Impaired cholinergic integrity of the colon and pancreas in dementia with Lewy bodies.

Dementia with Lewy bodies is characterized by a high burden of autonomic dysfunction and Lewy pathology in peripheral organs and components of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system. Parasympathetic terminals may be quantified with 18F-fluoroetoxybenzovesamicol, a PET tracer that binds to the vesicular acetylcholine transporter in cholinergic presynaptic terminals. Parasympathetic imaging may be useful for diagnostics, improving our understanding of autonomic dysfunction and for clarifying the spatiotemporal relationship of neuronal degeneration in prodromal disease. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the cholinergic parasympathetic integrity in peripheral organs and central autonomic regions of subjects with dementia with Lewy bodies and its association with subjective and objective measures of autonomic dysfunction. We hypothesized that organs with known parasympathetic innervation, especially the pancreas and colon, would have impaired cholinergic integrity. To achieve these aims, we conducted a cross-sectional comparison study including 23 newly diagnosed non-diabetic subjects with dementia with Lewy bodies (74 ± 6 years, 83% male) and 21 elderly control subjects (74 ± 6 years, 67% male). We obtained whole-body images to quantify PET uptake in peripheral organs and brain images to quantify PET uptake in regions of the brainstem and hypothalamus. Autonomic dysfunction was assessed with questionnaires and measurements of orthostatic blood pressure. Subjects with dementia with Lewy bodies displayed reduced cholinergic tracer uptake in the pancreas (32% reduction, P = 0.0003) and colon (19% reduction, P = 0.0048), but not in organs with little or no parasympathetic innervation. Tracer uptake in a region of the medulla oblongata overlapping the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus correlated with autonomic symptoms (rs = -0.54, P = 0.0077) and changes in orthostatic blood pressure (rs = 0.76, P < 0.0001). Tracer uptake in the pedunculopontine region correlated with autonomic symptoms (rs = -0.52, P = 0.0104) and a measure of non-motor symptoms (rs = -0.47, P = 0.0230). In conclusion, our findings provide the first imaging-based evidence of impaired cholinergic integrity of the pancreas and colon in dementia with Lewy bodies. The observed changes may reflect parasympathetic denervation, implying that this process is initiated well before the point of diagnosis. The findings also support that cholinergic denervation in the brainstem contributes to dysautonomia.

Severe cholinergic terminal loss in newly diagnosed dementia with Lewy bodies.

Cholinergic changes play a fundamental role in the natural history of dementia with Lewy bodies and Lewy body disease in general. Despite important achievements in the field of cholinergic research, significant challenges remain. We conducted a study with four main objectives: (i) to examine the integrity of cholinergic terminals in newly diagnosed dementia with Lewy bodies; (ii) to disentangle the cholinergic contribution to dementia by comparing cholinergic changes in Lewy body patients with and without dementia; (iii) to investigate the in vivo relationship between cholinergic terminal loss and atrophy of cholinergic cell clusters in the basal forebrain at different stages of Lewy body disease; and (iv) to test whether any asymmetrical degeneration in cholinergic terminals would correlate with motor dysfunction and hypometabolism. To achieve these objectives, we conducted a comparative cross-sectional study of 25 newly diagnosed dementia with Lewy bodies patients (age 74 ± 5 years, 84% male), 15 healthy control subjects (age 75 ± 6 years, 67% male) and 15 Parkinson's disease patients without dementia (age 70 ± 7 years, 60% male). All participants underwent 18F-fluoroetoxybenzovesamicol PET and high-resolution structural MRI. In addition, we collected clinical 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose PET images. Brain images were normalized to standard space and regional tracer uptake and volumetric indices of basal forebrain degeneration were extracted. Patients with dementia showed spatially distinct reductions in cholinergic terminals across the cerebral cortex, limbic system, thalamus and brainstem. Also, cholinergic terminal binding in cortical and limbic regions correlated quantitatively and spatially with atrophy of the basal forebrain. In contrast, patients without dementia showed decreased cholinergic terminal binding in the cerebral cortex despite preserved basal forebrain volumes. In patients with dementia, cholinergic terminal reductions were most severe in limbic regions and least severe in occipital regions compared to those without dementia. Interhemispheric asymmetry of cholinergic terminals correlated with asymmetry of brain metabolism and lateralized motor function. In conclusion, this study provides robust evidence for severe cholinergic terminal loss in newly diagnosed dementia with Lewy bodies, which correlates with structural imaging measures of cholinergic basal forebrain degeneration. In patients without dementia, our findings suggest that loss of cholinergic terminal function occurs 'before' neuronal cell degeneration. Moreover, the study supports that degeneration of the cholinergic system is important for brain metabolism and may be linked with degeneration in other transmitter systems. Our findings have implications for understanding how cholinergic system pathology contributes to the clinical features of Lewy body disease, changes in brain metabolism and disease progression patterns.

