Ricerc@Sapienza

Presbycusis is the most prevalent age-related, non-reversible, sensorineural hearing loss. Evidence supporting the relationship between auditory dysfunction and cognitive degeneration has grown over the years. Because of the aging of the world population, an early identification of the disease and an audiological recovery could mitigate the rate of cognitive decline with positive consequences for quality of elderly’ social life. A group of 50 patient (70–92 years) underwent audiometric tonal examination to evaluate hearing ability.

Vitamin K is a fat-soluble nutrient discovered in 1935 and its role in blood coagulation has been thoroughly explored. In recent years, studies conducted in vitro and on animals highlighted vitamin K involvement in brain cells development and survival. In particular, vitamin K seems to have an antiapoptotic and anti-inflammatory effect mediated by the activation of Growth Arrest Specific Gene 6 and Protein S. Moreover, this vitamin is involved in sphingolipids metabolism, a class of lipids that participate in the proliferation, differentiation, and survival of brain cells.

This was a study of positive psychological traits in a group of rural Italians aged 90 to 101 years, and their children or other family members.

What is known and objective: Drugs with anticholinergic properties increase the risk of falls, delirium, chronic cognitive impairment, and mortality and counteract procholinergic medications used in the treatment of dementia. Medication review and optimisation to reduce anticholinergic burden in patients at risk is recommended by specialist bodies. Little is known how effective this review is in patients who present acutely and how often drugs with anticholinergic properties are used temporarily during an admission.

Alterations of the dopaminergic (DAergic) system are frequently reported in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients and are commonly linked to cognitive and non-cognitive symptoms. However, the cause of DAergic system dysfunction in AD remains to be elucidated. We investigated alterations of the midbrain DAergic system in the Tg2576 mouse model of AD, overexpressing a mutated human amyloid precursor protein (APPswe).