Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience最新文献

{"title":"Dual-scale assessment of motor dysfunction in older adults with locomotor dysfunction and its association with gait and muscle activation.","authors":"Wen Liu, Chunxiao Lu, Lifeng Qian","doi":"10.3389/fnagi.2026.1980454","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2026.1980454","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>This study examined the reliability and validity of a combined 25-question geriatric locomotive function scale (GLFS-25) and Locomotion Dysfunction Grade scale (LDG) classification protocol in older adults with locomotor dysfunction, and explored which objective gait and muscle activation parameters were most strongly associated with GLFS-25 scores.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The GLFS-25 and LDG were used to assess 289 older adults with locomotor dysfunction, of whom 60 underwent gait analysis and surface electromyography (sEMG).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Reliability analysis yielded a Cronbach's α of 0.702 for the GLFS-25, indicating acceptable but modest internal consistency. Exploratory factor analysis extracted nine factors, accounting for 55.193% of the cumulative variance. Confirmatory factor analysis showed X²/df = 1.424, RMSEA = 0.038 (90% CI: 0.000-0.060), and SRMR = 0.055, indicating acceptable fit; however, CFI = 0.821, TLI = 0.801, and IFI = 0.830 were below 0.90, suggesting partial rather than strong construct validity. In exploratory ridge regression, the model showed an in-sample R² of 0.858, which should be interpreted with caution. Step length showed a positive association with the GLFS-25 score, while knee flexion during swing and the ratio of pressure onset time of the middle foot showed negative associations (<i>P</i> < 0.05). However, individual coefficients should be interpreted cautiously.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The GLFS-25 demonstrated acceptable but modest reliability and partial construct validity in this population. In exploratory analyses, its scores showed a strong in-sample association with objective gait and sEMG measures. These findings are hypothesis-generating and require external validation in independent cohorts. Objective measures remain complementary to, rather than substitutes for, subjective assessment. Registration: ChiCTR2400087701.</p>","PeriodicalId":12450,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience","volume":"18 ","pages":"1980454"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2026-10-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13677845/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149223664","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk is associated with AT(N)V neuroimaging biomarkers and cognitive impairment in the health and aging brain study-health disparities cohort.","authors":"Kimberly Espejo, Ryan Rulkens, Cellas A Hayes, Joey A Contreras","doi":"10.3389/fnagi.2026.1874472","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2026.1874472","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Cardiovascular risk is increasingly recognized as relevant to cognitive aging and dementia-related brain changes, yet its relationship to multimodal neuroimaging biomarkers of amyloid, tau, neurodegeneration, and vascular injury (AT(N)-V) remains incompletely understood in racially and ethnically diverse cohorts. We examined whether ten-year atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk was associated with AT(N)-V neuroimaging biomarkers and cognitive domain scores.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This cross-sectional study included 1,626 Health and Aging Brain Study-Health Disparities (HABS-HD) participants without cardiovascular disease or dementia who had amyloid positron emission tomography (PET) imaging linked to visit 1. Ten-year ASCVD risk was estimated using the Pooled Cohort Equations and modeled continuously. Neuroimaging outcomes included global florbetaben amyloid PET standardized uptake value ratio (SUVR), medial temporal lobe (MTL) PI-2620 tau PET SUVR, cortical thickness, hippocampal volume, and white matter hyperintensity (WMH) volume. Cognitive domain outcomes included memory, executive function, processing speed, and language. Multivariable linear regression models accounted for apolipoprotein E (<i>APOE</i>) ε4 status, relevant neuroimaging biomarkers, and imaging scanner/protocol covariates as appropriate, with Holm adjustment for multiple comparisons. Amyloid-status-stratified analyses were also conducted using a global amyloid PET SUVR threshold of 1.08.