Mapping morbidity 10 years prior to a diagnosis of young onset Alzheimer's disease.

INTRODUCTION: Early symptoms in young onset Alzheimer's disease (YOAD) may be misinterpreted, causing delayed diagnosis. This population-based study aimed to map morbidity prior to YOAD diagnosis. METHODS: In a register-based incidence density matched nested case-control study, we examined hospital-diagnosed morbidity for people diagnosed with YOAD in Danish memory clinics during 2016-2020 compared to controls in a 10-year period. Conditional logistic regression produced incidence rate ratios (IRRs). RESULTS: The study included 1745 cases and 5235 controls. YOAD patients had a higher morbidity burden in the year immediately before dementia diagnosis, for certain disorders up to 10 years before. This was especially evident for psychiatric morbidity with the highest increased IRRs throughout the entire period and IRR 1.43 (95% confidence interval 1.14-1.79) in the 5-10-years before dementia diagnosis. DISCUSSION: YOAD patients display a different pattern of morbidity up to 10 years prior to diagnosis. Awareness of specific alterations in morbidity may improve efforts toward a timely diagnosis. HIGHLIGHTS: Retrospective, nested case-control study of young onset Alzheimer's disease (YOAD). YOAD cases had a higher morbidity burden than controls. YOAD cases had a higher psychiatric morbidity burden up to 10 years before diagnosis. Altered morbidity patterns could serve as an early warning sign of YOAD.

Distribution of cholinergic nerve terminals in the aged human brain measured with [18F]FEOBV PET and its correlation with histological data.

INTRODUCTION: [18F]fluoroetoxybenzovesamicol ([18F]FEOBV) is a positron emission topography (PET) tracer for the vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT), a protein located predominantly in synaptic vesicles in cholinergic nerve terminals. We aimed to use [18F]FEOBV PET to study the cholinergic topography of the healthy human brain. MATERIALS AND METHODS: [18F]FEOBV PET brain data volumes of healthy elderly humans were normalized to standard space and intensity-normalized to the white matter. Stereotactic atlases of regions of interest were superimposed to describe and quantify tracer distribution. The spatial distribution of [18F]FEOBV PET uptake was compared with histological and gene expression data. RESULTS: Twenty participants of both sexes and a mean age of 73.9 ± 6.0 years, age-range [64; 86], were recruited. Highest tracer binding was present in the striatum, some thalamic nuclei, and the basal forebrain. Intermediate binding was found in most nuclei of the brainstem, thalamus, and hypothalamus; the vermis and flocculonodular lobe; and the hippocampus, amygdala, insula, cingulate, olfactory cortex, and Heschl's gyrus. Lowest binding was present in most areas of the cerebral cortex, and in the cerebellar nuclei and hemispheres. The spatial distribution of tracer correlated with immunohistochemical post-mortem data, as well as with regional expression levels of SLC18A3, the VAChT coding gene. DISCUSSION: Our in vivo findings confirm the regional cholinergic distribution in specific brain structures as described post-mortem. A positive spatial correlation between tracer distribution and regional gene expression levels further corroborates [18F]FEOBV PET as a validated tool for in vivo cholinergic imaging. The study represents an advancement in the continued efforts to delineate the spatial topography of the human cholinergic system in vivo.

Synaptic Density and Glucose Consumption in Patients with Lewy Body Diseases: An [11 C]UCB-J and [18 F]FDG PET Study.

