Biomedical subjects

Emily R Edwards

Publications and source records attributed to Emily R Edwards.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2004

Clinical profile and course of cognitively normal patients evaluated in memory disorders clinics.

The authors investigated 499 patients that were found to be cognitively normal at the Alzheimer's Disease Research Centers of California between 1988 and 1999. Patients reported high rates of depression (39%) and family history of dementia (51%). Thirty-six percent returned for follow-up, and of those, 65% received a diagnosis of dementia or mild cognitive impairment. Patients evaluated at memory clinics who are considered cognitively normal may merit periodic re-evaluation.

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PubMed2003

Androgen receptor CAG repeat polymorphism is associated with cognitive function in older men.

BACKGROUND: Androgen receptors are located throughout the brain, especially in regions involved with learning and memory. Different lengths of a CAG (glutamine) repeat polymorphism in exon 1 of the androgen receptor gene may influence androgen action, with longer repeat lengths conferring decreased androgen sensitivity. METHODS: We sought to determine if this CAG polymorphism was associated with cognition in older men. RESULTS: Among 301 community-dwelling white men (mean age, 73.0 +/- 7.1), greater CAG repeat length was associated with lower scores on three cognitive tests (p <.05 for all). In addition, 12 participants (9.8%) had cognitive impairment in the low tertile of CAG repeat length whereas 29 (16.3%) had cognitive impairment in the two higher tertiles (odds ratio = 1.8; 95% confidence interval =.9-3.7). CONCLUSIONS: Research should be directed at identifying the mechanism for this association and to determine if treatment with testosterone prevents cognitive decline.

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PubMedDate not supplied

Depressive symptoms and risk of mortality in frail, community-living elderly persons.

OBJECTIVE: Depression and depressive symptoms have been associated with increased rates of mortality in a variety of populations, but have not been studied in frail, community-living elderly persons. The authors determined whether depressive symptoms were associated with mortality in a frail, multi-ethnic cohort. METHODS: Authors conducted a prospective study of 250 participants enrolled in a program for patients in the community eligible for nursing home placement, determining the occurrence of depressive symptoms at enrollment and survival after 18 months of follow-up, using Cox proportional-hazards models to determine whether depressive symptoms were independently associated with mortality. RESULTS: At enrollment, 73 of the participants (29%) were judged to have depression. Among depressed participants, 26% died, versus 17% of those with fewer depressive symptoms. After they adjusted for various demographic factors, 18-month mortality was almost 70% higher in those with depressive symptoms than in those with fewer symptoms. Women with more depressive symptoms showed nearly a 2.5-fold increase in risk of mortality than women with fewer symptoms, whereas more depressed men were not at increased risk of mortality compared with less depressed men. CONCLUSION: Depressive symptoms constitute a risk factor for mortality in frail elderly persons.

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