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Increasing ten-year ASCVD risk was associated with increasing global amyloid and MTL tau PET SUVR, smaller cortical thickness, smaller hippocampal volume, and increased WMH volume. Increasing ten-year ASCVD risk was also associated with lower memory, executive function, processing speed, and language scores after accounting for APOE ε4 status, amyloid burden, neurodegeneration, vascular injury, and scanner covariates. Associations between ten-year ASCVD risk and structural and vascular injury markers were observed in both amyloid-positive and amyloid-negative participants, whereas associations with amyloid and MTL tau PET were modest and statistically significant only among amyloid-negative participants.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>In this diverse HABS-HD sample, increasing ten-year ASCVD risk was associated with greater AT(N)-V biomarker burden and poorer cognitive performance across multiple domains. These cross-sectional findings suggest that ten-year ASCVD risk may serve as a marker of co-occurring cardiovascular and brain health burden, but they do not establish causality or temporal direction.</p>","PeriodicalId":12450,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience","volume":"18 ","pages":"1874472"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2026-10-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13677870/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149223652","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Rasch-based classification of post-stroke balance ability: dimensionality and clinical validation of the BESTest and S-BESTest.","authors":"Thitimard Winairuk, Marco Y C Pang, Sirod Sirisup, Vitoon Saengsirisuwan, Kamolwan K Klaykaew, Rumpa Boonsinsukh","doi":"10.3389/fnagi.2026.1889177","DOIUrl":"10.3389/fnagi.2026.1889177","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The Balance Evaluation Systems Test (BESTest) and its stroke-specific short version (S-BESTest) are widely used to evaluate balance after stroke. However, clinically meaningful classifications of balance ability derived from these instruments remain unavailable.</p><p><strong>Objectives: </strong>To examine the dimensionality of the BESTest and S-BESTest and establish Rasch-based classifications of balance ability in individuals with stroke.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>In this cross-sectional study, 335 individuals with stroke from two tertiary care hospitals completed the BESTest and S-BESTest. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was performed to identify the underlying factor structure of each instrument. Principal component analysis of Rasch residuals (PCAR) and disattenuated correlations between Rasch person measures were subsequently used to evaluate essential unidimensionality. Rasch analysis using the Andrich Rating Scale Model was then conducted to derive balance ability classifications and corresponding raw-score cutoffs. Known-groups validity of the proposed classifications was examined using lower extremity Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FM-LE) scores.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>EFA identified a three-factor solution for the BESTest and a two-factor solution for the S-BESTest. However, PCAR and disattenuated correlations demonstrated that both instruments functioned as essentially unidimensional measures of balance ability. Rasch analysis showed acceptable-to-excellent reliability and yielded clinically interpretable balance ability classifications with corresponding raw-score cutoff values. The BESTest was classified into six balance impairment levels, ranging from very severe to very mild impairment, whereas the S-BESTest was classified into four levels, ranging from very severe to mild impairment. FM-LE scores differed significantly across all classification levels for both instruments, supporting good known-groups validity.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Although exploratory factor analysis identified multiple factors, the BESTest and S-BESTest functioned as essentially unidimensional measures of balance ability in individuals with stroke. The proposed Rasch-based classifications provide clinically interpretable balance ability levels that may facilitate communication, facilitate individualized rehabilitation planning, and support clinical decision-making.</p>","PeriodicalId":12450,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience","volume":"18 ","pages":"1889177"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2026-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13672641/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149215510","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Comparative efficacy of non-pharmacological interventions for amnestic mild cognitive impairment: a network meta-analysis.","authors":"Baofang Zhang, Xuanling Li, Qian Zhao, Shuqun Zhang, Yuquan Bai, Youlin Duan, Caien Yu, Chenlin Sui, Aochen Yang, Lianwei Xu","doi":"10.3389/fnagi.2026.1878590","DOIUrl":"10.3389/fnagi.2026.1878590","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Background: &lt;/strong&gt;Amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) represents a critical prodromal stage of Alzheimer's disease, with a prevalence of approximately 10.03% and an annual conversion rate to dementia of 5%-10%. Non-pharmacological interventions, including acupuncture, moxibustion, cognitive therapies, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, and Tai Chi, are considered potentially effective therapeutic approaches. However, comparative efficacy among these interventions remains elusive.