Associations between sex, body mass index and the individual microglial response in Alzheimer's disease.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: 18-kDa translocator protein position-emission-tomography (TSPO-PET) imaging emerged for in vivo assessment of neuroinflammation in Alzheimer's disease (AD) research. Sex and obesity effects on TSPO-PET binding have been reported for cognitively normal humans (CN), but such effects have not yet been systematically evaluated in patients with AD. Thus, we aimed to investigate the impact of sex and obesity on the relationship between ß-amyloid-accumulation and microglial activation in AD. METHODS: 49 patients with AD (29 females, all Aß-positive) and 15 Aß-negative CN (8 female) underwent TSPO-PET ([18F]GE-180) and ß-amyloid-PET ([18F]flutemetamol) imaging. In 24 patients with AD (14 females), tau-PET ([18F]PI-2620) was additionally available. The brain was parcellated into 218 cortical regions and standardized-uptake-value-ratios (SUVr, cerebellar reference) were calculated. Per region and tracer, the regional increase of PET SUVr (z-score) was calculated for AD against CN. The regression derived linear effect of regional Aß-PET on TSPO-PET was used to determine the Aß-plaque-dependent microglial response (slope) and the Aß-plaque-independent microglial response (intercept) at the individual patient level. All read-outs were compared between sexes and tested for a moderation effect of sex on associations with body mass index (BMI). RESULTS: In AD, females showed higher mean cortical TSPO-PET z-scores (0.91 ± 0.49; males 0.30 ± 0.75; p = 0.002), while Aß-PET z-scores were similar. The Aß-plaque-independent microglial response was stronger in females with AD (+ 0.37 ± 0.38; males with AD - 0.33 ± 0.87; p = 0.006), pronounced at the prodromal stage. On the contrary, the Aß-plaque-dependent microglial response was not different between sexes. The Aß-plaque-independent microglial response was significantly associated with tau-PET in females (Braak-II regions: r = 0.757, p = 0.003), but not in males. BMI and the Aß-plaque-independent microglial response were significantly associated in females (r = 0.44, p = 0.018) but not in males (BMI*sex interaction: F(3,52) = 3.077, p = 0.005). CONCLUSION: While microglia response to fibrillar Aß is similar between sexes, women with AD show a stronger Aß-plaque-independent microglia response. This sex difference in Aß-independent microglial activation may be associated with tau accumulation. BMI is positively associated with the Aß-plaque-independent microglia response in females with AD but not in males, indicating that sex and obesity need to be considered when studying neuroinflammation in AD.

Multiancestry analysis of the HLA locus in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases uncovers a shared adaptive immune response mediated by HLA-DRB1*04 subtypes.

Across multiancestry groups, we analyzed Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) associations in over 176,000 individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) versus controls. We demonstrate that the two diseases share the same protective association at the HLA locus. HLA-specific fine-mapping showed that hierarchical protective effects of HLA-DRB1*04 subtypes best accounted for the association, strongest with HLA-DRB1*04:04 and HLA-DRB1*04:07, and intermediary with HLA-DRB1*04:01 and HLA-DRB1*04:03. The same signal was associated with decreased neurofibrillary tangles in postmortem brains and was associated with reduced tau levels in cerebrospinal fluid and to a lower extent with increased Aß42. Protective HLA-DRB1*04 subtypes strongly bound the aggregation-prone tau PHF6 sequence, however only when acetylated at a lysine (K311), a common posttranslational modification central to tau aggregation. An HLA-DRB1*04-mediated adaptive immune response decreases PD and AD risks, potentially by acting against tau, offering the possibility of therapeutic avenues.

Individual regional associations between Aß-, tau- and neurodegeneration (ATN) with microglial activation in patients with primary and secondary tauopathies.

