Food anthocyanins decrease concentrations of TNF-α in older adults with mild cognitive impairment: A randomized, controlled, double blind clinical trial.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Vascular function, blood pressure and inflammation are involved in the pathogenesis of major chronic diseases, including both cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). This study investigated the effects of food anthocyanins on microvascular function, 24-h ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) and inflammatory biomarkers in older adults with MCI. METHODS AND RESULTS: Thirty-one participants with MCI [19 female, 12 male, mean age 75.3 (SD 6.9) years and body mass index 26.1 (SD 3.3) kg/m2], participated in a randomized, controlled, double-blind clinical trial (Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry: ACTRN12618001184268). Participants consumed 250 mL fruit juice daily for 8 weeks, allocated into three groups: a) high dose anthocyanins (201 mg); b) low dose anthocyanins (47 mg); c) control. Microvascular function (Laser Speckle Contrast Imaging combined with a post-occlusive reactive hyperaemia test), 24h ABP and serum inflammatory biomarkers were assessed before and after the nutritional intervention. RESULTS: Participants in the high anthocyanins group had a reduction in serum tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) (P = 0.002) compared to controls and the low anthocyanins group (all P's > 0.05). Serum IL-6, IL-1ß, c-reactive protein, and parameters of microvascular function and 24h ABP were not altered by any treatment. CONCLUSION: A daily high dose of fruit-based anthocyanins for 8 weeks reduced concentrations of TNF-α in older adults with MCI. Anthocyanins did not alter other inflammatory biomarkers, microvascular function or blood pressure parameters. Further studies with a larger sample size and longer period of follow-up are required to elucidate whether this change in the immune response will alter CVD risk and progression of cognitive decline.

Examining factors related to accelerated long-term forgetting in epilepsy using ambulatory EEG monitoring.

PURPOSE: Some patients with epilepsy demonstrate normal memory when this is tested at relatively short intervals (e.g., 30 min), but substantial loss over longer delay periods (e.g., days or weeks) when compared to healthy control subjects. This pattern of "accelerated long-term forgetting" (ALF) affects the everyday lives of patients, yet goes undetected by standard neuropsychological memory tests, and its pathophysiologic basis is poorly understood. By testing memory over a period of concurrent ambulatory electroencephalography (EEG), the current study aimed to investigate possible factors contributing to ALF. METHODS: Thirty-nine patients diagnosed with epilepsy or probable epilepsy underwent 5 days of continuous ambulatory EEG: 18 had normal EEG studies, 10 had focal epileptic discharges, 5 had generalized epileptic discharges, and 6 had one or more seizures. Fifteen matched healthy control subjects also participated, but did not undergo EEG. Subjects were taught 13-item word and design lists to criterion, and recall was tested at 30 min, 24 h, and 4 days. Subjects also completed questionnaires pertaining to everyday memory and mood. KEY FINDINGS: Group analyses (excluding patients who experienced seizures during monitoring) indicated that patients who experienced generalized discharges during the 24-h to 4-day delay intervals showed higher rates of forgetting for nonverbal information. Those with focal discharges showed ALF between 30 min and 4 days for verbal information, whereas those with normal EEGs over the 4 days recording had no evidence of ALF. Surprisingly, mood and epilepsy variables (such as duration of disease or number of anticonvulsant medications) showed no significant correlation with ALF. Although no aspect of nighttime sleep architecture was found to be related to recall after the first 24 h, daytime naps were associated with better retention. Self-report of everyday memory functioning was related to recall at longer delays, but not at 30 min. SIGNIFICANCE: The present findings indicated that ALF in epilepsy is associated with subclinical discharges rather than antiepileptic drugs (AEDs), mood or sleep disturbance. Measures of longer-term recall can reveal correlations with subjective everyday memory complaints that are not evident when recall is only tested at a standard (30 min) delay interval. These findings have the potential to improve treatment strategies for patients who complain of memory difficulties.

Anthocyanin intake is associated with improved memory in older adults with mild cognitive impairment.

Research on the role of dietary anthocyanins in preventing cognitive decline in older adults shows promise. This study investigated the association between usual anthocyanin intake and indices of memory and cognition in 40 older adults diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment that were recruited to a randomized clinical trial. It was hypothesized that daily anthocyanin intake would be similar to healthy older adults and that higher anthocyanin intake would be associated with better cognitive performance. Cognitive performance was assessed using a battery of tests including the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT). Dietary intake was assessed through 3-day food records and anthocyanin intake was quantified using the PhenolExplorer food composition database. Multivariate linear regression compared differences in cognitive performance between higher (>10 mg/d) and lower consumers (<10 mg/d). Overall, participants had low median intake of anthocyanins (5.3; interquartile range [IQR], 32.1 mg/d), with the lower consumer group eating negligible anthocyanins (median, 0.13; IQR, 1.5 mg/d), and the higher consumer group eating above the national average (median, 35.5; IQR, 71.5 mg/d). On the RAVLT, the higher anthocyanin consumer group recalled a greater number of words after a short delay and a distracter task (B, 2.07; standard error [SE], 0.93; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.18-3.96; P = .03) and longer delay of 20 minutes (B, 2.68; SE, 1.11; 95% CI, 0.43-4.94; P = .02); and forgot less words after a long delay of 20 minutes (B, -2.63; SE, 0.63; 95% CI, -3.90 to -1.35; P< .001). Further investigation of the protective role of the usual consumption of dietary anthocyanins for memory and cognition in pathological and normal aging appears warranted. Trial registration: This cross-sectional study uses baseline data from a randomized controlled trial registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12618001184268).

Sexually dimorphic effects of acute nicotine administration on arousal and visual-spatial ability in non-smoking human volunteers.

The effect of an acute administration of nicotine on arousal and visual-spatial ability in healthy non-smoking participants was investigated. Healthy adult volunteers with a mean age of 19.98 years received a transdermal nicotine or placebo patch prior to completing a water-level task and two mental rotation tasks while concurrent psychophysiological recordings were taken. Nicotine administration showed a sexually dimorphic effect on arousal (skin conductance level and heart rate). Evidence of superior performance in males compared to females was found in reaction time and accuracy measures for the visual-spatial tasks. However, performance reflected the interaction between sex and nicotine. Nicotine slowed reaction times in the mental rotation tasks more extensively in females than males. Nicotine also reduced confidence in performance during the water-level task in males, but not in females. The effects of nicotine on visual-spatial ability may reflect the interactive effects of sex and changes in arousal levels induced by nicotine administration.

Accelerated long-term forgetting: a newly identified memory impairment in epilepsy.

Recently, a pattern referred to as accelerated long-term forgetting (ALF) has been described in patients with epilepsy. In ALF, acquisition and retention over standard delayed recall intervals (up to 30 minutes) tend to be intact, but there is an abnormally rapid rate of forgetting over delays of days or weeks. ALF is associated with everyday memory complaints as well as impairments in autobiographical memory, but goes largely undetected by traditional neuropsychological measures. We consider here the characteristics of ALF and possible contributors to its underlying pathophysiology. Overall, a better understanding of this relatively newly recognised memory disorder should improve clinical treatment.