#NIHR

[vapolitique]

Femmes enceintes : deux fois plus de réussite pour arrêter de fumer avec la vape par rapport aux patchs

Le tabagisme durant la grossesse est indiscutablement nocif. Non seulement pour la mère, mais aussi pour le fœtus, entrainant des problèmes significativement plus nombreux à l’accouchement et pour le bébé. L’arrêt tabagique est par contre associé à une réduction de ces risques, d’autant plus s’il intervient tôt dans la grossesse. Cependant, les tentatives d’arrêt tabagique chez les femmes…

[artecluster]

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Thanks for choosing Arte Cluster Awareness Art 🫶🏼 NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Centre

[thenighteternal]

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[news-buzz]

Full list of 36 hospitals getting share of £30m to combat cancer and major conditions News Buzz

Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust – £1,131,357.26 Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust – £1,305,796.00 Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust – £531,071.00 Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust – £228,521.92 Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust – £1,332,981.00 Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust – £186,233.40 Imperial College…

[covid-safer-hotties]

Patients With Long-COVID Show Abnormal Lung Perfusion Despite Normal CT Scans - Published Sept 12, 2024

VIENNA — Some patients who had mild COVID-19 infection during the first wave of the pandemic and continued to experience postinfection symptoms for at least 12 months after infection present abnormal perfusion despite showing normal CT scans. Researchers at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) 2024 International Congress called for more research to be done in this space to understand the underlying mechanism of the abnormalities observed and to find possible treatment options for this cohort of patients.

Laura Price, MD, PhD, a consultant respiratory physician at Royal Brompton Hospital and an honorary clinical senior lecturer at Imperial College London, London, told Medscape Medical News that this cohort of patients shows symptoms that seem to correlate with a pulmonary microangiopathy phenotype.

"Our clinics in the UK and around the world are full of people with long-COVID, persisting breathlessness, and fatigue. But it has been hard for people to put the finger on why patients experience these symptoms still," Timothy Hinks, associate professor and Wellcome Trust Career Development fellow at the Nuffield Department of Medicine, NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre senior research fellow, and honorary consultant at Oxford Special Airway Service at Oxford University Hospitals, England, who was not involved in the study, told Medscape Medical News.

The Study Researchers at Imperial College London recruited 41 patients who experienced persistent post-COVID-19 infection symptoms, such as breathlessness and fatigue, but normal CT scans after a mild COVID-19 infection that did not require hospitalization. Those with pulmonary emboli or interstitial lung disease were excluded. The cohort was predominantly female (87.8%) and nonsmokers (85%), with a mean age of 44.7 years. They were assessed over 1 year after the initial infection.

Exercise intolerance was the predominant symptom, affecting 95.1% of the group. A significant proportion (46.3%) presented with myopericarditis, while a smaller subset (n = 5) exhibited dysautonomia. Echocardiography did not reveal pulmonary hypertension. Laboratory findings showed elevated angiotensin-converting enzyme and antiphospholipid antibodies. "These patients are young, female, nonsmokers, and previously healthy. This is not what you would expect to see," Price said. Baseline pulmonary function tests showed preserved spirometry with forced expiratory volume in 1 second and forced vital capacity above 100% predicted. However, diffusion capacity was impaired, with a mean diffusing capacity of the lungs for carbon monoxide (DLCO) of 74.7%. The carbon monoxide transfer coefficient (KCO) and alveolar volume were also mildly reduced. Oxygen saturation was within normal limits.

These abnormalities were through advanced imaging techniques like dual-energy CT scans and ventilation-perfusion scans. These tests revealed a non-segmental and "patchy" perfusion abnormality in the upper lungs, suggesting that the problem was vascular, Price explained.

Cardiopulmonary exercise testing revealed further abnormalities in 41% of patients. Peak oxygen uptake was slightly reduced, and a significant proportion of patients showed elevated alveolar-arterial gradient and dead space ventilation during peak exercise, suggesting a ventilation-perfusion mismatch.