ß-amyloid (Aß) and tau aggregation as well as neuronal injury and atrophy (ATN) are the major hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (AD), and biomarkers for these hallmarks have been linked to neuroinflammation. However, the detailed regional associations of these biomarkers with microglial activation in individual patients remain to be elucidated. We investigated a cohort of 55 patients with AD and primary tauopathies and 10 healthy controls that underwent TSPO-, Aß-, tau-, and perfusion-surrogate-PET, as well as structural MRI. Z-score deviations for 246 brain regions were calculated and biomarker contributions of Aß (A), tau (T), perfusion (N1), and gray matter atrophy (N2) to microglial activation (TSPO, I) were calculated for each individual subject. Individual ATN-related microglial activation was correlated with clinical performance and CSF soluble TREM2 (sTREM2) concentrations. In typical and atypical AD, regional tau was stronger and more frequently associated with microglial activation when compared to regional Aß (AD: ßT = 0.412 ± 0.196 vs. ßA = 0.142 ± 0.123, p < 0.001; AD-CBS: ßT = 0.385 ± 0.176 vs. ßA = 0.131 ± 0.186, p = 0.031). The strong association between regional tau and microglia reproduced well in primary tauopathies (ßT = 0.418 ± 0.154). Stronger individual associations between tau and microglial activation were associated with poorer clinical performance. In patients with 4RT, sTREM2 levels showed a positive association with tau-related microglial activation. Tau pathology has strong regional associations with microglial activation in primary and secondary tauopathies. Tau and Aß related microglial response indices may serve as a two-dimensional in vivo assessment of neuroinflammation in neurodegenerative diseases.

Elecsys Cerebrospinal Fluid Immunoassays Accurately Detect Alzheimer's Disease Regardless of Concomitant Small Vessel Disease.

BACKGROUND: Differentiating dementia due to small vessel disease (SVD) from dementia due to Alzheimer's disease (AD) with concomitant SVD is challenging in clinical practice. Accurate and early diagnosis of AD is critical to delivering stratified patient care. OBJECTIVE: We characterized the results of Elecsys® cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) immunoassays (Roche Diagnostics International Ltd) in patients with early AD, diagnosed using core clinical criteria, with varying extent of SVD. METHODS: Frozen CSF samples (n = 84) were measured using Elecsys ß-Amyloid(1-42) (Aß42), Phospho-Tau (181P) (pTau181), and Total-Tau (tTau) CSF immunoassays, adapted for use on the cobas® e 411 analyzer (Roche Diagnostics International Ltd), and a robust prototype ß-Amyloid(1-40) (Aß40) CSF immunoassay. SVD was assessed by extent of white matter hyperintensities (WMH) using the lesion segmentation tool. Interrelations between WMH, biomarkers, fluorodeoxyglucose F18-positron emission tomography (FDG-PET), and other parameters (including age and Mini-Mental State examinations [MMSE]) were assessed using Spearman's correlation, sensitivity/specificity, and logistic/linear regression analyses. RESULTS: The extent of WMH showed significant correlation with Aß42/Aß40 ratio (Rho=-0.250; p = 0.040), tTau (Rho = 0.292; p = 0.016), tTau/Aß42 ratio (Rho = 0.247; p = 0.042), age (Rho = 0.373; p = 0.002), and MMSE (Rho=-0.410; p = 0.001). Sensitivity/specificity point estimates for Elecsys CSF immunoassays versus FDG-PET positivity for underlying AD pathophysiology were mostly comparable or greater in patients with high versus low WMH. WMH were not a significant predictor and did not interact with CSF biomarker positivity but modified the association between pTau181 and tTau. CONCLUSION: Elecsys CSF immunoassays detect AD pathophysiology regardless of concomitant SVD and may help to identify patients with early dementia with underlying AD pathophysiology.

Herpes simplex virus alters Alzheimer's disease biomarkers - A hypothesis paper.

INTRODUCTION: Human herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV1) is discussed to induce amyloid-ß (Aß) accumulation and neurofibrillary tangles of hyperphosphorylated tau (pTau) in Alzheimer's disease (AD) in cell culture and animal models. Aß appears to be virostatic. We investigated the association between intrathecal antibodies against HSV or cytomegalovirus (CMV) and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) AD biomarkers. METHODS: Aß42 /Aß40 ratio, pTau, and tTau were measured in CSF of 117 patients with early AD positive for amyloid pathology (A+) and 30 healthy controls (A-). CSF-to-serum anti-HSV1/2-IgG antibody indices (AI-IgGHSV1/2 ) and CMV (AI-IgGCMV ) were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). RESULTS: Exclusively in HSV1-seropositive AD, pTau was positively and significantly predicted by AI-IgGHSV1/2 and negatively by the Aß42 /Aß40 ratio in both univariate and multivariate regression analyses. Furthermore, a significant and negative interaction between the AI-IgGHSV1/2 and Aß42 /Aß40 ratio on pTau was found. DISCUSSION: The results support the hypothesis that HSV infection contributes to AD. HIGHLIGHTS: HSV antibody index is positively associated with tau pathology in patients with AD. HSV antibody index is negatively associated with cerebral FDG metabolism. Amyloid modulates the association of HSV antibody index with CSF-pTau. HSV in AD offers a pathophysiological model connecting tau and amyloid.

