Quality of Life in Dementia Sufferers: The Role of Diet and Exercise

The Effect of Physical Exercise during COVID-19 Lockdown

The COVID-19 pandemic has exerted an effect on the general population that went over every expectation. To explore the effect of physical exercise (PE) during the national lockdown in Italy, a survey was drawn up and administered to a sample composed of 208 subjects. The questionnaire comprised 81 multiple-choice items, including sociodemographic data, health-related questions, and assessment of physical exercise, satisfaction with life, depression, and personality. The purpose of this study is to explore the role of physical exercise during the outbreak following the present hypothesis: first, if a link exists between the time spent on physical exercise during the lockdown and the perceived health condition, depressive and somatic symptomatology, and life satisfaction; second, to find associations among the SF-12 component summaries and the other psychological outcomes; and finally, to explore how physical and psychological variables are predictive of PCS-12 and MCS-12. The results showed that both vigorous and moderate physical exercise was strongly correlated with psychological variables, with statistically significant negative correlations found between age and physical exercise. Additionally, significant positive correlations were observed between physical exercise and mental health indices, such as MCS-12 and SWLS, whereas negative correlations were found with BDI, PCS-12, and SOM-H. The correlation analysis also revealed that physical and individual mental health summaries were associated with psychological outcomes, with statistically significant negative correlations found between PCS-12 and MCS, PCS-12 and SOM-H, and MCS-12 and BDI scores. Regression analysis showed that physical activities and psychological status both had a direct influence on perceived mental and physical well-being during the lockdown, accounting for 56.7% and 35.5% of the variance, respectively. The p-values for the significant correlations ranged from <0.05 to <0.01. Overall, these findings highlight the importance of physical exercise and psychological well-being in maintaining good health during the pandemic.

Dietary fatty acids and risk for Alzheimer's disease, dementia, and mild cognitive impairment: A prospective cohort meta-analysis

The association between dietary fatty acid intake and Alzheimer's disease (AD), dementia, and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) risk is inconsistent. This meta-analysis examined the effect of dietary fatty acid intake in prospective cohort studies including patients with AD, dementia, and MCI. PubMed, China Biology Medicine (CBM), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Data, and VIP Database were systematically searched through September 2020. The random-effects model was used to combine the highest and lowest categories of multivariable adjusted relative risk (RR). Prospective cohort studies that included associations between dietary fatty acid intake and the risk for AD, dementia, or MCI were included. Fourteen studies were included, comprising 54 177 participants: 1696 patients with AD, 1118 patients with dementia, and 2889 with MCI. The pooled RR showed a significant association only between ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) intake and MCI risk (RR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.75-0.98), with no heterogeneity between studies (I² = 0%). The intake of total fatty acids, saturated fatty acids (SFAs), cholesterol, monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), PUFAs, ω-3 PUFAs, ω-6 PUFAs, docosahexaenoic acids (DHAs), and eicosapentaenoic acids (EPAs) was not significantly associated with AD risk. The intake of total fatty acids, SFAs, MUFAs, PUFAs, and ω-3 PUFAs was not significantly associated with dementia risk. This meta-analysis provided evidence that ω-3 PUFA intake may be negatively associated with MCI risk.

Environmental Enrichment Improves Cognitive Deficits, AD Hallmarks and Epigenetic Alterations Presented in 5xFAD Mouse Model

Cumulative evidence shows that modifications in lifestyle factors constitute an effective strategy to modulate molecular events related to neurodegenerative diseases, confirming the relevant role of epigenetics. Accordingly, Environmental Enrichment (EE) represents an approach to ameliorate cognitive decline and neuroprotection in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). AD is characterized by specific neuropathological hallmarks, such as β-amyloid plaques and Neurofibrillary Tangles, which severely affect the areas of the brain responsible for learning and memory. We evaluated EE neuroprotective influence on 5xFAD mice. We found a better cognitive performance on EE vs. Control (Ct) 5xFAD mice, until being similar to Wild-Type (Wt) mice group. Neurodegenerative markers as β-CTF and tau hyperphosphorylation, reduced protein levels whiles APPα, postsynaptic density 95 (PSD95) and synaptophysin (SYN) protein levels increased protein levels in the hippocampus of 5xFAD-EE mice group. Furthermore, a reduction in gene expression of Il-6, Gfap, Hmox1 and Aox1 was determined. However, no changes were found in the gene expression of neurotrophins, such as Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (Bdnf), Nerve growth factor (Ngf), Tumor growth factor (Tgf) and Nerve growth factor inducible (Vgf) in mice with EE. Specifically, we found a reduced DNA-methylation level (5-mC) and an increased hydroxymethylation level (5-hmC), as well as an increased histone H3 and H4 acetylation level. Likewise, we found changes in the hippocampal gene expression of some chromatin-modifying enzyme, such as Dnmt3a/b, Hdac1, and Tet2. Extensive molecular analysis revealed a correlation between neuronal function and changes in epigenetic marks after EE that explain the cognitive improvement in 5xFAD.