BACKGROUND: Patients with Lewy body diseases exhibit variable degrees of cortical and subcortical hypometabolism. However, the underlying causes behind this progressive hypometabolism remain unresolved. Generalized synaptic degeneration may be one key contributor. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to investigate whether local cortical synaptic loss is proportionally linked to the magnitude of hypometabolism in Lewy body disease. METHOD: Using in vivo positron emission tomography (PET) we investigated cerebral glucose metabolism and quantified the density of cerebral synapses, as measured with [18 F]fluorodeoxyglucose ([18 F]FDG) PET and [11 C]UCB-J, respectively. Volumes-of-interest were defined on magnetic resonance T1 scans and regional standard uptake value ratios-1 values were obtained for 14 pre-selected brain regions. Between-group comparisons were conducted at voxel-level. RESULTS: We observed regional differences in both synaptic density and cerebral glucose consumption in our cohorts of non-demented and demented patients with Parkinson's disease or dementia with Lewy bodies compared to healthy subjects. Additionally, voxel-wise comparisons showed a clear difference in cortical regions between demented patients and controls for both tracers. Importantly, our findings strongly suggested that the magnitude of reduced glucose uptake exceeded the magnitude of reduced cortical synaptic density. CONCLUSION: Here, we investigated the relationship between in vivo glucose uptake and the magnitude of synaptic density as measured using [18 F]FDG PET and [11 C]UCB-J PET in Lewy body patients. The magnitude of reduced [18 F]FDG uptake was greater than the corresponding decline in [11 C]UCB-J binding. Therefore, the progressive hypometabolism seen in Lewy body disorders cannot be fully explained by generalized synaptic degeneration. © 2023 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

Validity of the Brief Assessment of Impaired Cognition case-finding instrument for identification of dementia subgroups and staging of dementia.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The aims of this study were to examine the psychometric properties of the Brief Assessment of Impaired Cognition (BASIC) case-finding instrument in clinical settings focusing on (i) test-retest reliability, (ii) the discriminative validity of BASIC and its components for identification of Alzheimer disease (AD) dementia and non-AD dementia, and (iii) the association of expert clinical rating of cognitive status with BASIC performance. METHODS: The test-retest reliability analysis was based on a sample of general practice patients (n = 59) retested with a mean interval of 19 days. Discriminative validity analyses and analysis of the association of cognitive status with BASIC performance were based on data from the primary validation study of BASIC in memory clinics. RESULTS: The test-retest reliability of BASIC was high (r = 0.861). No significant difference in discriminative validity was found for identification of AD dementia (sensitivity = 0.99, specificity = 0.98) and non-AD dementia (sensitivity = 0.90, specificity = 0.98). All components of BASIC contributed to the high discriminative validity of both AD and non-AD dementia. BASIC performance was significantly correlated with expert clinical rating of the cognitive status of patients. A crude staging model for cognitive status using BASIC score intervals had superior classification accuracy (70%) compared to a Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score range-based model (58% accuracy). CONCLUSIONS: BASIC is a reliable and valid case-finding instrument for AD dementia and non-AD dementia in clinical settings. BASIC performance is significantly associated with the degree of cognitive impairment, and BASIC seems to be superior to MMSE for staging of impairment.

Reduced Synaptic Density in Patients with Lewy Body Dementia: An [11 C]UCB-J PET Imaging Study.

BACKGROUND: Patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) often develop dementia, but the underlying substrate is incompletely understood. Generalized synaptic degeneration may contribute to dysfunction and cognitive decline in Lewy body dementias, but in vivo evidence is lacking. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to assess the density of synapses in non-demented PD (nPD) subjects (N = 21), patients with PD-dementia or Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) (N = 13), and age-matched healthy controls (N = 15). METHOD: Using in vivo PET imaging and the novel synaptic-vesicle-glycoprotein 2A (SV2A) radioligand [11C]UCB-J, SUVR-1 values were obtained for 12 pre-defined regions. Volumes-of-interest were defined on MRI T1 scans. Voxel-level between-group comparisons of [11C]UCB-J SUVR-1 were performed. All subjects underwent neuropsychological assessment. Correlations between [11C]UCB- J PET and domain-specific cognitive functioning were examined. RESULTS: nPD patients only demonstrated significantly reduced SUVR-1 values in the substantia nigra (SN) compared to HC. DLB/PDD patients demonstrated reduced SUVR-1 values in SN and all cortical VOIs except for the hippocampus and amygdala. The voxel-based analysis supported the VOI results. Significant correlation was seen between middle frontal gyrus [11C]UCB-J SUVR-1 and performance on tests of executive function. CONCLUSION: Widespread cortical reduction of synaptic density was documented in a cohort of DLB/PDD subjects using in vivo [11C]UCB-J PET. Our study confirms previously reported synaptic loss in SN of nPD patients. [11C]UCB-J binding in selected cortical VOIs of the DLB/PDD patients correlated with their levels of cognitive function across relevant neuropsychological domains. These findings suggest that the loss of synaptic density contributes to cognitive impairment in nPD and DLB/PDD. © 2021 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