Microglial Activation and Connectivity in Alzheimer Disease and Aging.

OBJECTIVE: Alzheimer disease (AD) is characterized by amyloid ß (Aß) plaques and neurofibrillary tau tangles, but increasing evidence suggests that neuroinflammation also plays a key role, driven by the activation of microglia. Aß and tau pathology appear to spread along pathways of highly connected brain regions, but it remains elusive whether microglial activation follows a similar distribution pattern. Here, we assess whether connectivity is associated with microglia activation patterns. METHODS: We included 32 Aß-positive early AD subjects (18 women, 14 men) and 18 Aß-negative age-matched healthy controls (10 women, 8 men) from the prospective ActiGliA (Activity of Cerebral Networks, Amyloid and Microglia in Aging and Alzheimer's Disease) study. All participants underwent microglial activation positron emission tomography (PET) with the third-generation mitochondrial 18 kDa translocator protein (TSPO) ligand [18 F]GE-180 and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to measure resting-state functional and structural connectivity. RESULTS: We found that inter-regional covariance in TSPO-PET and standardized uptake value ratio was preferentially distributed along functionally highly connected brain regions, with MRI structural connectivity showing a weaker association with microglial activation. AD patients showed increased TSPO-PET tracer uptake bilaterally in the anterior medial temporal lobe compared to controls, and higher TSPO-PET uptake was associated with cognitive impairment and dementia severity in a disease stage-dependent manner. INTERPRETATION: Microglial activation distributes preferentially along highly connected brain regions, similar to tau pathology. These findings support the important role of microglia in neurodegeneration, and we speculate that pathology spreads throughout the brain along vulnerable connectivity pathways. ANN NEUROL 2022;92:768-781.

The cerebrospinal fluid biomarker ratio Aß42/40 identifies amyloid positron emission tomography positivity better than Aß42 alone in a heterogeneous memory clinic cohort.

BACKGROUND: Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis for detecting amyloid positivity may be as reliable as positron emission tomography (PET). We evaluated the performance of the amyloid beta (Aß)42/40 ratio for predicting amyloid positivity by PET, compared with Aß42 alone, and phosphorylated tau 181 (pTau181)/Aß42 and total tau (tTau)/Aß42 ratios, using fully automated CSF immunoassays (Roche Diagnostics International Ltd, Rotkreuz, Switzerland) in a heterogeneous cohort of patients with a range of cognitive disorders reflecting the typical population of a memory clinic. METHODS: CSF samples from 103 patients with known amyloid PET status (PET positive = 54; PET negative = 49) were retrospectively selected from one site in Germany; 71 patients were undergoing treatment for mild cognitive impairment (n = 44) or mild-to-moderate dementia (n = 27) due to Alzheimer's disease (AD), and 32 patients were undergoing treatment for non-AD-related cognitive disorders. Aß42, pTau181, and tTau concentrations were measured in CSF samples using the respective Elecsys® CSF immunoassays modified for use on the cobas e 411 analyzer; Aß40 concentrations were measured using a non-commercially available robust prototype assay. Sensitivities/specificities for amyloid positivity cut-offs (Youden-derived and pre-defined) were calculated, and receiver operating characteristic analyses determined area under the curve (AUC) versus amyloid PET status. Limitations include a small sample size, use of a pre-analytical protocol not in accordance with the Elecsys CSF immunoassay method sheets, and the lack of a pre-defined cut-off for Aß42/40. RESULTS: Point estimates for sensitivity and specificity of CSF biomarkers and biomarker ratios versus amyloid PET were 0.93 and 0.57 for Aß42, 0.96 and 0.69 for pTau181/Aß42, 0.92 and 0.69 for tTau/Aß42, and 0.94 and 0.82 for Aß42/40. For AUCs, point estimates (95% confidence intervals) versus amyloid PET were 0.78 (0.68-0.88) for Aß42, 0.88 (0.81-0.95) for pTau181/Aß42, 0.87 (0.80-0.95) for tTau/Aß42, and 0.90 (0.83-0.97) for Aß42/40. CONCLUSIONS: CSF Aß42/40 ratio can predict PET amyloid positivity with high accuracy in patients with a range of cognitive disorders when evaluating Aß pathology independent of tau and neurodegeneration for research purposes. The performance of Aß42/40 was comparable with pTau181/Aß42 and tTau/Aß42 used in clinical practice and better than Aß42 alone.

