Amyloid PET disclosure in subjective cognitive decline: Patient experiences over time.

INTRODUCTION: We disclosed amyloid positron emission tomography (PET) results in individuals with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) and studied patient experiences and outcomes over a 6-month period. METHODS: Fifty-seven participants from the Subjective Cognitive Impairment Cohort (SCIENCe) (66 ± 8 years, 21 [37%] F, Mini-Mental State Examination 29 ± 1, 15 [26%] amyloid positive [A+]) completed questionnaires 1 week prior (T0), 1 day after (T1), and 6 months after amyloid PET disclosure (T2). Questionnaires addressed patient-reported experiences and outcomes. RESULTS: Independent of amyloid status, participants were satisfied with the consultation (scale 1-10; 7.9 ± 1.7) and information provided (scale 1-4; T1: 3.3 ± 0.9, T2: 3.2 ± 0.8). After 6 months, A+ participants reported more information needs (45% vs. 12%, p = 0.02). Independent of amyloid status, decision regret (scale 1-5; A+: 1.5 ± 0.9, A-: 1.4 ± 0.6, p = 0.53) and negative emotions (negative affect, uncertainty, anxiety) were low (all p > 0.15 and Pinteraction > 0.60). DISCUSSION: Participants with SCD valued amyloid PET disclosure positively, regardless of amyloid status. The need for information after 6 months, which was stronger in A+ individuals, underscores the importance of follow-up. HIGHLIGHTS: Participants with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) positively valued amyloid positron emission tomography (PET) disclosure. Participants with SCD experienced low levels of decision regret. We did not observe an increase in negative emotions. After 6 months, amyloid-positive individuals wanted more information.

Digital remote assessment of speech acoustics in cognitively unimpaired adults: feasibility, reliability and associations with amyloid pathology.

BACKGROUND: Digital speech assessment has potential relevance in the earliest, preclinical stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD). We evaluated the feasibility, test-retest reliability, and association with AD-related amyloid-beta (Aß) pathology of speech acoustics measured over multiple assessments in a remote setting. METHODS: Fifty cognitively unimpaired adults (Age 68 ± 6.2 years, 58% female, 46% Aß-positive) completed remote, tablet-based speech assessments (i.e., picture description, journal-prompt storytelling, verbal fluency tasks) for five days. The testing paradigm was repeated after 2-3 weeks. Acoustic speech features were automatically extracted from the voice recordings, and mean scores were calculated over the 5-day period. We assessed feasibility by adherence rates and usability ratings on the System Usability Scale (SUS) questionnaire. Test-retest reliability was examined with intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs). We investigated the associations between acoustic features and Aß-pathology, using linear regression models, adjusted for age, sex and education. RESULTS: The speech assessment was feasible, indicated by 91.6% adherence and usability scores of 86.0 ± 9.9. High reliability (ICC ≥ 0.75) was found across averaged speech samples. Aß-positive individuals displayed a higher pause-to-word ratio in picture description (B = -0.05, p = 0.040) and journal-prompt storytelling (B = -0.07, p = 0.032) than Aß-negative individuals, although this effect lost significance after correction for multiple testing. CONCLUSION: Our findings support the feasibility and reliability of multi-day remote assessment of speech acoustics in cognitively unimpaired individuals with and without Aß-pathology, which lays the foundation for the use of speech biomarkers in the context of early AD.

Development of thresholds and a visualization tool for use of a blood test in routine clinical dementia practice.

INTRODUCTION: We developed a multimarker blood test result interpretation tool for the clinical dementia practice, including phosphorylated (P-)tau181, amyloid-beta (Abeta)42/40, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and neurofilament light (NfL). METHODS: We measured the plasma biomarkers with Simoa (n = 1199), applied LASSO regression for biomarker selection and receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analyses to determine diagnostic accuracy. We validated our findings in two independent cohorts and constructed a visualization approach. RESULTS: P-tau181, GFAP, and NfL were selected. This combination had area under the curve (AUC) = 83% to identify amyloid positivity in pre-dementia stages, AUC = 87%-89% to differentiate Alzheimer's or controls from frontotemporal dementia, AUC = 74%-76% to differentiate Alzheimer's or controls from dementia with Lewy bodies. Highly reproducible AUCs were obtained in independent cohorts. The resulting visualization tool includes UpSet plots to visualize the stand-alone biomarker results and density plots to visualize the biomarker results combined. DISCUSSION: Our multimarker blood test interpretation tool is ready for testing in real-world clinical dementia settings. HIGHLIGHTS: We developed a multimarker blood test interpretation tool for clinical dementia practice. Our interpretation tool includes plasma biomarkers P-tau, GFAP, and NfL. Our tool is particularly useful for Alzheimer's and frontotemporal dementia diagnosis.

