Elena Urdaneta

Diet, cognition, and Alzheimer’s disease: food for thought

IntroductionThe prevention of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has become a real challenge due to its rising prevalence and the lack of an effective cure. Diet and nutrients have gained significant interest as potentially modifiable protective factors.PurposeThe aim of this review is to provide an updated summary of evidence related to the effect of diet and nutritional factors on the risk of AD and cognitive aging, and discuss the potential mechanisms and confounding factors involved.MethodsA search was conducted in Medline and Web of Knowledge for epidemiological and clinical studies in the international literature from January 2000 to February 2013 using combinations of the following keywords: “Alzheimer’s disease”, “mild cognitive impairment”, “cognitive function”, “dietary factors”, “omega-3”, “antioxidants”, “B vitamins”, “dietary patterns”, and “Mediterranean diet”.Results and conclusionData from observational studies point to a protective role for certain nutrients, such as omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants or B vitamins, and dietary patterns (Mediterranean diet). However, data from randomized controlled trials do not show a consistent effect. Whether confounding factors such as age, disease stage, other dietary components, cooking processes, and other methodological issues explain the divergent results remains to be established. Moreover, if certain nutrients protect against dementia, it is as yet unknown whether they may have a general effect on brain vascular health or directly interfere with the etiopathogenesis of AD.

Platforms for AAL applications

AAL - Ambient Assisted Living. When the topic “AAL” comes up, everybody thinks first of fascinating technology that is unobtrusively integrated in “smart home environments” and supports people in their daily lives. This thinking is surely be driven by the ongoing development of impressive services that was and is still provided by the AAL research community as well as the growing number of companies that bring these technology to market.

Natural Interaction between Avatars and Persons with Alzheimer's Disease

In this paper a natural human computer interaction paradigm is proposed for persons with cognitive impairments such as Alzheimers Disease. The paradigm consists of using a realistic virtual character, rendered on a common television set, to play the role of a virtual personal assistant that shows reminders, notifications and performs short dialogues with the user. In this paradigm, the television remote control is used as a return channel to capture the users responses. To test this concept, a functional prototype was built and then validated by a group of 21 persons with Alzheimers Disease ranging from mild to moderate. For this validation two simple dialogues were developed that consisted of simple Yes/No type questions. The test results showed that with both dialogues all users engaged naturally with the avatar. All of the users understood the information conveyed by the avatar and answered successfully by means of the TV remote control.

Efficacy of Cognitive Training Experiences in the Elderly: Can Technology Help?

Cognitive training has been a growing field in recent years. It is established that training improves cognitive abilities in healthy elderly people. Specialized software and commercial devices including the possibility of cognitive gaming has been placed into the market; most of them are based on neuropsychological models of cognitive aging, but few have been scientifically tested. Computerized cognitive games are being developed in HERMES --- Cognitive Care and Guidance for Active Aging, a research project co-funded by the European Union under the Seventh Framework Program (FP7). Cognitive training designed for HERMES includes daily live events introduced by the user into the system, allowing the stimulation of prospective memory with their own information. Gaming model, concepts and assessment aims (including usability, subjective value and efficacy) are described.

Erratum to: Role of cognitive and functional performance in the interactions between elderly people with cognitive decline and an avatar on TV

The complexity of new information technologies (IT) may limit the access of elderly people to the information society, exacerbating what is known as “the digital divide,” as they appear to be too challenging for elderly citizens regardless of the integrity of their cognitive status. This study is an attempt to clarify how some cognitive functions (such as attention or verbal memory) may determine the interaction of cognitively impaired elderly people with technology. Twenty participants ranging from mild cognitive impairment to moderate Alzheimer’s disease were assessed by means of a neuropsychological and functional battery and were asked to follow simple commands from an avatar appearing on a TV by means of a remote control, such as asking the participant to confirm their presence or to respond Yes/No to a proposal to see a TV program. The number of correct answers and command repetitions required for the user to respond were registered. The results show that participants with a better cognitive and functional state in specific tests show a significantly better performance in the TV task. The derived conclusion is that neuropsychological assessment may be used as a useful complementary tool for assistive technology developers in the adaptation of IT to the elderly with different cognitive and functional profiles. Further studies with larger samples are required to determine to what extent cognitive functions can actually predict older users’ interaction with technology.

Involving children in cooking activities: A potential strategy for directing food choices toward novel foods containing vegetables.

Involving children in cooking has been suggested as a strategy to improve dietary habits in childhood. Interventions in schools including cooking, gardening and tasting activities have showed promising results. Several cross-sectional surveys demonstrated associations between frequency of involvement in food preparation and better diet quality. However, experimental studies confirming the beneficial effect of cooking on food choices in children are missing from the literature. The objective of the present study was to assess the effect of involving children in cooking on their willingness to taste novel foods, food intake, liking and hunger. A between-subject experiment was conducted with 137 children between 7 and 11 years old. 69 children (COOK group) participated in the preparation of three unfamiliar foods containing vegetables: apple/beetroot juice, zucchini tortilla sandwich and spinach cookies. 68 children (CONTROL group) participated, instead, in a creative workshop. Afterwards, the children were invited to choose, for an afternoon snack, between three familiar vs. unfamiliar foods: orange vs. apple/beetroot juice, potato vs. zucchini tortilla sandwich and chocolate vs. spinach cookie. The mean number of unfamiliar foods chosen per child was higher in the COOK vs. CONTROL group (Pxa0=xa00.037). The overall willingness to taste the unfamiliar foods was also higher in the COOK group (Pxa0=xa00.011). The liking for the whole afternoon snack (Pxa0=xa00.034), for 2 of 3 unfamiliar foods and for 1 of 3 familiar foods was higher in the COOK group (Pxa0<xa00.05). We did not demonstrate any difference between the two groups in overall food intake and hunger/satiety scores. This study demonstrated that involving children in cooking can increase their willingness to taste novel foods and direct food choices towards foods containing vegetables.

