomarkers predicting risk of dementia in the preclinical stage for prevention and treatment. METHODS: By using the data of the 367,093 white British individuals from UK Biobank, we investigated the relationship between 56 laboratory measures and 5-year dementia incidence using logistic regression. Adjusted odds ratios for dementia incidence with values below or above the 95 % confidence interval (<2.5th or > 97.5th percentile) on each of clinical laboratory tests were computed. RESULTS: We observed that markers of endocrine dysregulation: elevated hemoglobin A1C (AOR = 2.01 [1.35, 2.88]) was associated with increased dementia incidence. Indicators of liver dysfunction: elevated gamma glutamyltransferase (AOR = 2.28 [1.49, 3.32]), and albumin (AOR = 2.01 [1.15, 3.25]), indicators of renal impairment: high urea (AOR = 1.69 [1.15, 2.40]), and cystatin C (AOR = 1.89 [1.30, 2.67]), and some immune markers, like elevated neutrophill count, low lymphocyte count, and indicators of anemia were also observed to be associated with increased dementia incidence. Both low and high concentrations of insulin-like growth factor 1 were found to be risk factors for dementia. LIMITATIONS: This is an observational study. CONCLUSION: Several systemic biomarkers were associated with dementia incidence. These results implicate a contributory role of diverse biological processes to dementia onset, and enrich our understanding of potential dementia prevention strategy.

Cataract, Cataract Surgery, and Risk of Incident Dementia: A Prospective Cohort Study of 300,823 Participants.

BACKGROUND: Visual impairment and interventions to preserve vision may impact dementia risk. Thus, we aimed to explore the associations of cataract and cataract surgery with the risk of dementia. METHODS: Prospective data from 300,823 individuals in the UK Biobank were used. We used multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression models to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals for associations, with healthy control subjects as a reference. The same method was used to explore the effects of surgery on dementia outcomes of patients with cataract. One-way analysis of variance was performed to examine the associations between cataract and brain morphometric measures. RESULTS: After a mean follow-up of 8.4 years, 3226 individuals were diagnosed with dementia. The nonsurgical cataract group had increased risk of all-cause dementia (HR, 1.214; 95% CI, 1.012-1.456; p = .037) and Alzheimer's disease (HR, 1.479; 95% CI, 1.105-1.981; p = .009). However, there was no difference in dementia risk between the cataract surgery group and the healthy control group. Cataract surgery was associated with decreased risk of all-cause dementia (HR, 0.632; 95% CI, 0.421-0.947; p = .026) and Alzheimer's disease (HR, 0.399; 95% CI, 0.196-0.812; p = .011) compared with the nonsurgical group. Additionally, cataract was negatively associated with cortical volumes, aging-related subcortical volumes, and fractional anisotropy of white matter fibers. CONCLUSIONS: Cataract patients who did not receive surgical treatment had an increased risk of dementia. However, cataract surgery could reverse the risk of dementia. Our findings on brain structures and pathways in patients with cataract also provided evidence for the mechanism. Reversible visual impairment, such as cataract, is a promising modifiable risk factor for dementia.

The variation in crown-root morphology of anterior teeth assessed with cone-beam computed tomography

ABSTRACT Objective: To determine the discrepancy of crown-root morphology of anterior teeth, using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT), and to provide a guidance for proper torque expression. Methods: A total of eligible 200 CBCT were imported into Invivo v. 5.4 software, to obtain the middle labio-lingual sections of anterior teeth. AutoCAD 2007 software was applied to measure the crown-root angulation (Collum angle) and the angle formed by a tangent to the center of the labial surface and the long axis of the crown (labial surface angle). SPSS 18.0 was used for statistical comparisons of the two measurements, at the level of p< 0.05, and the Pearson correlation analysis was applied to investigate the association between the two measurements. Results: The value of Collum angle in maxillary central incisor was close to 0°. Significantly negative Collum angle in lateral incisors and maxillary canine, and positive value in mandibular canine were detected (p < 0.001). The labial surface angle in canine was significantly greater than the intra-arch incisors (p< 0.001), and no significant difference was detected between the central and lateral incisors (p > 0.05). Notably, there was also a significant positive correlation between the two measurements. Conclusions: The crown-root angulations were greatly different among anterior teeth. Accompanying the obvious crown-root angulations, the canines both in maxillary and mandibular arches presented considerable labial surface curvatures. Hence, equivalent deviation during bracket bonding might cause greater torque expression error and increase the risk of alveolar fenestration and dehiscence.

RESUMO Objetivo: Determinar a discrepância na morfologia coroa-raiz de dentes anteriores, utilizando tomografia computadorizada de feixe cônico (TCFC), e fornecer parâmetros para a expressão apropriada do torque. Método: No total, 200 tomografias elegíveis foram importadas para o software Invivo 5.4 para obtenção das secções médias vestibulolinguais dos dentes anteriores. Osoftware AutoCAD 2007 foi usado para medir a angulação coroa-raiz (ângulo Collum) e o ângulo formado por uma tangente ao centro da superfície vestibular da coroa e o longo eixo da coroa (ângulo da superfície vestibular). O software SPSS 18.0 foi utilizado para as comparações estatísticas das duas medições, com nível de significância de p< 0,05, e a análise de correlação de Pearson foi aplicada para investigar a associação entre as duas medições. Resultados: O valor do ângulo Collum do incisivo central superior foi próximo a 0°. Foram detectados valores significativamente negativos para o ângulo Collum nos incisivos laterais e caninos superiores, mas valores positivos nos caninos inferiores (p< 0,001). O ângulo da superfície vestibular no canino foi significativamente maior do que nos incisivos intra-arcada (p< 0,001), e nenhuma diferença significativa foi detectada entre incisivos centrais e laterais (p> 0,05). Também foi observada uma correlação positiva significativa entre as duas medições. Conclusões: As angulações coroa-raiz foram muito diferentes entre os dentes anteriores. Os caninos superiores e inferiores apresentaram considerável curvatura na superfície vestibular, associada a uma evidente angulação coroa-raiz. Consequentemente, desvios durante a colagem de braquetes podem desencadear maior erro na expressão de torque e aumentar o risco de fenestração alveolar e deiscência, sendo necessária uma avaliação antes da colagem.