Over time, there was a statistically significant improvement in DLCO, from 70.4% to 74.4%, suggesting some degree of recovery in lung function. However, DLCO values did not return to normal. The KCO also improved from 71.9% to 74.4%, though this change did not reach statistical significance. Most patients (n = 26) were treated with apixaban, potentially contributing to the observed improvement in gas transfer parameters, Price said.

The researchers identified a distinct phenotype of patients with persistent post-COVID-19 infection symptoms characterized by abnormal lung perfusion and reduced gas diffusion capacity, even when CT scans appear normal. Price explains that this pulmonary microangiopathy may explain the persistent symptoms. However, questions remain about the underlying mechanisms, potential treatments, and long-term outcomes for this patient population.

Causes and Treatments Remain a Mystery Previous studies have suggested that COVID-19 causes endothelial dysfunction, which could affect the small blood vessels in the lungs. Other viral infections, such as HIV, have also been shown to cause endothelial dysfunction. However, researchers don't fully understand how this process plays out in patients with COVID-19.

"It is possible these patients have had inflammation insults that have damaged the pulmonary vascular endothelium, which predisposes them to either clotting at a microscopic level or ongoing inflammation," said Hinks.

Some patients (10 out of 41) in the cohort studied by the Imperial College London's researchers presented with Raynaud syndrome, which might suggest a physiological link, Hinks explains. "Raynaud's is a condition of vascular control or dysregulation, and potentially, there could be a common factor contributing to both breathlessness and Raynaud's."

He said there is an encouraging signal that these patients improve over time, but their recovery might be more complex and lengthy than for other patients. "This cohort will gradually get better. But it raises questions and gives a point that there is a true physiological deficit in some people with long-COVID."

Price encouraged physicians to look beyond conventional diagnostic tools when visiting a patient whose CT scan looks normal yet experiences fatigue and breathlessness. Not knowing what causes the abnormalities observed in this group of patients makes treatment extremely challenging. "We need more research to understand the treatment implications and long-term impact of these pulmonary vascular abnormalities in patients with long-COVID," Price concluded.

[materialsscienceandengineering]

Hip implants with a delta ceramic or oxidised zirconium head and highly crosslinked polyethylene liner or cup had the lowest risk of revision during the 15 years after surgery, a new study led by the University of Bristol has found. The research could help hospitals, surgeons and patients to choose what hip implant to use for replacement surgery. The aim of the study was to establish hip implant materials at risk of revision to help orthopaedic surgeons, and patients, and to improve shared decision making before surgery by identifying hip implants with the lowest risk of revision. The independently conducted research, published in PLOS Medicine today [7 November], was funded by CeramTec and was supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and the NIHR Bristol Biomedical Research Centre (Bristol BRC).

Read more.

[disabilityresearch]

‘'Ethno…graphy?!? I can't even say it”: Co-designing training for ethnographic research for people with learning disabilities and carers

This article summarises independent work funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) School for Primary Care Research (SPCR), award 499. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the SPCR, the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care

Accessible Summary

We are a team of academic researchers, people with learning disabilities and carers. We worked together to design training materials for people with learning disabilities and carers to work as co-researchers on research projects.

The training was for doing a type of research called ethnography. When you do ethnography, you spend time with people to learn about their lives.

In this article, we describe what we did and what we learnt.

We think more people with learning disabilities and carers should be involved in research but many do not have the confidence to do it. Training can help with that.

We also think that ethnography is a type of research that can be easier to do than other types of research. This is because ethnography uses the skills lots of us already have the following: watching, listening and talking to people.

Background

There is a strong ethical case and an urgent need for more participatory research practices in disability research but a lack of resources to support this. It is important to involve people with learning disabilities and carers at all stages, including when designing training for co-research.

Methods

We co-developed training materials to support people with learning disabilities and carers to work as ethnographic co-researchers and for academic researchers to facilitate co-research. We focused on what people with learning disabilities and carers thought was important to learn.

