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Tag Archives: impairment
Crossword puzzles may benefit people with mild cognitive impairment
While the study didn’t investigate whether crosswords benefit younger adults who are not dealing with cognitive decline, it suggests that keeping your mind active as you age may benefit your brain. And the research offers hope to those diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment that they may be able to stave off further declines in the memory, language problems and decision-making that are the hallmark of the condition.
The American Academy of Neurology estimates that mild cognitive impairment affects about 8 percent of people ages 65 to 69; 10 percent of people ages 70 to 74; 15 percent of people ages 75 to 79; 25 percent of those ages 80 to 84; and about 37 percent of people 85 and older.
The research, which was funded by the National Institute on Aging, recruited 107 adults ages 55 to 95 with mild cognitive impairment. For 12 weeks, they were all asked to play one of two types of games, four times a week — spending either 30 minutes on Lumosity, a popular cognitive training platform, or 30 minutes attempting a digital crossword. After 12 weeks, the participants were reevaluated and given “booster” doses of game play six more times during the 78-week experiment.
By the end of the study, participants were given standard assessments used to measure cognitive decline, and friends and family reported on their day-to-day functioning. MRI scans also were used to measure brain volume changes.
Researchers found that in key measurements — cognitive decline scores, functional skills and brain volume changes — the regular crossword players fared better than the game players.
The finding surprised the scientists behind the study who had expected that challenging web-based brain games, which were specifically designed to boost cognitive function, would offer the most benefit.
“Our study shows fairly conclusively that in people with mild cognitive impairment, crossword puzzles beat the computerized games on multiple metrics,” said Murali Doraiswamy, a professor at Duke University and a co-author of the study. “So, if you have mild cognitive impairment, which is different from normal aging, then the recommendation would be to keep your brain active with crossword puzzles.”
People with higher degrees of cognitive impairment appeared to benefit the most from doing the crossword, which was designed to be a moderately difficult puzzle comparable to the New York Times Thursday game.
The study has limitations. Some of the participants may have just been more familiar with crosswords and that’s why they responded better to the puzzles than to Lumosity’s computer games. More years of follow-up also are needed to determine whether interventions such as crossword puzzles can “truly prevent dementia,” Doraiswamy said.
“We’ve known for almost 30, 40 years that keeping yourself mentally active is really important,” Doraiswamy said. “But we’ve not really translated that into an intervention that is a medical-grade intervention.”
D.P. Devanand, a professor at Columbia University and the lead researcher on the study, said the finding needs to be replicated in a larger study with more participants and a control group that isn’t playing any game.
“We can’t say beyond a certain point why people do better on crosswords, but it does suggest that doing crosswords helps you,” Devanand said.
Doraiswamy said he hopes future studies can build off the findings to investigate the optimal level of difficulty and time spent solving puzzles for people with mild cognitive impairment.
Some researchers remained skeptical. Zach Hambrick, a professor of cognition and neuroscience at Michigan State University, said the study doesn’t investigate why the crossword might offer more benefit than a computer game.
In 1999, Hambrick co-authored a study that found no evidence to suggest that people who solve crossword puzzles more than twice a week had less cognitive decline.
Hambrick said completing a crossword puzzle, which requires the ability to remember words and esoteric knowledge gathered through experience, tests a person’s “crystallized cognitive abilities.” He said that people with mild cognitive impairment have the most trouble with “fluid cognitive abilities” such as remembering a list of words or solving a logic problem. Crosswords don’t challenge the type of abilities associated with mild cognitive impairment, Hambrick said.
Lumos Labs, the company behind the computer games in the experiment, provided access to both the crossword puzzles and their suite of games but was not involved in the design or publication of the study. Doraiswamy is a consultant to Lumos Labs.
Laurie Ryan, the chief of clinical interventions at the National Institute on Aging, said the agency funded the research because it’s important to find treatments that reduce the risk for Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia.
“We’re likely going to need multiple interventions for different people,” Ryan said. “We’re trying to fund as many things as we can.”
Most researchers agree that keeping both your body and your mind active as you age probably benefits your brain. Ronald C. Petersen, the director of the Mayo Clinic’s Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, said that in addition to regular exercise, he recommends that patients spend time on challenging intellectual tasks such as watching a documentary or attending a lecture.