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Methods: &lt;/strong&gt;PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, CNKI, Wanfang, and VIP databases were systematically searched from inception to March 2026. Randomized controlled trials comparing two or more non-pharmacological interventions for aMCI were included. The RoB2 was used to assess methodological quality. A frequentist network meta-analysis was conducted with changes in cognitive function scores as the primary outcome, measured by the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). Statistical analyses were performed using R software (version 4.4.3) with the netmeta package. Mean differences (MD) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated. The surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA) was used to rank interventions. Consistency was evaluated using the node-splitting method, publication bias was assessed with funnel plots, and robustness was examined through sensitivity analysis.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Results: &lt;/strong&gt;A total of 32 randomized controlled trials were included, of which 22 reported MMSE scores and 21 reported MoCA scores. Network meta-analysis demonstrated that manual acupuncture combined with moxibustion ranked first for improving MMSE scores (SUCRA = 87.9%), showing significant superiority over usual care (MD = 1.65, 95% CI: 0.01 to 3.29), followed by Tai Chi (SUCRA = 76.7%) and electroacupuncture (SUCRA = 71.7%). For MoCA score improvement, manual acupuncture combined with moxibustion also ranked first (SUCRA = 95.3%), with manual acupuncture (SUCRA = 71.5%) and moxibustion (SUCRA = 65.9%) ranking second and third, respectively. Both outcome measures yielded consistent results, indicating that traditional Chinese medicine-based non-pharmacological interventions demonstrated favorable efficacy with higher rankings. However, absolute effect sizes were modest, and the top ranking of the combined intervention was tentative given local inconsistency and the small number of informing trials.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Conclusions: &lt;/strong&gt;Non-pharmacological interventions confer modest beneficial effects on cognitive function in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment, and traditional Chinese medicine-based modalities consistently occupied the top ranks for both outcomes. Manual acupuncture combined with moxibustion ranked highest; however, this ranking is tentative given local inconsistency and the small number of informing trials, and the certainty of evidence was ","PeriodicalId":12450,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience","volume":"18 ","pages":"1878590"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2026-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13672645/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149215326","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Longitudinal changes in hand dominance and manual dexterity in normal aging and mild cognitive impairment (MCI): a kinematic study.","authors":"Olena Vasylenko, Claudia Rodríguez-Aranda","doi":"10.3389/fnagi.2026.1921208","DOIUrl":"10.3389/fnagi.2026.1921208","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Decrements on hand dominance in older populations, including neurodegenerative conditions, have been reported cross-sectionally. At present, no longitudinal research on this issue is available.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>To address this research gap, we conducted a detailed kinematic analysis of unimanual movements of the dominant and non-dominant hands in 16 patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) (M age = 69.3 yrs) and 20 healthy controls (HC) (M age = 69.9 yrs) at two points in time with an averaged time interval of 4.5 years between evaluations (3.5 yrs. for HC; 5.35 yrs. for MCI). The inserting pins task from the Purdue Pegboard Test was recorded with a 2D motion capture system (Vicon Motus). Linear and angular velocities, as well as path length together with their coefficients of variation were calculated for specific actions (i.e., reaching, grasping, transport and inserting) and laterality indices (LI) were computed.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>At time 1, only MCI patients displayed symmetric movements. At time 2, no group differences in LIs were observed as the HC group also developed symmetric hand dominance while MCIs preserved symmetric hand dominance. The present study is the first one to demonstrate longitudinally the presence and development of reduced manual asymmetry in two groups of older adults with and without cognitive impairment.