Cerebrospinal fluid lactate levels along the Alzheimer's disease continuum and associations with blood-brain barrier integrity, age, cognition, and biomarkers.

BACKGROUND: Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) lactate levels have been suggested to be associated with disease severity and progression in several neurological diseases as an indicator of impaired energy metabolism, neuronal death, or microglial activation. Few studies have examined CSF lactate levels in dementia due to Alzheimer's disease (AD) and found higher values in AD patients compared to healthy controls (HC). However, these studies were mostly small in size, the inclusion criteria were not always well defined, and the diagnostic value and pathophysiological significance of CSF lactate in AD remain unclear. METHODS: We examined CSF lactate levels and potentially associated factors in a large (n=312), biologically and clinically well-defined sample of patients with AD at the stage of mild cognitive impairment (MCI-AD) and dementia (ADD), HC, and patients with frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD). RESULTS: Contrary to previous studies, patients with ADD and HC did not differ in CSF lactate levels. However, we found higher values for patients with MCI-AD compared to those with ADD and to HC in univariate analysis, as well as for MCI-AD compared to ADD when controlling for age and blood-brain barrier integrity. CSF lactate levels were associated with age and blood-brain barrier integrity but not with clinical severity or CSF biomarkers of AD. CONCLUSIONS: CSF lactate does not indicate biological or clinical disease severity in AD, nor does it differentiate between patients with AD and HC or patients with FTLD. However, higher CSF lactate levels were found in earlier stages of AD, which might be interpreted in the context of inflammatory processes.

Age-Dependency of Total Tau in the Cerebrospinal Fluid Is Corrected by Amyloid-ß 1-40: A Correlational Study in Healthy Adults.

BACKGROUND: Tau proteins are established biomarkers of neuroaxonal damage in a wide range of neurodegenerative conditions. Although measurement of total-Tau in the cerebrospinal fluid is widely used in research and clinical settings, the relationship between age and total-Tau in the cerebrospinal fluid is yet to be fully understood. While past studies reported a correlation between age and total-Tau in the cerebrospinal fluid of healthy adults, in clinical practice the same cut-off value is used independently of patient's age. OBJECTIVE: To further explore the relationship between age and total-Tau and to disentangle neurodegenerative from drainage-dependent effects. METHODS: We analyzed cerebrospinal fluid samples of 76 carefully selected cognitively healthy adults and included amyloid-ß 1-40 as a potential marker of drainage from the brain's interstitial system. RESULTS: We found a significant correlation of total-Tau and age, which was no longer present when correcting total-Tau for amyloid-ß 1-40 concentrations. These findings were replicated under varied inclusion criteria. CONCLUSION: Results call into question the association of age and total-Tau in the cerebrospinal fluid. Furthermore, they suggest diagnostic utility of amyloid-ß 1-40 as a possible proxy for drainage-mechanisms into the cerebrospinal fluid when interpreting biomarker concentrations for neurodegenerative diseases.

Regional Cerebral Associations Between Psychometric Tests and Imaging Biomarkers in Alzheimer's Disease.

Recently, imaging biomarkers have gained importance for the characterization of patients with Alzheimer's disease; however, the relationship between regional biomarker expression and cognitive function remains unclear. In our study, we investigated associations between scores on CERAD neuropsychological assessment battery (CERAD-NAB) subtests with regional glucose metabolism, cortical thickness and amyloid deposition in patients with early Alzheimer's disease (AD) using [18F]-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG), structural MRI, and 11C-Pittsburgh Compound B (PiB) positron emission tomography (PET), respectively. A total of 76 patients (mean age 68.4 ± 8.5 years, 57.9% male) with early AD (median global clinical dementia rating (CDR) score = 0.5, range: 0.5-2.0) were studied. Associations were investigated by correlation and multiple regression analyses. Scores on cognitive subtests were most closely predicted by regional glucose metabolism with explained variance up to a corrected R² of 0.518, followed by cortical thickness and amyloid deposition. Prediction of cognitive subtest performance was increased up to a corrected R² of 0.622 for Word List-Delayed Recall, when biomarker information from multiple regions and multiple modalities were included. For verbal, visuoconstructive and mnestic domains the closest associations with FDG-PET imaging were found in the left lateral temporal lobe, right parietal lobe, and posterior cingulate cortex, respectively. Decreased cortical thickness in parietal regions was most predictive of impaired subtest performance. Remarkably, cerebral amyloid deposition significantly predicted cognitive function in about half of the subtests but with smaller extent of variance explained (corrected R² ≤ 0.220). We conclude that brain metabolism and atrophy affect cognitive performance in a regionally distinct way. Significant predictions of cognitive function by PiB-PET in half of CERAD-NAB subtests suggest functional relevance even in symptomatic patients with AD, challenging the concept of plateauing cortical amyloid deposition early in the disease course. Our results underscore the complex spatial relationship between different imaging biomarkers.