Look for activities that “bring you out of your comfort zone,” said Sylvie Belleville, a professor of neuropsychology at the University of Montreal. Try out different “stimulating” tasks or increase the difficulty of a certain task over time. “If you’re very good at crossword puzzles and you keep doing only that, you’re still in your zone of comfort and you don’t adopt new strategies, new brain networks,” Belleville said.
Persistent loss of smell due to COVID-19 may better predict long-term cognitive, functional impairment
New insights into factors that may predict, increase or protect against the impact of COVID-19 and the pandemic on memory and thinking skills were revealed by multiple studies reported today at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference® (AAIC®) 2022 in San Diego and virtually.
Among the key findings reported at AAIC 2022:
- A group from Argentina found that persistent loss of the sense of smell may be a better predictor of long-term cognitive and functional impairment than severity of the initial COVID-19 disease.
- Hospitalization in the intensive care unit was associated with double the risk of dementia in older adults, according to a study by Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center in Chicago.
- During the pandemic, female gender, not working and lower socioeconomic status were associated with more cognitive symptoms in a large study population drawn from nine Latin American countries.
- In that same Latin American population, experiencing a positive life change during the pandemic (such as more quality time with friends and family or spending more time in nature) reduced the negative impact of the pandemic on memory and thinking skills.
“COVID-19 has sickened and killed millions of people around the world, and for some, the emerging research suggests there are long-term impacts on memory and thinking as well,” said Heather M. Snyder, Ph.D., vice president of medical and scientific relations at the Alzheimer’s Association. “As this virus will likely be with us for a long time, identifying the risk and protective factors for cognitive symptoms can assist with the treatment and prevention of ‘long COVID’ moving forward.”
Persistent loss of smell better predicts cognitive impairment than severity of COVID-19
Researchers in Argentina working with the Alzheimer’s Association Consortium on Chronic Neuropsychiatric Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 Infection followed 766 adults age 55-95 exposed to COVID-19 for one year, and conducted a series of regular physical, cognitive and neuropsychiatric tests. Of the study group, 88.4% were infected and 11.6% were controls.
Clinical assessment showed functional memory impairment in two-thirds of the infected participants, which was severe in half of them. Another group of cognitive tests identified three groups with decreased performance:
- 11.7% showed memory-only impairment.
- 8.3% had impairment in attention and executive function.
- 11.6% displayed multidomain (including memory, learning, attention and executive function) impairment.
Statistical analysis revealed that persistent loss of smell was a significant predictor of cognitive impairment, but severity of the initial COVID-19 disease was not.
The more insight we have into what causes or at least predicts who will experience the significant long-term cognitive impact of COVID-19 infection, the better we can track it and begin to develop methods to prevent it.”
Gabriela Gonzalez-Aleman, LCP, Ph.D., Professor, Pontificia Universidad Catolica Argentina, Buenos Aires
A stay in the intensive care unit may signal higher dementia risk
Researchers from the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center (RADC), part of Chicago’s Rush University System for Health, used data from five diverse studies of older adults without known dementia (n=3,822) to observe intensive care unit (ICU) hospitalizations. ICU hospitalizations were previously linked to cognitive impairment in older patients, but few studies have examined whether they increase risk for dementia.
They reviewed Medicare claims records from 1991 to 2018 (pre-pandemic), and checked annually for development of Alzheimer’s and all type dementia using a standardized cognitive assessment. During an average 7.8 years follow up, 1,991 (52%) participants experienced at least one ICU hospitalization; 1,031 (27%) had an ICU stay before study enrollment; and 961 (25%) had an ICU stay during the study period.
The researchers found that, in analyses adjusted for age, sex, education and race, experiencing ICU hospitalization was associated with 63% higher risk of Alzheimer’s dementia and 71% higher risk of all type dementia. In models further adjusted for other health factors such as vascular risk factors and disease, other chronic medical conditions, and functional disabilities, the association was even stronger: ICU hospitalization was associated with 110% greater risk of Alzheimer’s and 120% greater risk of all type dementia.