The relationships between neuroinflammation, beta-amyloid and tau deposition in Alzheimer's disease: a longitudinal PET study.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this longitudinal study was to assess with positron emission tomography (PET) the relationship between levels of inflammation and the loads of aggregated ß-amyloid and tau at baseline and again after 2 years in prodromal Alzheimer's disease. METHODS: Forty-three subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) had serial 11C-PK11195 PET over 2 years to measure inflammation changes, and 11C-PiB PET to determine ß-amyloid fibril load; 22 also had serial 18F-Flortaucipir PET to determine tau tangle load. Cortical surface statistical mapping was used to localise areas showing significant changes in tracer binding over time and to interrogate correlations between tracer binding of the tracers at baseline and after 2 years. RESULTS: Those MCI subjects with high 11C-PiB uptake at baseline (classified as prodromal Alzheimer's disease) had raised inflammation levels which significantly declined across cortical regions over 2 years although their ß-amyloid levels continued to rise. Those MCI cases who had low/normal 11C-PiB uptake at baseline but their levels then rose over 2 years were classified as prodromal AD with low Thal phase 1-2 amyloid deposition at baseline. They showed levels of cortical inflammation which correlated with their rising ß-amyloid load. Those MCI cases with baseline low 11C-PiB uptake that remained stable were classified as non-AD, and they showed no correlated inflammation levels. Finally, MCI cases which showed both high 11C-PiB and 18F-Flortaucipir uptake at baseline (MCI due to AD) showed a further rise in their tau tangle load over 2 years with a correlated rise in levels of inflammation. CONCLUSIONS: Our baseline and 2-year imaging findings are compatible with a biphasic trajectory of inflammation in Alzheimer's disease: MCI cases with low baseline but subsequently rising ß-amyloid load show correlated levels of microglial activation which then later decline when the ß-amyloid load approaches AD levels. Later, as tau tangles form in ß-amyloid positive MCI cases with prodromal AD, the rising tau load is associated with higher levels of inflammation.

The role of physical and cognitive function in performance of activities of daily living in patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease - a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Several factors may play a role in the ability of patients with Alzheimer's disease to perform activities of daily living (ADL). The aim of this study was to examine the impact of different aspects of physical performance and cognitive functions on ADL in patients suffering from mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease. METHODS: We conducted secondary analyses on cross-sectional baseline data from the randomized controlled multicentre study "Preserving quality of life, physical health and functional ability in Alzheimer's Disease: The effect of physical exercise" (ADEX). In total, 185 AD patients (76 women and 109 men), with a mean age on 70,4 years, were included. Data from physical performance tests (Astrand cycle test, Timed up & Go (TUG), Sit to Stand test (STS)) and cognitive tests (Mini Mental Status Examination (MMSE), Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT), Stroop Color and Word test (Stroop)) were used. Their associations with ADL, measured on the ADCS-ADL scale was assessed in multivariable regression analyses. RESULTS: SDMT and MMSE had significant, moderate correlations with total ADL (SDMT: r = 0.33, MMSE: r = 0.42) and instrumental ADL (SDMT: r = 0.31, MMSE: r = 0.42), but not with basic ADL. Adjusting for age and sex, the associations between SDMT and MMSE to total ADL and instrumental ADL persisted. No significant associations were found between Astrand, TUG, STS or Stroop and total ADL, basic ADL or instrumental ADL. CONCLUSION: Total ADL and instrumental ADL are associated with cognitive functions, including executive function. No significant association between examined physical performance parameters and ADL functions was observed, and consequently does not support an impact of physical function on ADL functions in patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease and relatively well-preserved physical function. Strategies aimed to improve cognition may be better suited to improve ADL function in patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT01681602 . Registered 10 September 2012, retrospectively registered.