Findings

Whilst not all types of research methods are easy to democratise, ethnographic observation is a research method that lends itself well to participatory co-research.

Conclusions

For people to be able to meaningfully participate, research processes need to become more accessible and transparent. Training that considers the needs and priorities of people with learning disabilities and carers and addresses the confidence gap is key for meaningful co-research.

[sciencespies]

Adults living in areas with high air pollution are more likely to have multiple long-term health conditions

https://sciencespies.com/environment/adults-living-in-areas-with-high-air-pollution-are-more-likely-to-have-multiple-long-term-health-conditions/

Adults living in areas with high air pollution are more likely to have multiple long-term health conditions

Exposure to traffic related air pollution is associated with an increased likelihood of having multiple long-term physical and mental health conditions according to a new study of more than 364,000 people in England.

Led by researchers from Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN), King’s College London, this is the largest study worldwide to examine whether air pollution exposure is linked with the occurrence of multiple long-term health conditions.

Multimorbidity is defined as having two or more physical or mental health conditions and affects 27 per cent of adults in UK primary care. It increases the use of healthcare services and the costs of primary and secondary care, but its association with air pollution has not been studied in the UK until now.

Published in Frontiers in Public Health the study showed that high levels of traffic-related air pollution — fine particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) — were associated with an increased risk of having at least two long term health conditions. The strongest associations were observed for co-occurring neurological, respiratory, cardiovascular and common mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety.

This research was funded by National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre and NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) South London.

Dr Amy Ronaldson, Research Associate at Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN), King’s College London and first author on the study said: “People with more than one long-term health condition have a lower quality of life and greater dependence on the healthcare system. Our NIHR funded research has indicated that those people that live in areas of higher traffic-related air pollution are at greater risk of having multiple health conditions. The study does not prove that air pollution causes multimorbidity, but it does warrant further research in this area. It could be that simple measures to reduce traffic levels could potentially improve lives and lessen the pressure on our healthcare systems.”

Researchers analysed data from UK Biobank — a large-scale biomedical database and research resource containing anonymised genetic, lifestyle and health information from half a million UK participants. aged between 40 and 69 years. Participants were assessed for 36 physical and five mental health chronic conditions. Multimorbidity was defined as having two or more of these conditions.

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Physical and mental health data from UK Biobank in 2010 were linked with the estimated concentration of air pollution at the residential address of the participants.

The study found that those participants exposed to higher concentrations (above 10µg/m3) of fine particulate matter had a 21 per cent increased risk of two or more co-occurring conditions compared to those exposed to concentrations below 10µg/m3.

For participants exposed to above 30µg/m3 of NO2 the research showed a 20 per cent increased risk of having two or more co-occurring conditions compared to those participants that were exposed to concentrations of NO2 below 20µg/m3.

Amongst those with multiple conditions, increased exposure to both PM2.5 and NO2 was linked to a greater severity of the co-occurring conditions.

Dr Ioannis Bakolis, Reader at IoPPN, King’s College London and senior author on the study said: “How air pollution affects multiple organs and systems at the same time is not yet fully understood, but there is some evidence that mechanisms such as inflammation, oxidative stress and immune activation could be triggered by air particulates, which can cause damage to the brain, heart, blood, lungs and gut.

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“Our study suggests that it could be through shared mechanisms that air pollution negatively impacts several body systems and increases the likelihood of people developing multiple long term health conditions. More research is needed to understand just how air pollution affects the different bodily systems, but it may be that tackling air pollution could help prevent and alleviate the debilitating impact of multiple long-term health conditions.”

Researchers identified several patterns in the associations: the strongest links were primarily between conditions relating to the respiratory system (asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) as well as the cardiovascular system (atrial fibrillation, coronary heart disease, heart failure) but also to neurological and common mental conditions (stroke, substance abuse, depression, anxiety).

The study, ‘Associations between air pollution and multimorbidity in the UK Biobank: A cross-sectional study’ was published in Frontiers in Public Health.

