World Alzheimer's Month, held annually in September, is an international campaign to raise awareness and highlight issues faced by people affected by dementia. This Research Topic welcomes contributions which will honor this global event.
The older population is rapidly increasing worldwide. Physical frailty and cognitive impairment are common manifestations of the aging process and are closely related. However, the mechanisms linking aging, physical frailty, and cognitive impairment remain unclear. Cognitive frailty (CF) has been defined as a clinical syndrome characterized by the simultaneous presence of both physical frailty and cognitive impairment in the absence of concurrent Alzheimer’s disease (AD) or other dementias. It is described as a state of reduced cognitive reserve that is different from physiological brain aging. However, there is a need to understand the mechanisms that determine cognitive frailty and its relationship to dementias from different points of view.
In this context, it is important to further explore whether CF represents a spectrum of normal aging process or a precursor to AD or other neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease. Environmental and psychosocial factors, such as cognitive reserve, may play an important role in the determination of both CF and dementias. In this scenario, the relation among CF, cognitive reserve and physiological brain aging should be further explored. The inclusion of indicators of cognitive reserve in the study of the link between CF and dementias may shed new light in the understanding of these conditions.
The present Research Topic is aimed at understanding the mechanisms of CF and its relationship to AD and other dementias. Papers exploring the link between CF and dementia focusing in their psychosocial complexities are welcomed. Works including specific indicators or proxies of cognitive reserve are recommended (educational level, occupation complexity, social networks, engagement in cognitively stimulating and leisure activities, and physical exercise), but papers exploring biological, neuroimaging, cognitive, clinical and physical outcomes will also be admitted.
World Alzheimer's Month, held annually in September, is an international campaign to raise awareness and highlight issues faced by people affected by dementia. This Research Topic welcomes contributions which will honor this global event.
The older population is rapidly increasing worldwide. Physical frailty and cognitive impairment are common manifestations of the aging process and are closely related. However, the mechanisms linking aging, physical frailty, and cognitive impairment remain unclear. Cognitive frailty (CF) has been defined as a clinical syndrome characterized by the simultaneous presence of both physical frailty and cognitive impairment in the absence of concurrent Alzheimer’s disease (AD) or other dementias. It is described as a state of reduced cognitive reserve that is different from physiological brain aging. However, there is a need to understand the mechanisms that determine cognitive frailty and its relationship to dementias from different points of view.
In this context, it is important to further explore whether CF represents a spectrum of normal aging process or a precursor to AD or other neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease. Environmental and psychosocial factors, such as cognitive reserve, may play an important role in the determination of both CF and dementias. In this scenario, the relation among CF, cognitive reserve and physiological brain aging should be further explored. The inclusion of indicators of cognitive reserve in the study of the link between CF and dementias may shed new light in the understanding of these conditions.
The present Research Topic is aimed at understanding the mechanisms of CF and its relationship to AD and other dementias. Papers exploring the link between CF and dementia focusing in their psychosocial complexities are welcomed. Works including specific indicators or proxies of cognitive reserve are recommended (educational level, occupation complexity, social networks, engagement in cognitively stimulating and leisure activities, and physical exercise), but papers exploring biological, neuroimaging, cognitive, clinical and physical outcomes will also be admitted.