“We found that ICU hospitalization was associated with double the risk of dementia in community-based older adults,” said Bryan D. James, Ph.D., epidemiologist at RADC. “These findings could be significant given the high rate of ICU hospitalization in older persons, and especially due to the tremendous upsurge in ICU hospitalizations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Understanding the link between ICU hospitalization and the development of dementia is of utmost importance now more than ever.”
“More research is necessary to replicate these findings and elucidate the factors that may increase dementia risk. For example, is it the critical illness that sends someone to the hospital or potentially modifiable procedures during the hospitalization that drives dementia risk?” James added.
One positive life change during the pandemic may buffer against cognitive symptoms
Investigators from countries across Central and South America and the United States examined whether sociodemographic factors and changes in life associated with the pandemic were related to experiencing cognitive symptoms, including problems with memory, attention and other thinking skills, during the early phases of the pandemic.
In the study reported at AAIC, 2,382 Spanish-speaking adults age 55-95 (average 65.3 years, 62.3% female) from nine countries in Latin America completed an online or telephone survey, had electronic cognitive testing, and filled out an inventory assessing the positive and negative impacts of the pandemic between May and December 2020. Of the total study population, 145 (6.09%) experienced COVID-19 symptoms.
Participants were from: Uruguay (1,423, 59.7%), Mexico (311, 13.1%), Peru (153, 6.4%), Chile (152, 6.4%), Dominican Republic (117, 4.9%), Argentina (106, 4.5%), Colombia (50, 2.1%), Ecuador (39, 1.6%), Puerto Rico (19, 0.8%) and Other (12, 0.5%)
Key findings:
- Female gender, not currently working and lower socioeconomic status were all independently associated with more cognitive symptoms during the early part of the pandemic.
- Negative life changes during the pandemic, such as economic difficulties and limited social activities, were significantly associated with more cognitive symptoms. However, this association was weaker among study participants who reported at least one positive life change during the pandemic, including spending more time with friends and family or more time outside in nature.
“Identifying risk and protective factors for cognitive symptoms during the pandemic is an important step towards the development of prevention efforts,” said María Marquine, Ph.D., associate professor in the Departments of Medicine and Psychiatry, and director of disparities research in the Division of Geriatrics, Gerontology and Palliative Care at the University of California, San Diego. “The experience of positive life changes during the pandemic might buffer the detrimental impact of negative life changes on cognitive symptoms.”
“This study is an example of how investigators from diverse countries in Latin America and the United States, many of whom had never worked together before and had limited resources, came together under difficult circumstances but with a shared goal to advance scientific understanding about Alzheimer’s, and the important contributions that such multicultural partnerships can yield,” Marquine added.
Cognitive Impairment From Severe COVID-19 Equivalent to 20 Years of Aging – Losing 10 IQ Points
According to a team of scientists, cognitive impairment as a result of severe COVID-19 is similar to that sustained from the 20 years of aging between 50 and 70 and is the equivalent of losing 10 IQ points.
Cognitive impairment as a result of severe
“Cognitive impairment is common to a wide range of neurological disorders, but the patterns we saw – the cognitive ‘fingerprint’ of COVID-19 – was distinct from all of these.” — David Menon
There is mounting evidence that COVID-19 can cause long-term cognitive and mental health issues, with recovered patients reporting symptoms including fatigue, “brain fog,” difficulty recalling words, sleep disturbances, anxiety, and even post-traumatic stress disorder (
The individuals underwent detailed computerized cognitive tests an average of six months after their acute illness using the Cognitron platform, which measures different aspects of mental faculties such as memory, attention, and reasoning. Scales measuring anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder were also assessed. Their data were compared against matched controls.
This is the first time that such rigorous assessment and comparison has been carried out in relation to the aftereffects of severe COVID-19.
COVID-19 survivors were less accurate and with slower response times than the matched control population – and these deficits were still detectable when the patients were following up six months later. The effects were strongest for those who required mechanical ventilation. By comparing the patients to 66,008 members of the general public, the researchers estimate that the magnitude of cognitive loss is similar on average to that sustained with 20 years aging, between 50 and 70 years of age, and that this is equivalent to losing 10 IQ points.
Survivors scored particularly poorly on tasks such as verbal analogical reasoning, a finding that supports the commonly-reported problem of difficulty finding words. They also showed slower processing speeds, which aligns with previous observations post COVID-19 of decreased brain glucose consumption within the frontoparietal network of the brain, responsible for attention, complex problem-solving and working memory, among other functions.