This study has been funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London and the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration South London.

#Environment

[systemtek]

Virtual reality and wearable technology pilot to cut drug deaths in the UK

Thousands of lives could be saved through the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and wearable technology designed to reduce drug deaths and improve outcomes. The government has awarded £12 million to projects across the UK that are researching innovative technology to support people with addictions. One of the chosen projects, called PneumoWave ALERT, pairs a chest-worn sensor that monitors breathing to a mobile device that sends out an immediate alert to nearby antidote carriers and emergency services if an overdose is detected, helping people get potentially life-saving treatment as soon as possible. Another study will look at using virtual reality to help people overcome their triggers for cocaine addiction. People will be assessed using watch-like devices to determine which cues in their environment lead to a drug craving, by measuring physical changes to the body. Virtual reality will then be used to create realistic situations to repeatedly expose people to triggers in a safe environment. Previous research shows cue exposure treatment (CET) can significantly reduce the level of craving and relapse among alcoholics, but it has not yet been fully explored for people experiencing a cocaine addiction until now. Minister for Public Health and Prevention, Andrew Gwynne said: Drug addiction devastates lives and rips apart families, and this government is committed to gripping this problem. We’re determined to harness the full potential of cutting-edge technology to save thousands of lives across the country. I want the UK to lead the way in championing innovation to end the harmful effects of addiction. The research is being funded through the Addiction Healthcare Goals programme, which is run by the Office for Life Sciences (OLS). Around £12 million has been awarded to 11 projects across eight organisations in the UK. The projects were selected as part of the Reducing Drug Deaths Challenge and the NIHR i4i Addiction: Innovation for Treatment and Recovery Awards, which are being run in partnership with the Scottish government and National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).   The funding will also support research to improve the accessibility of the life-saving drug naloxone. Naloxone rapidly reverses heroin and opioid overdose but is typically available as an injection or nasal spray which have limitations and cannot always be used in time. Kings College London is looking into naloxone wafers which melt in the mouth and provide rapid access to this emergency medicine and can fit easily in a wallet or purse. Several of the projects are based in Scotland which has the highest rate of drug deaths in Europe. These include a wristband to monitor vital signs such as blood oxygen levels, heart rate and body temperature. If an overdose is suspected, the device, named “Saving Sam”, will send out an alert to a trusted contact. This research is being run by the University of Edinburgh and NHS Fife. The technology being researched could be rolled out to more sites across the UK if successful. The projects support the government’s Health Mission – building an NHS fit for the future – by helping to embed a greater focus on prevention and supporting services. It also helps establish the UK as a global leader for innovative treatments and technologies, supporting the UK’s Growth Mission – for sustained economic growth, good jobs and increased productivity across the country – by inspiring healthcare companies to invest in the UK, while supporting people back into stable work. Science Minister Lord Vallance said: The UK’s life sciences sector plays a critical role in finding new ways to tackle the biggest challenges facing healthcare, including the devastating impact of addiction. The Addiction Healthcare Goals Programme is testament to our commitment to bringing together researchers, clinicians, and innovators to create real change. From wearable technology to AI-powered tools, these innovative projects highlight the power of collaboration in delivering life-saving treatments. By investing in these partnerships, we are tackling addiction head-on and ensuring that cutting-edge science reaches those who need it most, improving public health across the UK. Professor Mike Lewis, NIHR’s Scientific Director for Innovation, said:  Innovation in managing addiction is needed to break the pattern of prison relapse and rebound and the wider impacts of addiction on society. Through the NIHR i4i Addiction: Innovation for Treatment and Recovery Awards, successful projects have been awarded funding to develop approaches to improve treatment and recovery outcomes. Interventions, including AI, that allow management in the community need this research to validate their potential so we can implement them at scale. Professor Dame Anna Dominiczak, Chief Scientific Advisor for Health, Scottish Government, said: Tackling drug-related deaths is a priority for the Scottish Government and NHS Scotland and we are committed to tackling these issues through targeted research, innovation and support. As part of phase two of the Reducing Drug Deaths Innovation Competition, funding has been awarded to develop seven prototypes aimed at reducing drug deaths. These innovative solutions include wearable sensors, digital monitoring and alert applications as well as novel antidote delivery systems. By harnessing the expertise we have in Scotland and across the rest of the UK, we can continue to develop new technologies to drive prevention initiatives. Professor Anne Lingford-Hughes, Chair of the Addiction Healthcare Goals, said:  New approaches to treat drug addiction and reduce drug related deaths, particularly from overdose, are urgently needed. The Addiction Healthcare Goals programme is pleased to fund promising innovations that have brought together partnerships between industry, academia and organisations involved in delivering treatment and care for those experiencing drug addictions. Establishing such collaborations also enhances the UK’s research capacity and ability to deliver novel patient research. This lays firm foundations for the UK to accelerate the development and testing of effective innovations to use in routine care to save lives, reduce harms, and benefit society. Read the full article

