ABSTRACT
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To provide an updated analysis of the possible use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) as treatments for Alzheimer´s disease (AD). RECENT FINDINGS: Neuroinflammation in AD is an active field of research, with increasing evidence from basic and clinical studies for an involvement of innate or adaptive immune responses in the pathophysiology of AD. Few clinical trials with anti-inflammatory drugs have been performed in the last decade, with negative results. SUMMARY: Besides the information gathered from basic research, epidemiological studies have provided conflicting findings, with most case-control or prevalence studies suggesting an inverse relationship between NSAIDs use and AD, but divided results in prospective population-based incident cohort studies. Clinical trials with different NSAIDs are almost unanimous in reporting an absence of clear benefit in AD. CONCLUSION: The modulation of inflammatory responses is a promising therapeutic strategy in AD. After three decades of research, it seems that conventional NSAIDs are not the best pharmacological option, both for their lack of clear effects and for an unfavorable side-effect profile in long-term treatment. The development of other anti-inflammatory drugs as candidate treatments in AD may benefit from the knowledge acquired with NSAIDs.
Subject(s)
Alzheimer Disease/drug therapy , Alzheimer Disease/prevention & control , Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal/pharmacology , Inflammation/drug therapy , Alzheimer Disease/immunology , Brain/drug effects , Clinical Trials as Topic , HumansABSTRACT
We analyzed the frequency of cognitive impairment (CI) in deceased COVID-19 patients at a tertiary hospital in Spain. Among the 477 adult cases who died after admission from March 1 to March 31, 2020, 281 had confirmed COVID-19. CI (21.1% dementia and 8.9% mild cognitive impairment) was a common comorbidity. Subjects with CI were older, tended to live in nursing homes, had shorter time from symptom onset to death, and were rarely admitted to the ICU, receiving palliative care more often. CI is a frequent comorbidity in deceased COVID-19 subjects and is associated with differences in care.
Subject(s)
COVID-19/psychology , Cognitive Dysfunction/psychology , Adolescent , Adult , Age Factors , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , COVID-19/epidemiology , COVID-19/mortality , Cognitive Dysfunction/epidemiology , Cognitive Dysfunction/etiology , Comorbidity , Female , Hospital Mortality , Hospitals , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Palliative Care , Patient Admission/statistics & numerical data , Retrospective Studies , Spain/epidemiology , Young AdultABSTRACT
Background: Adult-onset Niemann-Pick Type C is a rare neurogenetic lysosomal disorder, whose diagnosis is often delayed and missed because of its heterogeneous clinical presentations and rarity as well as the lack of awareness of characteristic eye findings among neurologists. Phenomenology Shown: Impaired smooth pursuits, saccades, and optokinetic nystagmus in the vertical direction, with relatively normal eye movements in the horizontal direction, and ataxia features on finger chase testing, tandem walking, and gait ataxia. Educational Value: Impairment of vertical eye movements in combination with ataxia, cognitive impairment, and/or psychiatric symptoms in an adult patient should always raise clinical suspicion of Niemann-Pick Type C.