Age differences among older adults in the use of emotion regulation strategies. What happens among over 85s and centenarians

Objective: Past research on emotion regulation strategies has concluded that older adults use more passive strategies than young adults. However, we found scarce research in this field focusing on the oldest old (i.e. those aged 85 and over). The aim of this study was to analyze whether or not differences exist in the way older adults aged 85 and over (centenarians included) use emotion regulation strategies, in comparison with younger age groups (65–74 and 75–84 years old). Method: Participants were 257 older adults from Spain, all aged between 65 and 104. The sample was divided into four age groups: 65–74; 75–84; 85–94; and 95–104 years old. Participants completed the Strategy Questionnaire after reading each of the vignettes designed to elicit feelings of either sadness or anger. The questionnaire measures four types of regulation strategies: Passive, Express, Solve and Seek. Results: The 85–94 age group and centenarians were found to use proactive (Express, Seek) and Solve strategies less in comparison with younger age groups when regulating sadness and anger. In contrast, an increased use of Passive strategies was observed in the regulation of both emotions in the 85–94 age group. Significant differences were also found between centenarians and younger age groups in the use of Passive strategies for sadness, although not for anger. Conclusion: Age differences were observed in the use of emotion regulation strategies, with older age groups using proactive strategies less and passive strategies more.

A TV platform to improve older people's quality of life: lessons learned from the evaluation of the VITAL project with Spanish elderly users

The User Centered Design allows the technical developers to know specific characteristics about the potential end users. In the specific case of elderly users, consideration of their needs in areas like communication, family and social relationships, social support and leisure, is a key point, which should guide the development of technological applications. In an attempt to fulfill to some extent this range of needs, the VITAL project, which is a European Community 6th Framework Program financed project, has developed a set of technologies, platforms and applications with the aim to provide remote assistance to elderly users and increase their quality of life The sample recruited for the last evaluation of VITAL in Spain was composed of 83 participants, 19 male and 64 female, with an age ranging from 52 to 91 (x=73,68, sd=7,86). All targeted users were attending elder associations in their respective cities, which implies an existing minimum social interaction for all for them. This paper gathers the literature about elderly needs in the areas of communication with family, social relationships and leisure, and examines what elderly users think about how VITAL Platform can help them in improving their quality of life in those addressed areas.

Profiles in emotional aging: does age matter?

ABSTRACT Objectives: The aim of this research project was to define emotional profiles in elderly people and to analyze the presence of each one in different age groups (from 65 to 74, 75 to 84, 85 to 94 and 95 to 104).Method: The sample group comprised 257 elderly people not suffering from cognitive impairment who were independent in the Basic and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living. The following emotional variables were analyzed: positive and negative affect, life satisfaction, loneliness, and regulation strategies.Results: Cluster analyses revealed three emotional profiles: ‘dissatisfied’ (elderly people with high levels of negative affect and loneliness who are unhappy with their lives and use problem solving to regulate their emotions), ‘happy’ (those with good levels of positive affect and life satisfaction, low levels of loneliness and negative affect and little use of passive strategies), and ‘resilient’ (those with low levels of positive and negative affect and medium levels of loneliness who are more or less satisfied with their lives and who use passive strategies to regulate their emotions). A relationship was observed between age and profile. Among the under 85s, the most common profile was ‘happy’, while among the over 85s, the most common profile was ‘resilient.’ The ‘happy’ profile was also observed in participants over the age of 85, although to a lesser extent. The prevalence of the ‘dissatisfied’ profile decreased with age.Conclusion: These results highlight the fact that although age seems to be a key factor in determining profile, individual differences should not be overlooked, even among the oldest old.

Analysis of Older Users' Perceived Requests and Opportunities with Technologies: A Scenario-Based Assessment

The HERMES Cognitive Care and Guidance for Active Aging project proposes an integrated approach to cognitive assistance, promoting the autonomy of elderly users through pervasive technology. This work aims to describe elderly peoples opinions when they are presented scenarios developed in this project. Two focus groups were organized in Austria and Spain with a view to collecting their impressions about the way in which the technological device can cover their needs; complementarily, a second session was conducted including a quantitative questionnaire. Although some participants were reluctant to use the technology, they welcomed some functionalities of the HERMES system and they considered that using them can help them to become familiar with them. Usefulness, usability, and use of real-life information for functionalities such as cognitive games are considered to be key areas of the project. This evaluation has provided the developers of the system with meaningful information to improve it and it guarantees that the system addresses elderly peoples needs.