[sa7abnews]

Researchers cast doubt over benefits of new Alzheimer’s therapies

New Post has been published on https://sa7ab.info/2024/08/06/researchers-cast-doubt-over-benefits-of-new-alzheimers-therapies/

Researchers cast doubt over benefits of new Alzheimer’s therapies

Scientists from Cambridge University have cast doubt on the efficacy and long-term benefits of two new drugs for Alzheimer’s disease, highlighting “concerning�� side effects, small proven benefits and challenges in their administration.

Lecanemab and donanemab, are the most recent medicines to enter the market to treat Alzheimer’s, a disease which is more prevalent in older people. With populations increasingly aging, there is a huge need to find effective treatments for the disease. But the researchers question whether these drugs will have any great impact.

“Based on current evidence, it is far from clear whether [these types of therapies] can ever significantly reduce population-level dementia morbidity at scale,” they write.

Both drugs target a protein called amyloid that builds up to form plaques in the brain. Some scientists hypothesize that these plaques are one of the main causes of Alzheimer’s disease.

Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia, accounting for up to 70 percent of the more than 55 million cases worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. Dementia is currently the seventh leading cause of death among older people globally.

Late-stage trials of the two drugs showed that they slowed the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. For donanemab, developed by Eli Lilly, participants in a Phase 3 trial who received the drug showed a 22 percent to 29 percent slowing in cognitive decline after 76 weeks, compared to those who received a placebo.

For lecanemab, developed by Japan’s Eisai and U.S. biotech Biogen, those who received the drug declined 1.21 points on an 18-point cognition scale, while those who received the placebo declined 1.66 points, the companies the companies reported.

For donanemab, developed by Eli Lilly, participants in a Phase 3 trial showed a 22 to 29 percent slowing in cognitive decline. | Scott Olson/Getty Images

But the latest analysis, published on Tuesday in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association, points out that the absolute effect sizes were small and “clearly below previously established thresholds of the minimum clinically important difference.”

Additionally, the researchers point out that the potential side effects to both drugs are “concerning” and “frequent.”

Around three in every 10 people using the treatment experienced brain edema and/or hemorrhage, the researchers report:  21.5 percent of those taking lecanemab and 36.8 percent of those using donanemab, compared with 9.5 percent and 14.9 percent for the respective placebo groups. Three participants who received donanemab died during the trial, which researchers at Lilly viewed as likely a result of receiving the drug.

Long-term effects of the drugs beyond the 18-month trial period are also unknown, and there are challenges for health systems, as roll out of treatment will involve “considerable resources including personnel, with profound opportunity costs.” That includes multiple tests to identify those who are eligible and frequent hospital visits for infusions and follow-up care.

“Even in high-income countries, rolling out such types of treatments at scale is highly challenging, but most dementia occurs in low- and middle-income countries,” said Carol Brayne, co-director of Cambridge Public Health, which conducted the study.