Serum Concentrations of Cholinesterase Inhibitors in Patients With Alzheimer's Dementia Are Frequently Below the Recommended Levels.

BACKGROUND: Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (AChE-I) are recommended for the treatment of cognitive symptoms but also of behavioral and psychological symptoms in dementia. They are widely used not only in Alzheimer's disease, but also in other forms of dementia. Efficacy of treatment might depend on serum concentration of the respective AChE-I. OBJECTIVE: In patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's dementia, we measured serum concentrations of hepatically metabolized donepezil and renally excreted rivastigmine and investigated possible modifiers. Additionally, we looked at correlations between serum concentrations and efficacy for both drugs. METHODS: Serum concentrations of donepezil and rivastigmine were measured by liquid chromatography - tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Allele specific PCR were performed to determine CYP2D6 genotype and gene dose. Clinical efficacy was assessed by changes of the subtest wordlist delayed recall of the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease-Neuropsychological Assessment Battery (CERAD-NAB). RESULTS: Sixty-seven patients treated with a stable dosage of donepezil 10 mg (n=41) or rivastigmine 9.5 mg (n=26) were included. Mean serum concentration of donepezil and rivastigmine were 41.2 and 6.5 ng/ml, respectively. Serum concentrations were below the recommended range in 73% of the subjects in the donepezil group and in 65% of the participants in the rivastigmine group. When applying a dose-related reference, ranges 63% of patients in the donepezil group and 32% in the rivastigmine group had concentrations below the expected range. Gene dose, sex, and duration of treatment significantly predicted donepezil serum concentration (p=0.046, p=0.001, p=0.030 respectively). Only for rivastigmine did the serum concentration significantly contribute to the regression model predicting changes on the subtest word list delayed recall (ß=0.472; p=0.019). CONCLUSIONS: Serum concentrations of about two thirds of the patients were below the recommended range. When not looking at absolute values but at the dose-related reference ranges, these numbers improved but still 32%, respectively 63% of patients had low serum concentrations. High serum concentrations of rivastigmine predicted clinical response to cognition. Therapeutic drug monitoring might help to identify the cause of poor clinical response to cognition and behavioral and psychological symptoms in patients with AChE-I treatment.

Variability of clinical syndromes and cerebral glucose metabolism in symptomatic frontotemporal lobar degeneration associated with progranulin mutations.

Objective: The aims of our study were to describe the clinical phenotype and to characterize the cerebral glucose metabolism patterns as measured with fluordesoxyglucose-positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) in symptomatic FTLD-patients with different GRN variants. Methods: For this study, data were included from all patients (n = 10) of a single-center FTLD registry study who had a pathogenic GRN variant and who had undergone a cerebral FDG-PET scan. Results: An overt variability of clinical phenotypes was identified with half of the cases being not unambiguously classifiable into one of the clinical FTLD subtypes. Furthermore, GRN + patients showed a considerable inter-individual variability of FDG uptake pattern. In half of the GRN + patients, metabolic changes expanded from frontal and temporal brain regions to parietal brain regions including the posterior cingulate cortex. Striking asymmetry without a preference for either hemisphere was overt in half of GRN + cases. Conclusion: We conclude that GRN mutations cause variable patterns of neurodegeneration that often exceed the anatomical boundaries of the frontotemporal brain regions and produce clinical syndromes that cannot clearly be classified into one of the subtypes as defined by the diagnostic criteria.

Integrity of Neurocognitive Networks in Dementing Disorders as Measured with Simultaneous PET/Functional MRI.