Long-term cognitive dysfunction after radiation therapy for primary brain tumors.

Background: The extent of radiation therapy (RT)-induced changes in cognitive function is unknown. RT with protons instead of photons spares the healthy brain tissue more and is believed to reduce the risk of cognitive dysfunction. There is modest knowledge on which parts of the brain we need to spare, to prevent cognitive dysfunction. To uncover which cognitive domains is most affected, we compared cognitive functioning in brain tumor patients treated with neurosurgery and RT with brain tumor patients treated with neurosurgery alone. Methods: A cross-sectional study assessing cognitive function in 110 patients with a primary brain tumor grades I-III or medulloblastoma (grade IV) treated at Aarhus University Hospital (AUH), Denmark between 2006 and 2016. Two cohorts were established: a cohort of 81 brain tumor patients who had received neurosurgery followed by RT (RT+), and a cohort of 29 brain tumor patients who had only received neurosurgery (RT-). The patients underwent questionnaires and neuropsychological assessment with standardized tests. Results: Mean age was 53.5 years with an average time since diagnosis of 7.3 years. Compared with normative data, lower average scores were observed for the entire group on domains concerning of verbal learning and memory (p < .001), attention and working memory (p < .001), processing speed (p < .001), and executive functioning (p < .001). Compared to RT- patients, RT + patients scored lower on domains concerning processing speed (p = .04) and executive function (p = .05) and had higher impairment frequency on verbal fluency (p = .02) with 16% of patients exceeding 1.5 SD below normative data. Conclusions: Our results indicate that treatment, including RT, for a primary brain tumor may have negative long-term impact on cognitive function, especially on processing speed and executive function.

Brief Assessment of Impaired Cognition (BASIC)-Validation of a new dementia case-finding instrument integrating cognitive assessment with patient and informant report.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to develop and validate a new brief and accurate case-finding instrument for dementia and cognitive impairment. Previous research indicates that combining cognitive tests with informant and/or patient report may improve accuracy in dementia case-finding. The Brief Assessment of Impaired Cognition (BASIC) integrates these three sources of information. METHODS: BASIC was prospectively validated in five memory clinics. Patients consecutively referred from general practice were tested at their initial visit prior to diagnosis. Control participants were primarily recruited among participating patients' relatives. Expert clinical diagnosis was subsequently used as gold standard for estimation of the classification accuracy of BASIC. RESULTS: A very high discriminative validity (specificity 0.98, sensitivity 0.95) for dementia (n = 122) versus socio-demographically matched control participants (n = 109) was found. In comparison, the MMSE had 0.90 specificity and 0.82 sensitivity. Extending the discriminative validity analysis to cognitive impairment (both dementia and MCI, n = 162) only slightly reduced the discriminative validity of BASIC whereas the discriminative validity of the MMSE was substantially attenuated. Administration time for BASIC was approximately 5 minutes compared with 10 to 15 minutes for the MMSE. CONCLUSIONS: BASIC was found to be an efficient and valid case-finding instrument for dementia and cognitive impairment in a memory clinic setting.

Does inflammation precede tau aggregation in early Alzheimer's disease? A PET study.

OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to assess with positron emission tomography (PET) the temporal and spatial inter-relationships between levels of cortical microglial activation and the aggregated amyloid-ß and tau load in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and early Alzheimer's disease (AD). METHODS: Six clinically probable AD and 20 MCI subjects had inflammation (11C-(R)-PK11195), amyloid (11C-PiB) and tau (18F-flortaucipir) PET, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and a neuropsychological assessment. Parametric images of tracer binding were interrogated at a voxel level and by region of interest analyses. RESULTS: 55% of MCI and 83% of AD subjects had a high amyloid-ß load. We have previously reported that clusters of correlated amyloid and inflammation levels are present in cortex. Here we found no correlation between levels of inflammation (11C-(R)-PK11195 BPND) and tau (18F-flortaucipir SUVR) or MMSE scores in high amyloid-ß cases. INTERPRETATION: While correlated levels of amyloid-ß and inflammation can be seen in MCI, we did not detect an association between levels of cortical tau tangles and inflammation in our series of high amyloid-ß cases. High levels of inflammation could be seen in amyloid-ß positive MCI cases where 18F-flortaucipir signals were low suggesting microglial activation precedes tau tangle formation. Inflammation levels were higher in high amyloid-ß MCI than in early AD cases, compatible with it initially playing a protective role.