In addition, only a relatively small cohort of Alzheimer’s patients would be eligible for treatment, lead author Sebastian Walsh, NIHR doctoral fellow in public health medicine at the University of Cambridge, said.

“Diagnosing early Alzheimer’s disease can be challenging for many reasons, including a reluctance to discuss symptoms due to fear and stigma, and limited access to effective testing,” Eisai told POLITICO in a statement. “For change to happen, health systems and society must adapt to newer models of care that recognize the value of early diagnosis.”

Eisai also said the company is “dedicated to collecting ongoing and long-term efficacy and safety data for lecanemab.”

Eli Lilly and Biogen could not immediately be reached for comment.

These drugs have also divided regulators.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved lecanemab last year and donanemab this year. Last month, however, the European Medicines Agency opposed a license for Leqembi — the brand name for lecanemab — arguing that the small benefits of the drug on delaying cognitive decline did not outweigh the risk of serious side effects.

The U.K.’s drugs regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), is still assessing lecanemab with a decision expected imminently.

The MHRA is still assessing lecanemab. | Jean-Francois Monier/Getty Images

“If these drugs are approved by regulators in the UK and Europe, and become available, it is understandable that some people with early Alzheimer’s will still want to try these drugs, given their despair living with this dreadful disease,” said co-author Edo Richard, a professor of neurology at Radboud University Medical Centre in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. “But there is a lot of hyperbole around the reporting of these drugs, and significant effort will be needed to provide balanced information to patients to enable informed decisions,” Richard said.

“Few in the research community ever believed that the recent amyloid-targeting medicines would be the ultimate solution to Alzheimer’s disease,” Mark Dallas, associate professor in cellular neuroscience at the University of Reading, U.K., said. The Cambridge study highlights the limitations of these therapies and underscores the “urgent need for alternative strategies to improve the lives of those living with dementia,” he added.

But others stress that the drugs still play a significant role in the fight to find a treatment for Alzheimer’s.

“We do not yet know whether longer-term treatment will continue to cause treated and placebo curves to diverge … but we now have disease modifying therapy and it would be unfortunate if those in the UK who would benefit from this therapy had to fly to the US to receive it,” John Hardy, professor of neuroscience and group leader at the U.K. Dementia Research Institute at University College London (UCL), said.

[jobustad]

Latest Rawalpindi Medical University Jobs in July 2024 Advertisement

Latest Rawalpindi Medical University Jobs in July 2024 has been announce through Latest advertisement Applications are invited from highly motivated and research-oriented candidates for THREE positions of RESEARCH ASSISTANTS and TWO positions of RESEARCH FELLOWS in the NIHR-funded “Improving Mental and Physical Health Together (IMPACT-Pakistan) Research Office at the Institute of Psychiatry,…

[biotech-news-feed]

Almost 50% of adults living with type 1 diabetes experience high levels of diabetes distress #BioTech #science

[thenighteternal]

Trhä - yuh‡ë

[kayvanh123]

Depressive symptoms might accelerate memory decline in older adults.

Depressive symptoms are associated with subsequent memory decline in older adults, while poorer memory is also linked to an increase in depressive symptoms later on, according to a new study led by researchers at UCL and Brighton and Sussex Medical School.

The study, published in JAMA Network Open, analyzed 16 years of longitudinal data from 8,268 adults in England, with an average age of 64.

The researchers found that depression and memory are closely interrelated, with both appearing to influence each other.

Senior author Dr. Dorina Cadar, from the UCL Department of Behavioural Science & Health and Brighton and Sussex Medical School, stated: “Depression and poor memory often occur together in older people, but the causal direction has been unclear. Our study shows that the relationship is bidirectional, with depressive symptoms preceding memory decline and memory decline linked to subsequent depressive symptoms. This suggests that interventions to reduce depressive symptoms may help to slow down memory decline.”

Lead author Jiamin Yin, who graduated from UCL and is now a doctoral student at the University of Rochester, New York, said: “These findings underscore the importance of monitoring memory changes in older adults with increasing depressive symptoms to identify memory loss early and prevent further worsening of depressive function. Conversely, it is also critical to address depressive symptoms in those with memory decline to protect them from developing depression and memory dysfunction.”