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>These findings are fundamental to document the development of symmetric hand performance in old age, which most likely represents a behavioral adaptation to normal neurophysiological constraints caused by the wear and tear of the neuromuscular system, rather than being solely the result of pathology. However, conditions like MCI that are superimposed upon normal senescence processes appear to accelerate the development of reduced manual asymmetry.</p>","PeriodicalId":12450,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience","volume":"18 ","pages":"1921208"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2026-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13672655/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149215549","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Associations between inflammatory-lipid indices and clinical outcomes in ischemic stroke patients treated with mechanical thrombectomy.","authors":"Ao Qian, Jia Duan, Wenli Xing, Longyi Zheng, Shuang Tang","doi":"10.3389/fnagi.2026.1919645","DOIUrl":"10.3389/fnagi.2026.1919645","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>Inflammation and dyslipidemia are critical in post-stroke prognosis. We conducted a comprehensive analysis of six common inflammatory-lipid indices to evaluate the associations between these indices and four clinical outcomes after mechanical thrombectomy (MT) for acute ischemic stroke (AIS), and to identify generalizable consistently associated markers for all four clinical outcomes.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>In this retrospective studyassociations between inflammatory-lipid indices, namely monocyte-to-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (MHR), platelet-to-HDL-C ratio (PHR), neutrophil-to-HDL-C (NHR), lymphocyte-to-HDL-C ratio (LHR), fibrinogen-to-HDL-C ratio (FHR), and C-reactive protein-to-HDL-C ratio (CRP/HDL-C), and four post-MT clinical outcomes comprised hemorrhagic transformation (HT), malignant cerebral edema (MCE) 90-day unfavorable outcome and all-cause mortality were evaluated using multivariable analyses. False discovery rate (FDR) correction was applied for multiple comparisons. NHR, which demonstrated consistent significance for all four clinical outcomes, was subjected to further analyses.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 513 patients were included., demonstrated The incidences of HT, MCE, unfavorable outcome, and all-cause mortality were 30.6% (157), 22.6% (116), 54.8% (281), and 25.9% (133), respectively. The NHR was significantly associated with all four clinical outcomes (HT: odds ratio [OR] 1.079, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.023-1.142, p-FDR = 0.034; MCE: OR 1.089, 95% CI 1.031-1.154, p-FDR = 0.008; unfavorable outcome: OR 1.177, 95% CI 1.098-1.269, p-FDR < 0.001; all-cause mortality: hazard ratio [HR] 1.047, 95% CI 1.012-1.084, p-FDR = 0.022). In the subgroup analysis for all-cause mortality, an interaction between NHR and TOAST classification was observed (<i>p</i> for interaction = 0.023), indicating that the association with all-cause mortality was pronounced in patients with cardioembolic stroke (HR 1.109, 95% CI 1.055-1.165). Mediation analysis showed that HT (23.9%, <i>p</i> < 0.001) and MCE (23.8%, <i>p</i> < 0.001) statistically accounted for part of the associations between NHR and unfavorable outcome. The relationship between NHR and unfavorable outcome may be partially mediated by HT (23.9%, <i>p</i> < 0.001) and MCE (23.8%, <i>p</i> < 0.001).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>NHR may serve as a potentially useful complementary marker of post-MT HT, MCE, unfavorable outcome, and all-cause mortality. Its association with all-cause mortality appears stronger in patients with cardioembolic stroke. HT and MCE may act as mediators linking NHR to unfavorable outcomes. External validation is required to verify these findings.</p>","PeriodicalId":12450,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience","volume":"18 ","pages":"1919645"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2026-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13672604/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149215339","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Hydrogen gas and olfactory dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease: the Hydrogen-Olfactory-Limbic hypothesis.","authors":"Ligao Bao, Dunfu Eer","doi":"10.3389/fnagi.2026.1937419","DOIUrl":"10.3389/fnagi.2026.1937419","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Olfactory dysfunction is increasingly recognized as an early clinical feature of Alzheimer's disease (AD), often preceding measurable cognitive impairment and associated with subsequent cognitive decline. Despite