Brain inflammation accompanies amyloid in the majority of mild cognitive impairment cases due to Alzheimer's disease.

See Kreisl (doi:10.1093/awx151) for a scientific commentary on this article.Subjects with mild cognitive impairment associated with cortical amyloid-ß have a greatly increased risk of progressing to Alzheimer's disease. We hypothesized that neuroinflammation occurs early in Alzheimer's disease and would be present in most amyloid-positive mild cognitive impairment cases. 11C-Pittsburgh compound B and 11C-(R)-PK11195 positron emission tomography was used to determine the amyloid load and detect the extent of neuroinflammation (microglial activation) in 42 mild cognitive impairment cases. Twelve age-matched healthy control subjects had 11C-Pittsburgh compound B and 10 healthy control subjects had 11C-(R)-PK11195 positron emission tomography for comparison. Amyloid-positivity was defined as 11C-Pittsburgh compound B target-to-cerebellar ratio above 1.5 within a composite cortical volume of interest. Supervised cluster analysis was used to generate parametric maps of 11C-(R)-PK11195 binding potential. Levels of 11C-(R)-PK11195 binding potential were measured in a selection of cortical volumes of interest and at a voxel level. Twenty-six (62%) of 42 mild cognitive impairment cases showed a raised cortical amyloid load compared to healthy controls. Twenty-two (85%) of the 26 amyloid-positive mild cognitive impairment cases showed clusters of increased cortical microglial activation accompanying the amyloid. There was a positive correlation between levels of amyloid load and 11C-(R)-PK11195 binding potentials at a voxel level within subregions of frontal, parietal and temporal cortices. 11C-(R)-PK11195 positron emission tomography reveals increased inflammation in a majority of amyloid positive mild cognitive impairment cases, its cortical distribution overlapping that of amyloid deposition.

The role of computed tomography in the screening of patients presenting with symptoms of an intracranial tumour.

BACKGROUND: To improve the quality of care for brain cancer patients, the Danish Ministry of Health has set standards for the diagnosis and treatment. When a patient is suspected of having a malignant tumour involving the brain, it is required that a magnetic resonance imaging of the cerebrum (MRI-C) be obtained within seven calendar days of referral from a primary care provider. This standard has the potential to consume MR imaging time that might otherwise be used for evaluation or treatment monitoring of other patients. This study primarily aims to assess the sensitivity of computed tomography of the brain (CT-C) for the detection of intracranial tumour as the initial diagnostic imaging. METHODS: This is a single-center retrospective study of patients referred to the IBCP with brain cancer suspicion. The average follow-up was 37 months. All included patients underwent a CT-C scan and subsequently a MRI-C if deemed necessary. The study population was divided into two groups based on the findings: tumour versus non-tumour. Sensitivity and specificity of the CT-C was calculated. RESULTS: Eight hundred seventeen patients were included. Median age was 55 years and 50% were male. CT-C had a sensitivity of 98.5% and a specificity of 98.4%. The overall mortality rate was 7% in the non-tumour group and 58% in the tumour group over the course of the study period. The tumour group was on average older compared to the non-tumour group (65 years [55-75 years] vs 52 years [38-65 years]) p < .001). The only symptom associated with brain tumour was the presence of a focal deficit (p = .002). CONCLUSION: This study shows that CT-C scans are highly sensitive and specific and can be used as the primary screening tool for patients referred with a suspicion for brain cancer.

Capillary dysfunction is associated with symptom severity and neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease.

