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The current study aimed to investigate the perspectives of family caregivers of people with Alzheimer's disease on caregiving experience and needs. A qualitative descriptive method was used with a sample of 23 family caregivers. Data were collected through in-depth, face-to-face interviews using a pilot-tested semi-structured interview guide. Data analysis was performed via content analysis. Three major themes emerged: (1) Stuck in Caregiving, (2) A Life in Metamorphosis, and (3) Needs. Findings revealed that caregivers struggled to manage the care process, adapt to life changes, and fulfill their needs. This study provides rich data to help create interventions to assist family caregivers. [Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 62(6), 36–45.] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pathological intracellular aggregation of alpha-synuclein (a-syn) is the hallmark of Parkinson's disease (PD). Our aim is to explore the outcomes of long-term a-syn pathology with its functional correlates in the PD model by AAV (adeno-associated virus)-mediated a-syn overexpression in substantia nigra (SN). Female Wistar rats (220-260 g) received a unilateral injection of AAV-human-a-syn or green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene into the SN. The animals were tested for motor functions with cylinder test at 8, 12 weeks or 9 months post-injection. The intensity of a-syn accumulation or GFP in striatum and dopaminergic neuronal loss in SN, dopaminergic terminal loss in striatum and synaptic integrity were analyzed by a-syn, GFP, tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and synaptophsin immunohistochemistry, respectively. At all time-points, AAV-human-a-syn injected animals displayed more motor dysfunction and THpositive cell loss compared to AAV-GFP injected group. A-syn immunoreactivity was present in the nigral neurons as well as the striatal terminals in all animals that received AAV-a-syn. Striatal TH density analysis showed a decrease in both 12-weeks and 9 months a-syn groups compared to controls. However, TH-positive neuron count was lower in 9-months group compared to 12-weeks group. Hence, the motor performance of 9-month group showed an improvement which may be a sign of a compensatory mechanisms against a-syn-induced neurodegeneration. The findings of this study implicate that higher a-syn density in SN does not always lead to worse motor function or more severe dopaminergic cell loss. This may support the hypothesis that a-syn aggregates are the end-product of a cellular defense mechanism rather than being causative pathology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Background: BEYNEX (version 2.0) is an online application for tracking cognitive abilities using gamified follow‐up tests designed in eight different cognitive categories by Neurologists and psychologists. In this study, we aimed to determine and monitor the cognitive level of the person using this application by establishing an early alarm system, and to evaluate their relationship with daily living activities. Method: Our study was designed as multicenter and prospective. Free codes were given to the patients to enter the BEYNEX 2.0 application. The initial cognitive evaluations of the patients who entered the application using the codes were recorded by measuring with the online SLUMS (The Saint Louis Mental Status Examination Test), and a questionnaire was presented to evaluate the activity of their life at least once every seven days. Result: 265 patients aged between 58 and 75 years participated in the study. There was an increase especially in attention, language and memory scores, as the SLUMS score increased in patients with a SLUMS score above 17 (p = 0.001). No significant change was observed in speed and flexibility scores (p = 0.001). There was an increase in problem solving, memory and arithmetic scores of people with an SLUMS score below 17 as SLUMS increased (p = 0.001), but no change was observed in flexibility and language scores (p = 0.001). As the SLUMS score increases, the sleep quality of the patients, the time they spend on hobbies and social media increase in direct proportion. Conclusion: Online tracking and exercise applications may act as an early warning system in terms of providing feedback to caregivers in terms of monitoring cognitive functions and allowing patients to follow themselves at an early stage, and also monitoring the ADLs of dementia patients and observing their changes over time is as important as the medical treatment given to the patient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]