Professor David Menon from the Division of Anaesthesia at the University of Cambridge, the study’s senior author, said: “Cognitive impairment is common to a wide range of neurological disorders, including dementia, and even routine aging, but the patterns we saw – the cognitive ‘fingerprint’ of COVID-19 – was distinct from all of these.”
While it is now well established that people who have recovered from severe COVID-19 illness can have a broad spectrum of symptoms of poor mental health – depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, low motivation, fatigue, low mood, and disturbed sleep – the team found that acute illness severity was better at predicting the cognitive deficits.
The patients’ scores and reaction times began to improve over time, but the researchers say that any recovery in cognitive faculties was at best gradual and likely to be influenced by a number of factors including illness severity and its neurological or psychological impacts.
Professor Menon added: “We followed some patients up as late as ten months after their acute infection, so we’re able to see a very slow improvement. While this was not statistically significant, it is at least heading in the right direction, but it is very possible that some of these individuals will never fully recover.”
There are several factors that could cause the cognitive deficits, say the researchers. Direct viral infection is possible, but unlikely to be a major cause; instead, it is more likely that a combination of factors contribute, including inadequate oxygen or blood supply to the brain, blockage of large or small blood vessels due to clotting, and microscopic bleeds. However, emerging evidence suggests that the most important mechanism may be damage caused by the body’s own inflammatory response and immune system.
While this study looked at hospitalized cases, the team say that even those patients not sick enough to be admitted may also have tell-tale signs of mild impairment.
Professor Adam Hampshire from the Department of Brain Sciences at Imperial College London, the study’s first author, said: “Around 40,000 people have been through intensive care with COVID-19 in England alone and many more will have been very sick, but not admitted to hospital. This means there is a large number of people out there still experiencing problems with cognition many months later. We urgently need to look at what can be done to help these people.”
Professor Menon and Professor Ed Bullmore from Cambridge’s Department of Psychiatry are co-leading working groups as part of the COVID-19 Clinical Neuroscience Study (COVID-CNS) that aim to identify biomarkers that relate to neurological impairments as a result of COVID-19, and the neuroimaging changes that are associated with these.
Reference: “Multivariate profile and acute-phase correlates of cognitive deficits in a COVID-19 hospitalised cohort” by Adam Hampshire, Doris A. Chatfield, Anne Manktelow MPhil, Amy Jolly, William Trender, Peter J. Hellyer, Martina Del Giovane, Virginia F.J. Newcombe, Joanne G. Outtrim, Ben Warne, Junaid Bhatti, Linda Pointon, Anne Elmer, Nyarie Sithole, John Bradley, Nathalie Kingston, Stephen J. Sawcer, Edward T. Bullmore, James B. Rowe, David K. Menon, the Cambridge NeuroCOVID Group, the NIHR COVID-19 BioResource, and Cambridge NIHR Clinical Research Facility, 28 April 2022, eClinicalMedicine.
DOI: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2022.101417
The research was funded by the NIHR BioResource, NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre and the Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust, with support from the NIHR Cambridge Clinical Research Facility.
More Daytime Napping in Seniors Might Be an Early Sign of Dementia, Says New Study
Doctors often recommend “power naps” as a way to compensate for a poor night’s sleep and help keep alert until bedtime. But for older adults, extensive power naps could be an early sign of dementia.
Research on how napping affects cognition in adults has had mixed results. Some studies on younger adults suggest that napping is beneficial to cognition, while others on older adults suggest it may be linked to cognitive impairment. However, many studies are based on just a single self-reported nap assessment.
This methodology may not be accurate for people with cognitive impairment who may not be able to reliably report when or how long they napped.
As an epidemiologist who studies sleep and neurodegeneration in older adults, I wanted to find out if changes in napping habits foreshadow other signs of cognitive decline.
A study my colleagues and I recently published found that while napping does increase with age, excessive napping may foreshadow cognitive decline.
The link between daytime napping and dementia
Sleep disturbance and daytime napping are known symptoms of mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia in older adults. They often become more extreme as the disease progresses: Patients are increasingly less likely to fall asleep and more likely to wake up during the night and feel sleepy during the day.
