Dementia and cancer: a review of the literature and current practice

Age is a risk factor for dementia, and also for most cancers. Surprisingly, rates of cancer appear to be lower in individuals with dementia and vice versa. Genetic mechanisms could underpin this inverse relationship and are outlined, but underdiagnosis must also be taken into account. Individuals with cancer and dementia pose unique challenges to healthcare professionals owing to the potential for impaired decision-making capacity, poor communication and difficulties following medication regimes. Mild cognitive impairment and ‘chemo brain’ should be differentiated from progressive neurodegeneration.

Inulin-type fructans in healthy aging

Worldwide, the population is aging, with estimates of 1 billion people aged 60 y or over within the next 20 y. With aging comes a reduction in overall health and increased morbidity and mortality due to infectious disease. Mortality due to gastrointestinal infections is up to 400 times higher in the elderly compared with younger adults. Recent studies have shown that the gut microbiota changes in old age, with an increased number of bacterial groups represented in the predominant elderly gut microbiota. This change in species "evenness" coincides with parallel changes in immune function, diet, and lifestyle and may contribute to disease susceptibility and severity in old age. The intestinal microbiota may thus be identified as an important target for improving health through reduced disease risk. Here, the application of prebiotics, especially the inulin-type fructans, and synbiotics (prebiotics combined with efficacious probiotic strains) will be discussed in terms of microbiota modulation and impact on disease risk in the aged population. Recent human intervention studies have confirmed the microbiota modulatory capability of the inulin-type fructans in the elderly and there is some evidence for reduced risk of disease. However, there is a need for more and larger human intervention studies to determine the efficacy of prebiotics in the elderly, particularly studies that take advantage of recent high resolution analytical methodologies like metabonomics, to shed light on possible prebiotic mechanisms of action.

Autobiographical memory and well-being in aging: the central role of semantic self-images

Higher levels of well-being are associated with longer life expectancies and better physical health. Previous studies suggest that processes involving the self and autobiographical memory are related to well-being, yet these relationships are poorly understood. The present study tested 32 older and 32 younger adults using scales measuring well-being and the affective valence of two types of autobiographical memory: episodic autobiographical memories and semantic self-images. Results showed that valence of semantic self-images, but not episodic autobiographical memories, was highly correlated with well-being,particularly in older adults. In contrast, well-being in older adults was unrelated to performance across a range of standardised memory tasks. These results highlight the role of semantic self-images in well-being, and have implications for the development of therapeutic interventions for well-being in aging.

Memory for allergies and health foods: how younger and older adults strategically remember critical health information

Objectives. While older adults often display memory deficits, with practice they can sometimes selectively remember valuable information at the expense of less value information. We examined age-related differences and similarities in memory for health-related information under conditions where some information was critical to remember. Method. In Experiment 1, participants studied three lists of allergens, ranging in severity from 0 (not a health risk) to 10 (potentially fatal), with the instruction that it was particularly important to remember items to which a fictional relative was most severely allergic. After each list, participants received feedback regarding their recall of the high-value allergens. Experiment 2 examined memory for health benefits, presenting foods that were potentially beneficial to the relative’s immune system. Results. While younger adults exhibited better overall memory for the allergens, both age groups in Experiment 1 developed improved selectivity across the lists, with no evident age differences in severe allergen recall by List 2. Selectivity also developed in Experiment 2, although age differences for items of high health benefit were present. Discussion. The results have implications for models of selective memory in older age, and for how aging influences the ability to strategically remember important information within health-related contexts.