Experimental Gerontology

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) may help the brain resist both functional and structural neurodegeneration, which is critical for maintaining cognitive and neurological health in older adults. This meta-analysis and meta-regression seek to elucidate the impact of physical activity on these biomarker levels in healthy seniors, as well as to examine the influence of several moderator factors, including age, sex, period length, and time, for the first time...

Ageism encompasses the creation of negative stereotypes of aging that culminate in the development of prejudicial thoughts and discriminatory actions against people in advanced age. Stereotypes refer to major characteristics, overgeneralized, not supported by observations, that are created to categorize, simplify, and combine complex characteristics, attributes, and behaviors shared by members of a group into more simplistic categories. Negative aging stereotypes include the assumption that old people are weak, reminiscent, sick, and tired, to quote a few...

BACKGROUND: Heart failure (HF) is a condition caused by a malfunction of the heart's pumping function. The single-point insulin sensitivity estimator (SPISE) index is a novel indicator for assessing insulin resistance in humans. However, the connection between the SPISE index and the risk of HF in the elderly is unknown. Therefore, our study aims to evaluate the connection between the SPISE index and HF in older adults. METHODS: The study was based on data collected from the 1999-2020 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey database and included 6165 participants aged ≥60 years...

Total cholesterol (TC) and the cholesterol oxidation product 27-hydroxycholesterol (27-OHC) are both increased in the elderly. Accumulating evidence has linked 27-OHC to glucose metabolism in the brain, while docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) has been shown to positively regulate the 27-OHC levels. However, it is unclear whether DHA may affect glucose metabolism in the brain by regulating 27-OHC levels. In this study, we hypothesized that DHA supplementation would modulate TC levels and reduce 27-OHC levels, thereby improving brain glucose metabolism in SAMP8 mice...

OBJECTIVE: The aim was to predict the effectiveness of using frailty, defined by the Frailty Index (FI), for predicting recurrent pneumonia and death in patients over 50 years with vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) during long-term hospitalization. MEASUREMENTS: This retrospective cohort study was conducted at a teaching hospital in western China and included VCI patients aged ≥50 years undergoing long-term hospitalization. The relevant data were collected from the electronic medical record system...

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the impact of menopause on stone composition in women with urolithiasis. STUDY DESIGN: A cross-sectional study was conducted from March 2013 to March 2018. Women with urolithiasis patients were divided into two groups according to their menopause status. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The clinical demographic characteristics, stone removal, stone composition, and urine chemistry were investigated. Univariate and multivariate survival analyses were performed to identify risk factors for the risk of uric acid stones...

OBJECTIVES: The study aimed to investigate the relationship between blood pressure (BP) levels and mortality among critically ill older adults in the intensive care unit (ICU), establish optimal BP target for this population, and assess the mediating effect of severe malnutrition on BP-related mortality. METHODS: Data were extracted from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care IV (MIMIC-IV) version 2.2 database, focusing on critically ill patients aged 80 years and older...

OBJECTIVES: Intrinsic capacity impairment results in poor outcomes among older adults. Here we tested handgrip strength as a screening tool for IC impairment in community-dwelling older adults in Xinjiang, China. We assessed the diagnostic accuracy and established optimal cut-off points for handgrip strength in the detection of intrinsic capacity impairment. METHODS: In total, 1072 participants were included using a multilevel random sampling method. Intrinsic capacity was constructed according to the definition of the Integrated Care for Older People screening tool proposed by the WHO...

PURPOSE: Muscle quality is explained by the ratio between muscle size and strength. Conventionally, muscle size is evaluated without considering the composition of contractile and non-contractile tissues in muscle, hence the influence of non-contractile tissues on muscle quality is not fully understood, especially within aging muscle. This study investigated the differences in intramuscular non-contractile tissues between different age and sex groups, and investigated their influence on muscle quality...

Sarcopenia, characterized by the loss of skeletal muscle mass and function, is a significant complication in patients with cirrhosis. This condition not only exacerbates the overall morbidity and mortality associated with liver disease but also complicates patient management, increasing the risk of hospitalization, infections, and hepatic encephalopathy. Despite its clinical significance, sarcopenia in cirrhotic patients remains underdiagnosed and undertreated. This review aims to summarize current knowledge on the pathophysiology of sarcopenia in cirrhosis, including mechanisms such as altered metabolism, hormonal imbalances, and inflammation...