To examine this link between daytime napping and dementia, my colleagues and I studied a group of 1,401 older adults with an average age of 81 participating in the Rush Memory and Aging Project, a longitudinal study examining cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease.
The participants wore a watchlike device that tracked their mobility for 14 years. Prolonged periods of inactivity were interpreted as naps.
At the start of the study, approximately 75 percent of participants did not have any cognitive impairment. Of the remaining participants, 4 percent had Alzheimer’s and 20 percent had mild cognitive impairment, a frequent precursor to dementia.
While daily napping increased among all participants over the years, there were differences in napping habits between those who developed Alzheimer’s by the end of the study and those who did not.
Participants who did not develop cognitive impairment had nap durations that averaged 11 extra minutes per year. This rate doubled after a mild cognitive impairment diagnosis, with naps increasing to 25 extra minutes per year, and tripled after an Alzheimer’s diagnosis, with nap durations increasing to 68 extra minutes per year.
Ultimately, we found that older adults who napped at least once or for more than an hour a day had a 40 percent higher chance of developing Alzheimer’s than those who did not nap daily or napped less than an hour a day.
These findings were unchanged even after we controlled for factors like daily activities, illness, and medications.
Napping and the Alzheimer’s brain
Our study shows that longer naps are a normal part of aging, but only to a certain extent.
Research from my colleagues at the University of California, San Francisco, offers a potential mechanism for why people with dementia have more frequent and longer naps.
By comparing the post-mortem brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease with the brains of people without cognitive impairment, they found that those with Alzheimer’s had fewer neurons that promote wakefulness in three brain regions.
These neuronal changes appeared to be linked to tau tangles, a hallmark of Alzheimer’s in which the protein that helps stabilize healthy neurons form clumps that hamper communication between neurons.
While our study does not show that increased daytime napping causes cognitive decline, it does point to extended naps as a potential signal for accelerated aging. Further research might be able to determine whether monitoring daytime napping could help detect cognitive decline.
Yue Leng, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
COVID ups risks of dementia, cognitive impairment, and decline in older survivors
Enlarge / Health care workers treat a COVID-19 patient at Hartford Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut, on Monday, Jan. 31, 2022. Photographer: Allison Dinner/Bloomberg via Getty Images.
People over 60 who survive COVID-19 have higher risks of dementia, mild cognitive impairment, and cognitive decline—particularly if they had severe COVID-19—according to a study out this week in JAMA Neurology.
The study followed over 1,400 older COVID survivors in Wuhan, China, who were among some of the first people in the world to be hospitalized for COVID-19. The patients were discharged between February 10 and April 10, 2020, from three COVID-19–designated hospitals in Wuhan. Researchers followed their neurological health for a full year afterward.
Their experiences in that year do not bode well for the rest of the world. The study authors, led by neurologist Yan-Jiang Wang of the Third Military Medical University, found that long-term cognitive decline is common after an infection with the pandemic coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. As such, health care systems around the world need to prepare for what could be a substantial increase in the number of people requiring dementia care.
Increased risk
For the study, researchers screened 3,233 COVID-19 survivors from the early days of the pandemic and 1,317 uninfected spouses who could potentially act as age- and demographics-matched controls. The researchers only included people in the study if they were over 60, had no preexisting cognitive impairment or any neurological condition linked to cognitive impairment, had no family history of dementia, and had no severe diseases, namely cancer or severe heart, liver, or kidney diseases.
In the end, the researchers found 1,438 COVID survivors and 438 uninfected controls who met the criteria and completed 12 months of follow-up. Of the survivors, 1,178 were categorized as having non-severe disease, and 260 had severe disease (defined as having at least one of the following: a respiratory rate higher than 30 breaths per minute, severe respiratory distress, or oxygen saturation less than 90 percent on room air). There were no significant differences between survivors and controls in age, sex distribution, education level, body mass index, or frequency of comorbidities, such as hypertension and diabetes.
In the follow-up period, researchers started by interviewing family informants on cognitive changes to get baseline data early in the study. They then assessed participants directly at six and 12 months using a preexisting telephone-based cognitive interview method, which is used to identify mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia.