this relatively consistent clinical association, the anatomical, cellular, and physiological substrates underlying olfactory dysfunction in AD remain poorly understood. Post-mortem human studies have identified amyloid-β (Aβ) and tau pathology in olfactory structures, including the olfactory epithelium and anterior olfactory nucleus. However, the available anatomical evidence remains limited, and the presence of these pathological proteins does not establish that they cause olfactory dysfunction. Likewise, it remains uncertain whether early olfactory impairment reflects peripheral sensory dysfunction, neuronal loss, synaptic or circuit abnormalities, altered higher-order olfactory processing, disruption of olfactory-limbic networks, or a combination of these processes. Although the olfactory epithelium possesses lifelong regenerative capacity, whether this capacity is altered during AD progression remains unresolved. Molecular hydrogen (H₂) has demonstrated antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, mitochondrial-modulatory, and cytoprotective effects in diverse experimental systems. However, direct evidence that hydrogen modifies AD-associated olfactory dysfunction is currently lacking. In this Perspective, we propose the Hydrogen-Olfactory-Limbic hypothesis as an experimentally testable framework rather than an established therapeutic mechanism. We suggest that molecular hydrogen can serve as an experimental intervention to determine whether modulating oxidative, inflammatory, and metabolic processes affects olfactory function and olfactory-limbic circuit physiology during AD progression. This framework integrates behavioral, anatomical, molecular, electrophysiological, regenerative, and connectivity measurements to address two fundamental questions: what causes early olfactory dysfunction in AD, and can molecular hydrogen modify biologically relevant processes associated with this phenotype?</p>","PeriodicalId":12450,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience","volume":"18 ","pages":"1937419"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2026-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13672602/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149215517","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Dexmedetomidine as a potential neuroprotective agent against Alzheimer's disease: molecular mechanisms and therapeutic perspectives.","authors":"Jun Kang, Yongbo Duan, Jiaxuan Bi, Jiangping Liu, Wenjun Yan","doi":"10.3389/fnagi.2026.1952923","DOIUrl":"10.3389/fnagi.2026.1952923","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by extracellular deposition of amyloid-β (Aβ), intracellular hyperphosphorylation of microtubule-associated protein tau and chronic neuroinflammation. At present, effective disease-modifying therapies for AD remain limited. Dexmedetomidine (Dex), a highly selective α₂-adrenergic receptor agonist, has been reported in recent years to exert significant neuroprotective effects. Accumulating evidence indicates that Dex may ameliorate AD pathology through multiple mechanisms. In terms of Aβ metabolism, Dex reduces Aβ production by downregulating β-site amyloid precursor protein-cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1) expression. With respect to tau pathology, Dex may counteract abnormal tau hyperphosphorylation in AD-related models, although relatively high experimental doses have also been associated with increased tau phosphorylation. Regarding immune regulation, Dex attenuates neuroinflammatory signaling by inhibiting NOD-like receptor family pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome activation and related pro-inflammatory pathways. In addition, Dex modulates neurotrophic support, ferroptosis, autophagic flux, and synaptic homeostasis. These multitarget effects have been observed across heterogeneous preclinical models and dose ranges; however, an AD-specific therapeutic window and long-term safety profile remain to be established. This narrative review synthesizes the available preclinical evidence on the multitarget actions of Dex in AD-related models and critically evaluates dose dependence, pharmacokinetic and safety considerations, and current translational limitations.