Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the leading cause of dementia, and the most prevalent neurodegenerative disease in the elderly. The prevalence of AD is predicted to rise as life expectancy grows across populations. The exact cause of this devastating disease is still unknown; however, it is an aging-related multi-factorial disorder, and growing evidence supports the contribution of modifiable environmental factors to unmodifiable factors such as gene and ageing itself. The recent advancement of methodologies and techniques for early diagnosis of AD facilitates the investigation of strategies to reduce the risk for AD progression in the earliest stages of the disease. Pharmacological attempts at curing, halting or modifying it have, by and large, been unsuccessful, and no breakthrough is seen in the near future. However, a lot of elements that seem to contribute to the disease such as risk factors have been identified, mainly from epidemiological and basic research studies. Many of these are amenable to lifestyle modification. Therefore, prevention in the preclinical stage is likely the most effective way to decrease the incidence of this age-associated dreadful neurodegenerative condition, and its associated burden for individuals and society. We provide an overview of modifiable risk factors for AD along with the supporting evidence.
Alzheimer Disease/epidemiology/*prevention & control ; Cognitive Therapy ; Dietary Supplements ; Health Behavior ; Humans ; Mind-Body Therapies ; Motor Activity ; Risk Factors

No abstract available.
Ocular Motility Disorders* ; Tuberculosis, Meningeal*

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is regarded as a prototype of the neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive memory impairment and multiple cognitive deficits in mid- to late- life. Its pathological hallmarks consist of neuritic plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the cerebral cortex, accompanied by neuronal loss. These neuropathological findings are prominent in the temporal neocortex and hippocampus. There are a small proportion of AD cases (10%) that appear to be transmitted as pure autosomal dominant Mendelian traits with age-dependent, but, high penetrance. Molecular genetic studies on pedigrees with the latter type of familial Alzheimer's disease (FAD) with molecular genetic tools has led to the discovery of four different genetic loci associated with inherited susceptibility to AD. It is generally suggested that late-onset AD is caused by a complex set of genetic and environmental factors, such as diet, blood pressure, education, social interaction, and others. In this communication, some of the known risk factors relevant to etiopathogenesis of AD to date will be briefly reviewed.
Alzheimer Disease* ; Blood Pressure ; Cerebral Cortex ; Diet ; Education ; Genetic Loci ; Hippocampus ; Interpersonal Relations ; Memory ; Molecular Biology ; Neocortex ; Neurodegenerative Diseases ; Neurofibrillary Tangles ; Neurons ; Penetrance ; Plaque, Amyloid ; Risk Factors

No abstract available.
Diagnosis* ; Encephalitis, Herpes Simplex* ; Herpes Simplex*

Epilepsy with an onset of initial episode in adult life is not a rare event. It is generaly considered that the onset of seizure after early adulthood may turn out to be an ominous sign and should be investigated thoroughlyly to rule out an organic brain lesion. The present study of 206 patients with epilepsy of late onset (over 20 years of age), who admitted to or were consulted Department of Neurology, Seoul National University Hospital from January 1982 to December 1985, was undertaken to seek treatable causes and re-evaluate the relationship between clinical evaluation, electroencephalography and computerized tomography of the brain. Patients'ages ranged from 20 to 74.132 were men and 74, women (64% and 36%, respectively). Major causes were infectious or inflammatory origin (45.2%) and cerebrovascular disorders (21.8%). Causes remained unknown in 14.2%. Comparison of the CT findings with EEG showed a close relationship between the local EEG slowing and the focal CT abnormality. Therapeutic responses to antiepileptic drugs were not favorable in patients with encephalitis or meningoencephalitis.
Adult ; Anticonvulsants ; Brain ; Cerebrovascular Disorders ; Electroencephalography ; Encephalitis ; Epilepsy* ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Meningoencephalitis ; Neurology ; Seizures ; Seoul

Vitamin D is not a true vitamin but a fat-soluble steroid prohormone that has long been known for its important and diverse role in the biological system. Many studies have revealed that vitamin D deficiency is linked with an increased risk of autoimmune diseases, cardiovascular diseases, cancers, type II diabetes and infectious diseases. Vitamin D3 is transformed to its active form, 1, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D3, through metabolisms in the liver and kidney. 1, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 interacts with its vitamin D receptor, and the brain is now known to have vitamin D receptors and 1alpha-hydroxylase. Several lines of evidences suggest vitamin D deficiency is associated with cognitive impairment and dementia, however, its position in cognitive function is still in its infancy. Vitamin D deficiency is a reversible condition and can be easily treated with supplements. Randomized controlled trials of vitamin D supplementation in patients with neurodegenerative conditions are needed.
Autoimmune Diseases ; Brain ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Cholecalciferol ; Cognition ; Communicable Diseases ; Dementia ; Humans ; Kidney ; Liver ; Receptors, Calcitriol ; Vitamin D ; Vitamin D Deficiency ; Vitamins

No abstract available.
*Aging ; Alzheimer Disease/drug therapy/economics/*pathology ; Cost of Illness ; Excitatory Amino Acid Agonists/therapeutic use ; Health Behavior ; Humans ; N-Methylaspartate/therapeutic use ; Risk Factors

Sarcopenia (Greek ‘sarx’ or flesh+‘penia’ or loss) originally is proposed as the term to describe age-related decrease of muscle mass. These days, sarcopenia is defined as a syndrome characterized by progressive loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength with a risk of adverse outcomes such as poor quality of life, physical disability, and death. In the recent decade, there are a few of consensus; European, international, and Asian consensus panels have published definitions. Additionally, measurement techniques that can be used for research and clinical practice settings according to their suitability are suggested. Many studies are reported about the association with sarcopenia and neurologic diseases, however, the results are heterogenous due to lack of sufficient studies. Some pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic methods are suggested as the intervention of sarcopenia, although there are not enough studies, yet. In this review, we summarize current understanding of the diagnostic sarcopenia and neurological point of view of sarcopenia.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Consensus ; Diagnosis* ; Humans ; Muscle, Skeletal ; Quality of Life ; Sarcopenia*

Vertebral artery dissection is one of the most common causes of stroke in young adults. The course of the vertebral artery dissection is usually benign, and pure transient amnesia as an initial symptom has been rarely reported. We describe a patient with vertebral artery dissection who presented with acute transient amnesia, and review the medical literatures about the pathophysiological mechanism of transient global amenesia (TGA). This case could be a one of evidence which supports the cerebrovascular mechanism of TGA.
Amnesia ; Amnesia, Transient Global* ; Humans ; Stroke ; Vertebral Artery Dissection* ; Young Adult

Epidemiological studies have found that the prevalence of dementia increases steeply with age in the elderly population, although the slope may be less steep after the 10th decade of life. Considering that South Korea now holds the distinction of having the fastest aging population in the world, a substantial increase in the prevalence of dementia in the coming years is to be expected. The prevalence of dementia depends upon the interaction of age with other factors (e.g. comorbidities or genetic or environmental factors) that in turn are subject to change. If the onset of dementia could be delayed by modulating its risk factors, its incidence could be significantly reduced. In the present review, we describe the overall prevalence of dementia and its subtype, as well as its prevalence among the South Korean population. We also describe the prevalence of mild cognitive impairment.
Aged ; Aging ; Comorbidity ; Dementia ; Epidemiologic Studies ; Humans ; Incidence ; Mild Cognitive Impairment ; Prevalence ; Republic of Korea ; Risk Factors