INTRODUCTION: We examined whether cortical microvascular blood volume and hemodynamics in Alzheimer's disease (AD) are consistent with tissue hypoxia and whether they correlate with cognitive performance and the degree of cortical thinning. METHODS: Thirty-two AD patients underwent cognitive testing, structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and perfusion MRI at baseline and after 6 months. We measured cortical thickness, microvascular cerebral blood volume (CBV), cerebral blood flow (CBF), mean transit time (MTT), and capillary transit time heterogeneity (CTH) and estimated tissue oxygen tension (PtO2). RESULTS: At baseline, poor cognitive performance and regional cortical thinning correlated with lower CBF and CBV, with higher MTT and CTH and with low PtO2 across the cortex. Cognitive decline over time was associated with increasing whole brain relative transit time heterogeneity (RTH = CTH/MTT). DISCUSSION: Our results confirm the importance of microvascular pathology in AD. Deteriorating microvascular hemodynamics may cause hypoxia, which is known to precipitate amyloid retention.

Associations between physical function, dual-task performance and cognition in patients with mild Alzheimer's disease.

OBJECTIVE: Alzheimer's disease (AD) causes a gradual decline in cognition, limitations of dual-tasking and physical function leading to total dependence. Hence, information about the interaction between physical function, dual-task performance and cognition may lead to new treatment strategies with the purpose of preserving function and quality of life. The objective of this study was to investigate the associations between physical function, dual-task performance and cognition in community-dwelling patients with mild AD. METHODS: Baseline results from 185 participants (50-90 years old) in the single blinded multicenter RCT 'ADEX' (Alzheimer's disease: the effect of physical exercise) were used. Assessments included tests of physical function: 400-m walk test, 10-m walk test, Timed Up and Go test and 30-s chair stand test; dual-task performance, i.e., 10-m walk while counting backwards from 50 or naming the months backwards; and cognition, i.e., Mini Mental State Examination, Symbol Digit Modalities Test, the Stroop Color and Word Test, and Lexical verbal fluency test. RESULTS: Results in the 30-s chair stand test correlated significantly with all tests of cognition (r = .208-.242) while the other physical function tests only randomly correlated with tests of cognition. Results in the dual-task counting backwards correlated significantly with results in all tests of cognition (r = .259-.388), which accounted for 7%-15% of the variation indicating that a faster time to complete dual-task performance was associated with better cognitive performance. CONCLUSION: The evidence of the associations between physical function, dual-task performance and cognition is important when creating new rehabilitation interventions to patients with mild AD.

Effect of aerobic exercise on physical performance in patients with Alzheimer's disease.

INTRODUCTION: Knowledge about the feasibility and effects of exercise programs to persons with Alzheimer's disease is lacking. This study investigated the effect of aerobic exercise on physical performance in community-dwelling persons with mild Alzheimer's disease. METHODS: The single blinded multi-center RCT (ADEX) included 200 patients, median age 71 yrs (50-89). The intervention group received supervised moderate-to-high intensity aerobic exercise 1 hour × 3/week for 16 weeks. Assessments included cardiorespiratory fitness, single-task physical performance, dual-task performance and exercise self-efficacy. RESULTS: Significant between-group differences in change from baseline (mean [95%CI]) favored the intervention group for cardiorespiratory fitness (4.0 [2.3-5.8] ml/kg/min, P <0.0001) and exercise self-efficacy (1.7 [0.5-2.8] points, P =0.004). Furthermore, an exercise attendance of ≥66.6% resulted in significant positive effects on single-task physical performance and dual-task performance. DISCUSSION: Aerobic exercise has the potential to improve cardiorespiratory fitness, single-task physical performance, dual-task performance and exercise self-efficacy in community-dwelling patients with mild Alzheimer's disease.

