Browsing by Subject "Homocysteine"
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Item Homocysteine: the cholesterol of the twenty-first century?(2004-06-03) Leach, Steven L.Item The link between homocysteine and vascular disease(1996-04-18) Hobbs, Helen H.Item The Relationship of Inflammatory Markers to Cognitive Function in a Population-Based Sample(2010-11-02) Bernardo, Keith Alan; Lacritz, Laura H.C-reactive protein (CRP), Interleukin-18 (IL-18), Monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP-1), and Lipoprotein-associated phospholipase (Lp-PLA2) are pro-inflammatory blood markers that appear to play critical roles in atherosclerosis and vascular disease, and have been linked to Alzheimer’s Disease, vascular dementia, and subclinical levels of cognitive decline. The present study investigated the relationship of these four inflammatory markers to cognitive function prospectively, and examined the potential impact of vascular risk factors (i.e., hypertension, hyperlipidemia, smoking status, alchol intake, diabetes mellitus, waist circumference, Cystatin C) and APOE 4 as mediators of cognitive function. METHOD AND RESULTS: Participants include 1904 individuals with CRP, IL-18, MCP-1, and Lp-PLA2, vascular risk factor and APOE 4 data collected as part of the Dallas Heart Study I initiated in 1999, who returned to the Dallas Heart Study II (8 years later) who completed the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) as part of a larger clinical research protocol. A significant yet weak correlation was found for Lp-PLA2 (r=.09, p<.01) and MoCA scores, with significant correlations only for men (r=.24, p<.01). None of the other inflammatory markers were associated with MoCA scores. An increased number of vascular risk factors was not related to lower MoCA total scores [F(5,1621)=1.56, p=.168)]. The presence of the APOE 4 allele did not impact the relationship between concentrations of blood markers and cognitive function as hypothesized. In logistic regression analysis, only the demographic variables of Caucasian race and education were significant, and decreased the odds of membership into lowest MoCA tertile group. CONCLUSIONS: Results did not support a relationship between mid-life inflammation and vascular risk factors and later cognitive function in this healthy, middle-aged sample. Demographic factors were the only consistent variables associated with cognitive performance. The minimum level of significant inflammation in this sample may have attenuated the results. Follow-up studies to examine progression of inflammation and vascular risk in relation to cognitive function will help to further examine these relationships.Item [Southwestern News](1997-07-31) Mayou, EllenItem Subclinical Atherosclerosis and Cognitive Functioning in a Population-Based Sample(2010-11-02) Rossetti, Heidi Christine; Lacritz, Laura H.Clinical risk factors for and signs of atherosclerosis have been linked to Alzheimer disease and milder forms of cognitive impairment. This study examines the relationship between subclinical atherosclerosis and cognition in a sample from the Dallas Heart Study (DHS), a population-based study of cardiovascular disease, who were followed 8 years later (DHS-II); N = 1904, mean age = 42.9, SD = 10.5, range 8-65. Weanalyzed atherosclerosis data from DHS-I participants who had completed the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) in DHS-II. The relationship between MoCA scores, coronary artery calcium (CAC), abdominal aortic plaque, and abdominal aortic wall thickness (AWT) was examined in the group as a whole, and in relation to age and ApoE4 allele status. Indirect measures of atherosclerosis (diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, abdominal obesity) were also examined. Logistic regression was used to examine the association between direct and indirect measures of subclinical atherosclerosis and cognitive function, adjusting for other correlates of cognition. CAC (N = 1414, rho = -.06), abdominal AWT (N = 1284, rho = -.04), and abdominal aortic plaque (N = 1286, rho = -.06) did not correlate with MoCA Total Score (p ≥.048). Though MoCA scores were successively lower with increasing numbers of both direct atherosclerotic indicators [F(2, 633) = 1.40)] and indirect atherosclerotic indicators [F(2, 1048) = 1.09], the differences were not significant (p ≥ .248).The factors that most related to lower MoCA performance were race, gender, and education. There was no difference in MoCA Total Scores or measures of atherosclerosis between participants with an E4 allele and those without the E4 allele. There was no significant relationship between positive CAC, elevated abdominal AWT, and abdominal aortic plaque to MoCA scores obtained 7-8 years later. This relationship did not significantly increase with age and was not influenced by the presence of one or more apolipoprotein E4 alleles. This study does not support an association between direct or indirect measures of atherosclerosis in middle age and global cognition assessed 8 years later in this ethnically diverse population-based sample.