title: Age Effects on Cognitive and Physiological Parameters in Familial Caregivers of Alzheimer's Disease Patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Older familial caregivers of Alzheimer's disease patients are subjected to stress-related cognitive and psychophysiological dysfunctions that may affect their quality of life and ability to provide care. Younger caregivers have never been properly evaluated. We hypothesized that they would show qualitatively similar cognitive and psychophysiological alterations to those of older caregivers.
  
  
  METHODS
  The cognitive measures of 17 young (31-58 years) and 18 old (63-84 years) caregivers and of 17 young (37-57 years) and 18 old (62-84 years) non-caregiver controls were evaluated together with their salivary cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) levels, as measured by radioimmunoassays and ELISA assays of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in serum.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Although younger caregivers had milder impairments in memory and executive functions than older caregivers, their performances fell to the same or lower levels as those of the healthy older controls. Decreases in DHEA and BDNF levels were correlated with the cognitive dysfunctions observed in the older and younger caregivers, respectively. Cortisol at 10PM increased in both caregiver groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Younger caregivers were prone to cognitive impairments similar to older caregivers, although the degree and the neuropsychological correlates of the cognitive dysfunctions were somewhat different between the two groups. This work has implications for caregiver and care-recipient health and for research on the neurobiology of stress-related cognitive dysfunctions.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Biologia e Desenvolvimento do Sistema Nervoso, Faculdade de Biociências, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.|Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Celular e Molecular, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.|Instituto Nacional Ciência e Tecnologia-Medicina Translacional (INCT-TM), RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Márcio Silveira
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Corrêa
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Biologia e Desenvolvimento do Sistema Nervoso, Faculdade de Biociências, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.|Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Celular e Molecular, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.|Instituto Nacional Ciência e Tecnologia-Medicina Translacional (INCT-TM), RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Bruno Lima
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Giacobbo
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Biologia e Desenvolvimento do Sistema Nervoso, Faculdade de Biociências, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.|Instituto de Geriatria e Gerontologia, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.|Instituto Nacional Ciência e Tecnologia-Medicina Translacional (INCT-TM), RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Kelem
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Vedovelli
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Biologia e Desenvolvimento do Sistema Nervoso, Faculdade de Biociências, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.|Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Celular e Molecular, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.|Instituto Nacional Ciência e Tecnologia-Medicina Translacional (INCT-TM), RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Daiane Borba de
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Lima
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Psiquiatria Molecular, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.|Instituto Nacional Ciência e Tecnologia-Medicina Translacional (INCT-TM), RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Pamela
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ferrari
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Geriatria e Gerontologia, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Irani Iracema de Lima
authors.initials: II
authors.lastname: Argimon
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Psiquiatria Molecular, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.|Instituto Nacional Ciência e Tecnologia-Medicina Translacional (INCT-TM), RS, Brazil.|Faculdade Unilasalle, Canoas, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Julio Cesar
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Walz
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Biologia e Desenvolvimento do Sistema Nervoso, Faculdade de Biociências, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.|Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Celular e Molecular, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.|Instituto de Geriatria e Gerontologia, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.|Instituto Nacional Ciência e Tecnologia-Medicina Translacional (INCT-TM), RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Elke
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2900-3673
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bromberg
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000473:pathology*; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / Q000097:blood; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D060825:Cognitive Dysfunction / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D003687:Dehydroepiandrosterone / Q000032:analysis; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000032:analysis; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011863:Radioimmunoassay; D012469:Salivary Glands / Q000378:metabolism; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013315:Stress, Psychological
chemical_list: D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; D003687:Dehydroepiandrosterone; C579455:BDNF protein, human; D006854:Hydrocortisone