After the 12-month follow-ups, 12 percent of COVID survivors had cognitive impairment; specifically, 3 percent had dementia and 9 percent had MCI. Among just the survivors with severe disease, 15 percent had dementia at the end of the year and 26 percent had MCI. Among both the non-severe COVID survivors and the control group, the incidences of dementia and MCI were around 1 percent and 5 percent, respectively.
But apart from meeting clinical indications for dementia and MCI, the researchers also had a year’s worth of cognitive test results, which can reveal the cognitive trajectories of participants. The researchers broke these trajectories up into four categories: stable function, meaning stable scores in the first six months and second six months of follow-up; early-onset decline, meaning a decline in the first six months that was stable in the second; late-onset decline, meaning stable scores at first but declines in the last six months; and progressive decline, meaning declining scores throughout the year.
Trajectories
About 76 percent of people in the control group were categorized as having stable function in the study, while about 68 percent of non-severe COVID survivors and only 30 percent of severe COVID survivors had stable function. While non-severe COVID survivors fared well when looking at MCI and dementia rates, the trajectory analysis found they were at significantly higher risk than the control group of having early-onset cognitive decline. Risk modeling that adjusted for complicating demographic factors estimated that survivors of non-severe COVID were 71 percent more likely to have early-onset decline than uninfected controls.
Those who survived severe COVID, however, saw substantially increased risks in all three categories with declines. Compared with uninfected controls, survivors of severe COVID were nearly 5 times more likely to have early-onset decline, 7.5 times more likely to have late-onset decline, and 19 times more likely to have progressive decline.
As always, the authors acknowledge that the study has limitations. For one, in-person cognitive assessments may have offered more accurate results than the telephone-based assessments used. The researchers also would have liked to have cognitive assessments pre-dating COVID infections, as well as more people in their control group. They also note that the findings may not be generalizable because they screened out people with family histories of dementia. Thus, the study could underestimate risks in a general population that includes those with predispositions for dementia.
Still, the general conclusions of the study echo those from several others finding cognitive decline and higher risks of dementia following COVID-19. Overall, the authors conclude that their new findings “imply that the pandemic may substantially contribute to the world dementia burden in the future.”
One in 5 patients exhibit cognitive impairment several months after COVID-19 diagnosis
Many long-haul COVID-19 patients suffer fatigue and cognitive impairments months after their initial COVID-19 diagnosis, according to new research published in the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity. The study, which analyzed data from tens of thousands of patients, also found that COVID-19 was associated with persistent inflammation.
A growing body of evidence indicates that patients who get sick with COVID-19 can suffer long-term physical and mental health consequences. These long-term effects are currently referred to as “post-COVID-19 syndrome” or “Long COVID.”
Roger S. McIntyre, the corresponding author of the new study, mainly researches the neurobiological causes of cognitive impairment in individuals with mood disorders, such as depression. But he has started to examine treatments for COVID-19 symptoms in the wake of the pandemic.
“Long COVID is common, persistent, and extremely debilitating,” said McIntyre, a professor at the University of Toronto and head of the Mood Disorders Psychopharmacology Unit at the University Health Network. “Many of the symptoms of long COVID overlap with symptoms of depression, which is the condition I primarily research and treat. We were interested in whether any of our treatments in psychiatry that help brain fog and fatigue could also help people with long COVID.”
McIntyre and his colleagues conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of 81 studies that had a follow-up time of at least 12 weeks since a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis. The studies included 56 prospective cohort studies, 14 cross-sectional studies, 10 retrospective cohort studies, and 1 retrospective case-control study.
The meta-analysis included fatigue data for 25,268 individuals and cognitive impairment data for 13,232 individuals. Fatigue was assessed with scientific questionnaires such as the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy and the Fatigue Severity Scale. Cognitive impairment was assessed with a variety of validated diagnostic tools, including the Montreal Cognitive Assessment and the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status.
McIntyre and his colleagues found that approximately a third of individuals (32%) experienced persistent fatigue, while slightly more than one in five individuals (22%) showed signs of sustained cognitive impairment.
An analysis of 14 studies that investigated inflammatory markers in COVID-19 patients revealed that a subset of individuals showed signs of systemic inflammation 12 or more weeks following diagnosis. Several studies noted an association between heightened inflammation and long COVID symptoms, “suggesting hyperinflammation is an amenable cause of fatigue and/or cognitive impairment,” the researchers said.