Remote ischemic perconditioning as an adjunct therapy to thrombolysis in patients with acute ischemic stroke: a randomized trial.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Remote ischemic preconditioning is neuroprotective in models of acute cerebral ischemia. We tested the effect of prehospital rPerC as an adjunct to treatment with intravenous alteplase in patients with acute ischemic stroke. METHODS: Open-label blinded outcome proof-of-concept study of prehospital, paramedic-administered rPerC at a 1:1 ratio in consecutive patients with suspected acute stroke. After neurological examination and MRI, patients with verified stroke receiving alteplase treatment were included and received MRI at 24 hours and 1 month and clinical re-examination after 3 months. The primary end point was penumbral salvage, defined as the volume of the perfusion-diffusion mismatch not progressing to infarction after 1 month. RESULTS: Four hundred forty-three patients were randomized after provisional consent, 247 received rPerC and 196 received standard treatment. Patients with a nonstroke diagnosis (n=105) were excluded from further examinations. The remaining patients had transient ischemic attack (n=58), acute ischemic stroke (n=240), or hemorrhagic stroke (n=37). Transient ischemic attack was more frequent (P=0.006), and National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score on admission was lower (P=0.016) in the intervention group compared with controls. Penumbral salvage, final infarct size at 1 month, infarct growth between baseline and 1 month, and clinical outcome after 3 months did not differ among groups. After adjustment for baseline perfusion and diffusion lesion severity, voxelwise analysis showed that rPerC reduced tissue risk of infarction (P=0.0003). CONCLUSIONS: Although the overall results were neutral, a tissue survival analysis suggests that prehospital rPerC may have immediate neuroprotective effects. Future clinical trials should take such immediate effects, and their duration, into account. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT00975962.

Placebo analgesia and nocebo hyperalgesia in patients with Alzheimer disease and healthy participants.

ABSTRACT: The role of placebo analgesia and nocebo hyperalgesia in patients with Alzheimer disease (AD) is largely unknown, with only few studies in the area. Therefore, this study aims to investigate to which extent placebo analgesia and nocebo hyperalgesia effects are present in patients experiencing mild-to-moderate AD. Twenty-one patients with AD (test population) and 26 healthy participants (HP; design validation) were exposed to thermal pain stimulation on 3 test days: Lidocaine condition (open/hidden lidocaine administration), capsaicin condition (open/hidden capsaicin administration), and natural history (no treatment), in a randomized, within-subject design. Open lidocaine and open capsaicin were accompanied by verbal suggestions for pain relief and pain increase, respectively. Expected pain and actual pain intensity were measured on a numerical rating scale (0-10). Placebo and nocebo effects were calculated as pain differences in open-hidden lidocaine and capsaicin, respectively, controlled for no treatment. Healthy participants obtained a placebo effect ( P = 0.01) and a trend for a nocebo effect ( P = 0.07). Patients with AD did not obtain a placebo effect ( P = 0.44) nor a significant nocebo effect ( P = 0.86). Healthy participants expected lower and higher pain with open vs hidden lidocaine and capsaicin, respectively ( P < 0.001). The same expectation effects were seen in patients with AD (open vs hidden lidocaine, P = 0.008; open vs hidden capsaicin, P < 0.001). With a well-controlled experimental setting, this study suggests that patients with AD may not experience placebo analgesia effects. Nocebo hyperalgesia effects in patients with AD needs further research. These findings may have implications for the conduction of clinical trials and the treatment of patients with AD in clinical practice.

Validation of the Rowland Universal Dementia Assessment Scale for multicultural screening in Danish memory clinics.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The Rowland Universal Dementia Assessment Scale (RUDAS) is a brief cognitive screening test that was developed to detect dementia in multicultural populations. The RUDAS has not previously been validated in multicultural populations outside of Australia. The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of the RUDAS in a multicultural sample of patients referred to Danish memory clinics. METHODS: Data were collected from 137 consecutive patients (34 with an immigrant background) in three Danish memory clinics. All patients were given the RUDAS as a supplement to the standard diagnostic workup. RESULTS: Diagnostic accuracy for the RUDAS [area under the curve (AUC) = 0.838] was similar to that of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE; AUC = 0.840). The cutoff score with the best balance of sensitivity, specificity and accuracy was <24/30 for the RUDAS (sensitivity 0.69, specificity 0.80) and <25/30 for the MMSE (sensitivity 0.76, specificity 0.83). In contrast to the MMSE, regression analyses revealed that the RUDAS was unaffected by factors related to the patients' immigrant backgrounds. CONCLUSION: The RUDAS showed high specificity and proved to be less affected by cultural and linguistic factors than the MMSE, making it a particularly valuable tool when screening for cognitive impairment in elderly multicultural patient populations.