The benefit /INS;of physical activity on cognition: Results from the Austrian stroke prevention study

Abstract

WCN 2013 No: 1220 Topic: 5 — Dementia The benefit of physical activity on cognition: Results from the Austrian stroke prevention study P. Freudenberger, K. Petrovic, A. Sen, A.-M. Toglhofer, R. Schmidt, H. Schmidt. Centre for Molecular Medicine, Graz, Austria; Department of Neurology, Medical University Graz, Graz, Austria Objective: Cognitive decline leads to disability and decreased quality of life. It is related to life-style decisions, diet and physical activity. Herewe investigate the association VO2 max as a measure of cardio respiratory fitness (CRF) and cognitive domains, as wells as global cognition in a large population based cohort. Additionally we investigate mediation by MRI correlates of brain atrophy and vascular degeneration. Methods: The cohort consisted of 730 healthy participants (mean age 65 ± 7 years, 58% females) of the Austrian Stroke Prevention study. Cognitive function measurements include single tests, as well as composite scores for specific domains, including memory, conceptualization, visuopractical skills and attention / speed and global cognition (g-factor). CRF was assessed by performing a graded exercise stress test setup on a treadmill ergometer, and is expressed as VO2max. Brain MRI was used to measure brain parenchymal fraction (BPF) and white matter lesion load (WML load). Multiple linear regression was used to test the association. Results: VO2max was significantly associated with almost all cognitive domains, (p b 0.05), as well as global cognition g (p b 0.01). The associations were independent of age, sex, educational level and life-style (smoking, BMI) and vascular risk factors (hypertension, diabetes, cholesterol) and ApoE genotype). White matter lesions and brain atrophy partly mediate the described effect of cardio-respiratory fitness on cognition in general, and in on each individual domains. Interpretation: The results support the protective role of cardiorespiratory fitness on cognition, which may ameliorate age-related cognitive decline and thus disability in old age. doi:10.1016/j.jns.2013.07.1158 Abstract — WCN 2013 No: 1172 Topic: 5 — Dementia Using cognitive qEEG to characterize disease severity in the prospective dementia registry Austria (PRODEM) WCN 2013 No: 1172 Topic: 5 — Dementia Using cognitive qEEG to characterize disease severity in the prospective dementia registry Austria (PRODEM) H. Garn, M. Waser, T. Benke, P. Dal-Bianco, G. Ransmayr, M. Deistler, D. Grossegger, R. Schmidt. AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH, Vienna, Austria; Department of Neurology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria; Department of Neurology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; Department of Neurology, General Hospital Linz, Linz, Austria; Institute for Mathematical Methods in Economics, Vienna University of Technology, Austria; Dr. Grossegger & Drbal GmbH, Vienna, Austria; Department of Neurology,Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria Quantitative EEG (qEEG) changes in Alzheimer's disease (AD) include frequency slowing, altered synchrony and reduced complexity. So far, qEEG alterations have been used to distinguish AD or prodromal AD from controls. The current study validated these qEEG metrics by assessing their relationship with cognitive functioning in patients with probable AD. Moreover, we defined an overall qEEG metric by independent component analysis. We studied 103 AD cases from the multi-centric study PRODEM-Austria. Their mean age was 73.1 years and mean dementia duration was 27 months. All patients underwent EEG recording in resting and cognitively active state. EEG analysis included automated artifact removal, manual selection of artifact-free epochs for qEEG assessments and calculation of six different markers in the domains frequency, synchrony and complexity. Quadratic regressions were calculated to determine themagnitude of variance of MMSE scores that was explained by each EEG metric and by the combination factor. Analyses were adjusted for age, sex, duration of dementia, and educational level. Relative theta power during face encoding explained 38% of the variance of MMSE scores, followed by relative alpha and beta1 power which explained 35% and 32%, respectively. No single measure of synchrony or complexity explainedmore than 30% ofMMSE variance. With 28% variance explanation the combination factor was also inferior to frequency measures. Our data indicate theta power measured during face encoding to be most closely related to AD severity. Its role as a qEEGmarker to predict AD progression needs to be further determined in longitudinal studies. doi:10.1016/j.jns.2013.07.1159 Abstract — WCN 2013 No: 1236 Topic: 5 — Dementia Anticardiolipin antibodies, cognition, and brain magnetic resonance imaging WCN 2013 No: 1236 Topic: 5 — Dementia Anticardiolipin antibodies, cognition, and brain magnetic resonance imaging N. Homayoon, E. Hofer, K. Petrovic, M. Loitfelder, H. Schmidt, R. Schmidt. Department of Neurology, Medical University Graz,