Massey Documents by Type
Permanent URI for this communityhttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/294
Browse
4 results
Search Results
Item 'I'm doomed!': audience responses to media reporting on the link between sleep and Alzheimer's disease(Oxford University Press, 2025-07-01) Breheny M; Ross I; Gibson RThe media are influential in shaping beliefs and attitudes towards health practices and behaviours, and the science of sleep is often disseminated through online news media. This paper explores audience responses to media reporting on the link between disrupted sleep and Alzheimer’s disease. The news article analysed was based on a scientific publication reporting on the link between sleep disruption and Alzheimer’s disease and the institutional press release about that publication. The online news article and the 536 Facebook comments posted in response were analysed using thematic analysis. Although the scientific article and institutional press release were guarded about the implications of the research for human health, the media article used sensationalist reporting on the impact of a single night’s sleep disruption to emphasize the everyday implications of the findings. Audience members who identified as sleeping poorly responded fatalistically, whereas commentors who identified as sleeping well were reassured by the news article. The sensationalist framing provoked an affective response in audience members, which at times led to disbelief in the specific message or questioning of scientific research. Sensationalist media reporting of science has unintended consequences. Attempts to engage audiences with science communication that is simplistic and personal may encourage readers to reject scientific evidence as logically incoherent. This approach discounts the ability of audiences to weigh evidence and accept complexity.Item Therapeutic Potential of Mitophagy-Inducing Microflora Metabolite, Urolithin A for Alzheimer's Disease(MDPI (Basel, Switzerland), 2021-11) Jayatunga DPW; Hone E; Khaira H; Lunelli T; Singh H; Guillemin GJ; Fernando B; Garg ML; Verdile G; Martins RN; Giannakopoulos PMitochondrial dysfunction including deficits of mitophagy is seen in aging and neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer's disease (AD). Apart from traditionally targeting amyloid beta (Aβ), the main culprit in AD brains, other approaches include investigating impaired mitochondrial pathways for potential therapeutic benefits against AD. Thus, a future therapy for AD may focus on novel candidates that enhance optimal mitochondrial integrity and turnover. Bioactive food components, known as nutraceuticals, may serve as such agents to combat AD. Urolithin A is an intestinal microbe-derived metabolite of a class of polyphenols, ellagitannins (ETs). Urolithin A is known to exert many health benefits. Its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-atherogenic, anti-Aβ, and pro-mitophagy properties are increasingly recognized. However, the underlying mechanisms of urolithin A in inducing mitophagy is poorly understood. This review discusses the mitophagy deficits in AD and examines potential molecular mechanisms of its activation. Moreover, the current knowledge of urolithin A is discussed, focusing on its neuroprotective properties and its potential to induce mitophagy. Specifically, this review proposes potential mechanisms by which urolithin A may activate and promote mitophagy.Item Does parity matter in women’s risk of dementia? A COSMIC collaboration cohort study(BMC, 2020-08-05) Bae JB; Lipnicki DM; Han JW; Sachdev PS; Kim TH; Kwak KP; Kim BJ; Kim SG; Kim JL; Moon SW; Park JH; Ryu S-H; Youn JC; Lee DY; Lee DW; Lee SB; Lee JJ; Jhoo JH; Llibre-Rodriguez JJ; Llibre-Guerra JJ; Valhuerdi-Cepero AJ; Ritchie K; Ancelin M-L; Carriere I; Skoog I; Najar J; Sterner TR; Scarmeas N; Yannakoulia M; Dardiotis E; Meguro K; Kasai M; Nakamura K; Riedel-Heller S; Roehr S; Pabst A; van Boxtel M; Köhler S; Ding D; Zhao Q; Liang X; Scazufca M; Lobo A; De-la-Cámara C; Lobo E; Kim KW; for Cohort Studies of Memory in an International Consortium (COSMIC)Background Dementia shows sex difference in its epidemiology. Childbirth, a distinctive experience of women, is associated with the risk for various diseases. However, its association with the risk of dementia in women has rarely been studied. Methods We harmonized and pooled baseline data from 11 population-based cohorts from 11 countries over 3 continents, including 14,792 women aged 60 years or older. We investigated the association between parity and the risk of dementia using logistic regression models that adjusted for age, educational level, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and cohort, with additional analyses by region and dementia subtype. Results Across all cohorts, grand multiparous (5 or more childbirths) women had a 47% greater risk of dementia than primiparous (1 childbirth) women (odds ratio [OR] = 1.47, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.10–1.94), while nulliparous (no childbirth) women and women with 2 to 4 childbirths showed a comparable dementia risk to primiparous women. However, there were differences associated with region and dementia subtype. Compared to women with 1 to 4 childbirths, grand multiparous women showed a higher risk of dementia in Europe (OR = 2.99, 95% CI = 1.38–6.47) and Latin America (OR = 1.49, 95% CI = 1.04–2.12), while nulliparous women showed a higher dementia risk in Asia (OR = 2.15, 95% CI = 1.33–3.47). Grand multiparity was associated with 6.9-fold higher risk of vascular dementia in Europe (OR = 6.86, 95% CI = 1.81–26.08), whereas nulliparity was associated with a higher risk of Alzheimer disease (OR = 1.91, 95% CI 1.07–3.39) and non-Alzheimer non-vascular dementia (OR = 3.47, 95% CI = 1.44–8.35) in Asia. Conclusion Parity is associated with women’s risk of dementia, though this is not uniform across regions and dementia subtypes.Item Is dementia incidence declining in high-income countries? A systematic review and meta-analysis(Dove Medical Press, 2018) Roehr S; Pabst A; Luck T; Riedel-Heller SGPurpose: To perform a systematic review and quantitative synthesis of studies on recent trends in dementia incidence in high-income countries (HIC), considering study quality. Methods: PubMed and Web of Science were searched for eligible studies, that is, population-based/community-based prospective cohort studies investigating dementia incidence with similar methods over time, published after 1990. Study selection, data extraction, and quality assessment were performed independently by two investigators. Random-effect meta-analysis and meta-regression were used to estimate incidence change (IC) and to explore associations with study attributes. PRISMA standards were followed. Results: The systematic review included seven studies (42,485 individuals), and the meta-analysis included five studies of sufficient quality. Relating dementia incidence of later cohorts to earlier cohorts (reference) yielded a nonsignificant decrease across HIC (IC =0.82; 95% CI 0.51–1.33), with high heterogeneity (I²=94.9%, P<0.001) and without publication bias (Egger’s t=–1.77; P=0.18). Excluding the Japanese Hisayama study, the only study suggesting an increase, indicated borderline evidence for a decrease across Western HIC (IC =0.69; 95% CI 0.47–1.00; I²=88.1%, P<0.001; Egger’s t=–0.34, P=0.77), again with high heterogeneity. Meta-regression did not reveal an association of incidence rate with calendar year or study attributes; however, analyses were low powered. Conclusion: There is evidence of favorable trends in dementia incidence in Western HIC (stabilizing/decreasing). Reverse trends may occur in HIC of other regions, as exemplified by Japan. However, study number was small and heterogeneity was high. Further cohort studies using consistent methods are needed to draw definite conclusions. Our work may inform such future studies.