PURPOSE: The present study aimed to investigate the effects of endurance training (ET) in combination with MitoQ supplementation on antioxidant indices and the expression of sesterin-2 (SESN2) as an anti-aging factor and AMPK as an energy sensor in aged male Wistar rats. METHODS: Twenty-eight aged Wistar rats (410 ± 15 g, 22 ± 1.5 months old) were randomly divided into four groups (n = 7): Control, ET (eight weeks endurance training on the treadmill), MitoQ (250 μ/L in drinking water), and ET + MitoQ...

OBJECTIVE: To confirm the causality of gut microbiota pathway abundance and knee osteoarthritis (KOA). METHODS: Microbial metabolic pathways were taken as exposures, with data from the Dutch Microbiome Project (DMP). Data on KOA from the UK Biobank were utilized as endpoints. In addition, we extracted significant and independent single nucleotide polymorphisms as instrumental variables. Two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis was applied to explore the causal relationship between gut microbiota pathway abundance and KOA, and MR-Egger and weighted median were used as additional validation of the MR results...

BACKGROUND: Dementia poses a significant global health challenge. Anthocyanins neutralize free radicals, modulate signaling pathways, inhibit pro-inflammatory genes, and suppress cytokine production and may thus have positive cognitive effects in people at increased risk of dementia. We aim to investigate the effects of purified anthocyanins on cognitive function in people at increased risk of dementia according to their inflammation status based on blood-based inflammatory biomarkers...

Normal aging presents subtle cognitive changes that can be detected before meeting the criteria for Mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Older people with low cognitive reserve and who receive limited cognitive stimulation are at greater risk of deterioration. In this regard, cognitive stimulation (CS) has been identified as an intervention that reduces this risk, provided that its design takes into account the differences in the level of cognitive reserve (CR) acquired throughout life and the baseline level of cognitive functioning...

OBJECTIVE: There is limited research on the effectiveness of orthopedic robot-assisted treatment for sarcopenia combined with femoral neck fractures (FNF) in clinical settings. This study aimed to compare the clinical outcomes of orthopedic robot-assisted screw placement with traditional manual screw placement for treating sarcopenia combined with FNF. METHODS: The retrospective study included patients with FNF under the age of 65 who were admitted to the Department of Orthopedics at XX Hospital Affiliated to XX University between January 2019 and March 2022 and underwent internal fixation with cannulated screws...

BACKGROUND: The relationship between serum lipids and sarcopenia remains unclear due to conflicting results in previous studies. OBJECTIVE: To explore the associations and potential causality between serum lipids, including high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), triglycerides (TG), and total cholesterol (TC), and sarcopenia. METHODS: Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) were analysed using multivariable regression and restricted cubic splines (RCSs) to assess the associations between serum lipids and sarcopenia...

AIM: The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential protective effect of Qiju Granule in a rat model of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and investigate the underlying mechanisms involved. METHODS: Rats were injected intravenously with 40 mg/kg of sodium iodate (SI) to induce a dry AMD model. The rats in the treatment group received three different doses of Qiju Granule once a day via gavage, while the rats in the control group were given an equal volume of physiological saline...

OBJECTIVES: This systematic review with meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the effects of elastic band training (EBT) on body composition and physical performance in apparently healthy older people. METHODS: A systematic literature search was conducted between October 2023 and May 2024 using the core collection of six generic databases: PubMed, ProQuest, EBSCOhost, CINAHL Complete, Scopus, and Web of Science. The PRISMA, TESTEX, RoB 2, and GRADE tools assessed the evidence's methodological quality and certainty...

BACKGROUND: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common central neurodegenerative disease in middle-aged and elderly people. The progressive degeneration and death of dopaminergic neurons leads to insufficient dopamine (DA) neurotransmitters. Acupuncture and moxibustion can alleviate the aging of neurons. Therefore, studying the neuroprotective effects of electroacupuncture (EA) in PD mice is particularly important. METHODS: Intraperitoneal injection of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP, 20 mg/kg) was used to establish a PD mouse model, and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was used to induce microglia polarization...

AIMS: The relationship between sarcopenia and cognitive impairment in older adults remains contentious. This study investigates this association and examines the long-term prognosis for individuals with both conditions. METHODS: Utilizing data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2011 to 2014, this study focuses on the correlation between sarcopenia and cognitive impairment, as well as the extended prognosis for individuals managing these conditions...