Functional MRI (fMRI) studies have reported altered integrity of large-scale neurocognitive networks (NCNs) in dementing disorders. However, findings on the specificity of these alterations in patients with Alzheimer disease (AD) and behavioral-variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) are still limited. Recently, NCNs have been successfully captured using PET with 18F-FDG. Methods: Network integrity was measured in 72 individuals (38 male) with mild AD or bvFTD, and in healthy controls, using a simultaneous resting-state fMRI and 18F-FDG PET. Indices of network integrity were calculated for each subject, network, and imaging modality. Results: In either modality, independent-component analysis revealed 4 major NCNs: anterior default-mode network (DMN), posterior DMN, salience network, and right central executive network (CEN). In fMRI data, the integrity of the posterior DMN was found to be significantly reduced in both patient groups relative to controls. In the AD group the anterior DMN and CEN appeared to be additionally affected. In PET data, only the integrity of the posterior DMN in patients with AD was reduced, whereas 3 remaining networks appeared to be affected only in patients with bvFTD. In a logistic regression analysis, the integrity of the anterior DMN as measured with PET alone accurately differentiated between the patient groups. A correlation between indices of 2 imaging modalities was low overall. Conclusion: FMRI and 18F-FDG PET capture partly different aspects of network integrity. A higher disease specificity for NCNs as derived from PET data supports metabolic connectivity imaging as a promising diagnostic tool.

The overnight reduction of amyloid ß 1-42 plasma levels is diminished by the extent of sleep fragmentation, sAPP-ß, and APOE ε4 in psychiatrists on call.

INTRODUCTION: In mice there might be an association between sleep deprivation and amyloid ß plasma levels. Hence, we examined whether amyloid plasma levels are associated with sleep duration or fragmentation in 17 psychiatrists on-call. METHODS: Amyloid ß (Aß)42, Aß40, and soluble amyloid precursor protein ß (sAPP-ß) plasma concentrations were measured at the beginning and end of 90 on-call nights, and analyzed using generalized linear models. RESULTS: In on-call nights, a 10.7% reduction of Aß42 was revealed overnight. Every single short sleep interruption diminished this reduction by 5.4%, as well as every pg/mL of sAPP-ß by 1.2%, each copy of APOE ε4 by 10.6%, and each year of professional experience by 3.0%. DISCUSSION: The extent of sleep fragmentation diminishes the physiological overnight reduction of Aß42 but not Aß40 plasma levels in the same direction as the enzyme for Aß42 production, the genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD), and on-call experience. Might on-call duty and sleep fragmentation in general alter the risk for AD?

Correction to: Amyloid PET, FDG-PET or MRI? - the power of different imaging biomarkers to detect progression of early Alzheimer's disease.

Following publication of the original article [1], the authors ask to correct the surname of co-author Dennis Hedderich from from Heddderich to Hedderich.

Amyloid PET, FDG-PET or MRI? - the power of different imaging biomarkers to detect progression of early Alzheimer's disease.

BACKGROUND: As investigations of disease modifying drugs aim to slow down progression of Alzheimer' disease (AD) biomarkers to reliably track disease progression gain more importance. This is especially important as clinical symptoms, including psychometric measures, are only modestly associated with the underlying disease pathology, in particular at the pre-dementia stages. The decision which biomarkers to choose in clinical trials is crucial and depends on effect size. However, longitudinal studies of multiple biomarkers in parallel that allow direct comparison on effect size are scarce. METHODS: We calculated effect size and minimal sample size for three common imaging biomarkers of AD, namely amyloid deposition measured with PiB-PET, neuronal dysfunction measured with FDG-PET and cortical thickness measured with MRI in a prospective 24-month follow-up study in a monocentric cohort of early AD. RESULTS: Post hoc power calculation revealed large effect sizes of Cohen's d for PiB-PET and cortical thickness and a small effect size for FDG-PET (1.315, 0.914, and 0.341, respectively). Accordingly, sample sizes for PiB-PET and cortical thickness required significantly smaller sample sizes than FDG-PET to reliably detect statistically significant changes after 24 months in early AD (n = 7, n = 12, and n = 70, respectively). CONCLUSION: Amyloid imaging with PET and measuring cortical thickness with MRI are suitable biomarkers to detect disease progression in early AD within a small sample.

Kallikrein-related peptidases 6 and 10 are elevated in cerebrospinal fluid of patients with Alzheimer's disease and associated with CSF-TAU and FDG-PET.