</p>","PeriodicalId":12450,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience","volume":"18 ","pages":"1952923"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2026-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13673236/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149215266","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Digital mobility assessment using wearable devices in people with Parkinson's disease: a feasibility and implementation study in Ghana (TraPCAf) compared with a UK cohort.","authors":"Metin Bicer, Cameron Kirk, Mary Agoriwo, Momodou Cham, Albert Akpalu, Njideka Okubadejo, Javad Sarvestan, Jack Lumsdon, Yasin Okkaoglu, Katie Brittain, Ríona McArdle, Lisa Alcock, Alison J Yarnall, Natasha Fothergill-Misbah, Richard Walker, Lynn Rochester, Silvia Del Din","doi":"10.3389/fnagi.2026.1899045","DOIUrl":"10.3389/fnagi.2026.1899045","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Life expectancy is rising in Africa, increasing Parkinson's disease (PD) prevalence. PD in Africa is often underdiagnosed/undertreated due to limited specialists, awareness and medication access. Gait impairments are among the earliest and most disabling PD symptoms, yet their presentation in African populations is poorly understood. This study aimed to (1) compare real-world mobility between PD and older controls in a population from Ghana (GHA-PD and GHA-CL), (2) examine associations between digital mobility outcomes (DMOs) and clinical/demographic factors between GHA-PD and a PD cohort from a high-income European country (UK-PD), and (3) assess the acceptability of the measurement method in GHA-PD and GHA-CL.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>PD (<i>n</i> = 50) and controls (<i>n</i> = 30) in Ghana wore a wearable device (Axivity AX6) for seven days. Raw data were used to derive 24 DMOs using the Mobilise-D pipeline. An age-gender-matched PD and control cohort (UK-CL), based in United Kingdom, from another study was included for comparison. Differences were also analysed by controlling confounding factors.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Sixteen of 24 DMOs differed significantly (<i>p</i> < 0.05) between GHA-PD and GHA-CL (steps per day: 2153 vs. 10001, daily walking time: 0.43 vs. 2.07 hours). Mobility impairment was more pronounced in GHA-PD than UK-PD, with differences remaining in 18 DMOs after adjustment for confounding factors. Feasibility and acceptability were high, although discomfort was commonly reported.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>Reduced mobility and gait quality in GHA-PD highlight risks of functional decline and loss of independence. Further research should investigate lifestyle, cultural, environmental and healthcare factors that might contribute to these disparities.</p>","PeriodicalId":12450,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience","volume":"18 ","pages":"1899045"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2026-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13672635/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149215276","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Auditory performance and cortical plasticity in blind individuals with sensorineural hearing loss: insights into dual sensory impairment.","authors":"Min Young Kwak, Jeong-Sug Kyong, Hyo Jung Choi, Yong-Hwi An, Hyun Joon Shim","doi":"10.3389/fnagi.2026.1769582","DOIUrl":"10.3389/fnagi.2026.1769582","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Blind individuals with normal hearing frequently exhibit enhanced auditory abilities driven by compensatory cross-modal neuroplasticity. However, it remains unclear whether these compensatory advantages persist in individuals with dual sensory impairment. This study investigated auditory processing and cortical plasticity in early-blind, late-blind, and sighted individuals, all presenting with concurrent sensorineural hearing loss.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>Participants completed auditory behavioral tests, including working memory, spectral ripple discrimination, temporal modulation detection, and sentence recognition in noise. Auditory oddball tasks assessed attentional and cognitive responses, and ERPs (N2, P3b) were recorded.</p><p><strong>Result: </strong>Results showed that late-blind individuals with hearing loss performed better than sighted individuals in digit span and temporal modulation tasks, but group differences in spectral resolution, speech recognition, and ERP components were largely not evident across conditions. Cortical source and functional connectivity analysis revealed distinct processing strategies, with sighted individuals recruiting frontal control regions under noise, whereas late-blind individuals relied on a temporal-parietal network.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>These findings indicate that in late-blind individuals, visual deprivation confers selective advantages over sighted peers in temporal processing and working memory even in the presence of age-related hearing loss, whereas broader perceptual benefits and electrophysiological enhancements are limited. Viewed in the context of prior literature in normal-hearing populations, these results suggest that compensatory cross-modal plasticity may be partially constrained when accompanied by concurrent sensorineural hearing loss.</p>","PeriodicalId":12450,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience","volume":"18 ","pages":"1769582"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13669196/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149215277","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}