Furthermore, 34 studies investigated the functional consequences of post-COVID syndrome, including limitations related to physical activity and occupational status. Post-COVID syndrome was associated with “marked levels” of functional impairment, the researchers said. Approximately 16% to 28% reported being unable to partake in a sport or recreational activity. Between 8% to 39% reported disruption in their work life and between 29% to 47% of those who were employed prior to infection were unable to return to work.
“People should be aware that there are many post-acute complications of COVID-19, including post-COVID syndrome — which can be debilitating,” McIntyre told PsyPost. “If you have such symptoms, you should speak to a healthcare provider and make sure you are not experiencing some other disorder (e.g. major depressive disorder or a physical health condition).”
Fatigue and cognitive impairment were more common among women, older people, those with greater severity of acute illness, and those with pre-existing comorbidities. The researchers observed a lower incidence of fatigue and cognitive impairment among children compared to adults.
But there is still much we don’t know about post-COVID syndrome, including “who is most at risk, whether the vaccines protect against long COVID, whether variants make a difference, and whether it puts people at risk for other conditions,” McIntyre said. “Long COVID still has not been sufficiently characterized. We still need a single validated definition. We don’t know enough about how long these symptoms will go on for.”
The study, “Fatigue and cognitive impairment in Post-COVID-19 Syndrome: A systematic review and meta-analysis“, was authored by Felicia Ceban, Susan Ling, Leanna M.W. Lui, Yena Lee, Hartej Gill, Kayla M. Teopiz, Nelson B. Rodrigues, Mehala Subramaniapillai, Joshua D. Di Vincenzo, Bing Cao, Kangguang Lin, Rodrigo B. Mansur, Roger C. Ho, Joshua D. Rosenblat, Kamilla W. Miskowiak, Maj Vinberg, Vladimir Maletic, and Roger S. McIntyre.
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MicroStrategy lost $146M to Bitcoin impairment charges in Q4 2021
MicroStrategy, the fortune 500 company with a 125,051 Bitcoin (BTC)-strong treasury, announced its Q4 2021 financial results on Tuesday.
The institutional software solutions provider reported a net loss of $146.6 million incurred in impairment charges on its Bitcoin holdings. The high impairment losses added to the company’s operating expenses, which saw a 125% increase at $248 million compared to the same quarter last year.
An impairment loss is a recognized reduction in the acquisition cost of an asset that is triggered by a decline in its fair value. When the fair value of an asset declines below its purchase amount, the difference is written off.
The firm has lost $901 million in impairment charges on its BTC holdings over the last six quarters.
MicroStrategy decided to add BTC impairment charges after the United States Securities and Exchange Commission rejected its existing “non-GAAP” Bitcoin accounting methods. The SEC asked the business intelligence firm to add share-based compensation expense and impairment losses and gains on sale.
The impairment losses of $146.6 million were the third-highest for the company where it accounted for 25% of its BTC purchase in the same quarter. The highest impairment loss came in the second quarter of 2021 where it lost about 80% of the total BTC value purchased in that quarter. MicroStrategy recorded a net loss of $90 million or $8.43 per share on a diluted basis in Q4.
Related: MicroStrategy buys the dip by purchasing 660 Bitcoin for $25M
MicroStrategy currently holds a total of 125,051 BTC acquired for about $3.78 billion at an average price of $30,200 per Bitcoin.
MicroStrategy started buying Bitcoin in August 2020 to use it as a treasury hedge instead of the U.S. dollar. The firm has been instrumental in bringing Bitcoin to institutional firms and public companies including the likes of Tesla and SpaceX.
Dementia: AB blood type is more common in people with cognitive impairment
Study author Mary Cushman, MD, MSc, of the University of Vermont College of Medicine in Burlington explains that blood type is only one of several factors that increase your risk of dementia.
“Our study looks at blood type and risk of cognitive impairment, but several studies have shown that factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes increase the risk of cognitive impairment and dementia.
“Blood type is also related to other vascular conditions like stroke, so the findings highlight the connections between vascular issues and brain health.
“More research is needed to confirm these results.”
READ MORE: Omicron variant symptoms: The sign appearing when eating – ‘it may come as a surprise’