The research team suggested that depression might affect memory due to changes in the brain associated with depression. These include neurochemical imbalances, structural changes in memory-related regions, and disruptions in the brain’s ability to reorganize and form new connections. Psychological factors, such as rumination, may also contribute to memory impairments. On the other hand, memory lapses can lead to frustration, loss of confidence, and feelings of incompetence, which can trigger depressive episodes. Memory impairment may also disrupt daily functioning and social interactions, leading to social isolation and potentially triggering depressive symptoms.

Dr. Cadar added: “Depression can cause changes in brain structures, such as the hippocampus, critical for memory formation and retrieval. Chronic stress and high levels of cortisol associated with depression can damage neurons in these areas. However, further understanding the mechanisms linking memory decline and depression is crucial for developing targeted interventions aimed at improving mood and slowing cognitive decline in individuals with depression and memory impairment.”

For this study, the researchers analyzed data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), where a nationally representative sample in England answers a wide range of questions every two years.

People with higher initial depressive symptoms were more likely to experience faster memory decline later, while those with poorer initial memory were more likely to experience an increase in depressive symptoms later. Participants who experienced a greater increase in depressive symptoms during the study were more likely to have a steeper memory decline, and vice versa.

The study found no such pattern for verbal fluency. While less verbal fluency was linked to more depressive symptoms at the start, changes in one did not predict later changes in the other.

The researchers accounted for factors such as physical activity and life-limiting illness. As an observational study, it could not establish causality.

The study received support from the National Institute on Aging, the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the National Institute for Health and Research (NIHR), Alzheimer’s Society UK, and Alzheimer’s Research UK.

Remember, if you need further guidance or support, don’t hesitate to reach out to your mental health professional or contact us for assistance.

[covid-safer-hotties]

Reference archived on our website

Published in the Summer of 2021. Those "experts" who are shocked to find out that covid has lingering effects aren't as expert or informed as they like to act.

Abstract Background There is growing concern about possible cognitive consequences of COVID-19, with reports of ‘Long COVID’ symptoms persisting into the chronic phase and case studies revealing neurological problems in severely affected patients. However, there is little information regarding the nature and broader prevalence of cognitive problems post-infection or across the full spread of disease severity.

Methods We sought to confirm whether there was an association between cross-sectional cognitive performance data from 81,337 participants who between January and December 2020 undertook a clinically validated web-optimized assessment as part of the Great British Intelligence Test, and questionnaire items capturing self-report of suspected and confirmed COVID-19 infection and respiratory symptoms.

Findings People who had recovered from COVID-19, including those no longer reporting symptoms, exhibited significant cognitive deficits versus controls when controlling for age, gender, education level, income, racial-ethnic group, pre-existing medical disorders, tiredness, depression and anxiety. The deficits were of substantial effect size for people who had been hospitalised (N = 192), but also for non-hospitalised cases who had biological confirmation of COVID-19 infection (N = 326). Analysing markers of premorbid intelligence did not support these differences being present prior to infection. Finer grained analysis of performance across sub-tests supported the hypothesis that COVID-19 has a multi-domain impact on human cognition.

Interpretation Interpretation. These results accord with reports of ‘Long Covid’ cognitive symptoms that persist into the early-chronic phase. They should act as a clarion call for further research with longitudinal and neuroimaging cohorts to plot recovery trajectories and identify the biological basis of cognitive deficits in SARS-COV-2 survivors.

Funding Funding. AH is supported by the UK Dementia Research Institute Care Research and Technology Centre and Biomedical Research Centre at Imperial College London. WT is supported by the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Neurotechnology. SRC is funded by a Wellcome Trust Clinical Fellowship 110,049/Z/15/Z. JMB is supported by Medical Research Council (MR/N013700/1). MAM, SCRW and PJH are, in part, supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King's College London