BACKGROUND: Alterations in the expression of human kallikrein-related peptidases (KLKs) have been described in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). We elucidated the suitability of KLK6, KLK8 and KLK10 to distinguish AD from NC and explored associations with established AD biomarkers. METHODS: KLK levels in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), as determined by ELISA, were compared between 32 AD patients stratified to A/T/(N) system with evidence for amyloid pathology and of 23 normal controls with normal AD biomarkers. Associations between KLK levels and clinical severity, CSF and positron emission tomography (PET) based AD biomarkers were tested for. RESULTS: Levels of KLK6 and KLK10 were significantly increased in AD. KLK6 differed significantly between AD A+/T+/N+ and AD A+/T-/N+ or NC with an AUC of 0.922. CSF pTau and tTau levels were significantly associated with KLK6 in AD. CONCLUSIONS: KLK6 deserves further investigations as a potential biomarker of Tau pathology in AD.

Associations of Neprilysin Activity in CSF with Biomarkers for Alzheimer's Disease.

BACKGROUND: Neprilysin (NEP) cleaves amyloid-ß 1-42 (Aß42) in the brain. Hence, we aimed to elucidate the effect of NEP on Aß42 in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and on in vivo brain amyloid load using amyloid positron emission tomography (PET) with [11C]PiB (Pittsburgh compound B). In addition, associations with the biomarkers for neuronal injury, CSF-tau and FDG-PET, were investigated. METHODS: Associations were calculated using global and voxel-based (SPM8) linear regression analyses in the same cohort of 23 highly characterized Alzheimer's disease patients. RESULTS: CSF-NEP was significantly inversely associated with CSF-Aß42 and positively with the extent of neuronal injury as measured by CSF-tau and FDG-PET. CONCLUSIONS: Our results on CSF-NEP are compatible with the assumption that local degradation, amongst other mechanisms of amyloid clearance, plays a role in the development of Alzheimer's pathology. In addition, CSF-NEP is associated with the extent and the rate of neurodegeneration.

Clinical value of cerebrospinal fluid neurofilament light chain in semantic dementia.

BACKGROUND: Semantic dementia (SD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterised by progressive language problems falling within the clinicopathological spectrum of frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD). The development of disease-modifying agents may be facilitated by the relative clinical and pathological homogeneity of SD, but we need robust monitoring biomarkers to measure their efficacy. In different FTLD subtypes, neurofilament light chain (NfL) is a promising marker, therefore we investigated the utility of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) NfL in SD. METHODS: This large retrospective multicentre study compared cross-sectional CSF NfL levels of 162 patients with SD with 65 controls. CSF NfL levels of patients were correlated with clinical parameters (including survival), neuropsychological test scores and regional grey matter atrophy (including longitudinal data in a subset). RESULTS: CSF NfL levels were significantly higher in patients with SD (median: 2326 pg/mL, IQR: 1628-3593) than in controls (577 (446-766), p<0.001). Higher CSF NfL levels were moderately associated with naming impairment as measured by the Boston Naming Test (rs =-0.32, p=0.002) and with smaller grey matter volume of the parahippocampal gyri (rs =-0.31, p=0.004). However, cross-sectional CSF NfL levels were not associated with progression of grey matter atrophy and did not predict survival. CONCLUSION: CSF NfL is a promising biomarker in the diagnostic process of SD, although it has limited cross-sectional monitoring or prognostic abilities.

FDG-PET underscores the key role of the thalamus in frontotemporal lobar degeneration caused by C9ORF72 mutations.

C9ORF72 mutations are the most common cause of familial frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). MRI studies have investigated structural changes in C9ORF72-associated FTLD (C9FTLD) and provided first insights about a prominent involvement of the thalamus and the cerebellum. Our multicenter, 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron-emission tomography study of 22 mutation carriers with FTLD, 22 matched non-carriers with FTLD, and 23 cognitively healthy controls provided valuable insights into functional changes in C9FTLD: compared to non-carriers, mutation carriers showed a significant reduction of glucose metabolism in both thalami, underscoring the key role of the thalamus in C9FTLD. Thalamic metabolism did not correlate with disease severity, duration of disease, or the presence of psychotic symptoms. Against our expectations we could not demonstrate a cerebellar hypometabolism in carriers or non-carriers. Future imaging and neuropathological studies in large patient cohorts are required to further elucidate the central role of the thalamus in C9FTLD.