Predicting Cognitive Decline in Amyloid-Positive Patients With Mild Cognitive Impairment or Mild Dementia.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Cognitive decline rates in Alzheimer disease (AD) vary greatly. Disease-modifying treatments may alter cognitive decline trajectories, rendering their prediction increasingly relevant. We aimed to construct clinically applicable prediction models of cognitive decline in amyloid-positive patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or mild dementia. METHODS: From the Amsterdam Dementia Cohort, we selected amyloid-positive participants with MCI or mild dementia and at least 2 longitudinal Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) measurements. Amyloid positivity was based on CSF AD biomarker concentrations or amyloid PET. We used linear mixed modeling to predict MMSE over time, describing trajectories using a cubic time curve and interactions between linear time and the baseline predictors age, sex, baseline MMSE, APOE ε4 dose, CSF ß-amyloid (Aß) 1-42 and pTau, and MRI total brain and hippocampal volume. Backward selection was used to reduce model complexity. These models can predict MMSE over follow-up or the time to an MMSE value. MCI and mild dementia were modeled separately. Internal 5-fold cross-validation was performed to calculate the explained variance (R2). RESULTS: In total, 961 participants were included (age 65 ± 7 years, 49% female), 310 had MCI (MMSE 26 ± 2) and 651 had mild dementia (MMSE 22 ± 4), with 4 ± 2 measurements over 2 (interquartile range 1-4) years. Cognitive decline rates increased over time for both MCI and mild dementia (model comparisons linear vs squared vs cubic time fit; p < 0.05 favoring a cubic fit). For MCI, backward selection retained age, sex, and CSF Aß1-42 and pTau concentrations as time-varying effects altering the MMSE trajectory. For mild dementia, retained time-varying effects were Aß1-42, age, APOE ε4, and baseline MMSE. R2 was 0.15 for the MCI model and 0.26 for mild dementia in internal cross-validation. A hypothetical patient with MCI, baseline MMSE 28, and CSF Aß1-42 of 925 pg/mL was predicted to reach an MMSE of 20 after 6.0 years (95% CI 5.4-6.7) and after 8.6 years with a hypothetical treatment reducing decline by 30%. DISCUSSION: We constructed models for MCI and mild dementia that predict MMSE over time. These models could inform patients about their potential cognitive trajectory and the remaining uncertainty and aid in conversations about individualized potential treatment effects.

Alzheimer's Disease and Cognitive Decline in Patients with Cardiovascular Diseases Along the Heart-Brain Axis.

Background: We hypothesize that Alzheimer's disease (AD)-related pathology may accelerate cognitive decline in patients with cardiovascular diseases. Objective: To investigate the association between blood-based biomarkers of AD, astrocyte activation, and neurodegeneration and cognitive decline. Methods: From the multi-center Heart-Brain study, we included 412 patients with heart failure, carotid occlusive disease or vascular cognitive impairment (age:68.6±9.0) and 128 reference participants (65.7±7.5). Baseline amyloid-ß42/40 (Aß42/40), phosphorylated-tau181 (pTau181), glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and neurofilament light (NfL) were determined using SiMoA (Quanterix). Memory, attention, language, and executive functioning were evaluated (follow-up:2.1±0.3 years). We applied linear mixed models with terms for biomarker, time and biomarker*time interactions, adjusted for age, sex, education, and site, to assess associations between biomarkers and cognitive decline. Results: Among patients, Aß42/40 was not associated with cognitive performance at baseline. However, lower Aß42/40 was associated with steeper decline in global cognition (ß±SE:0.04±0.02). Higher pTau181 was associated with worse baseline performance on global cognition (-0.14±0.04) and memory (-0.31±0.09) and with steeper decline in global cognition (-0.07±0.02), memory (-0.09±0.04), attention (-0.05±0.02), and language (-0.10±0.03). Higher GFAP was associated with worse baseline performance on global cognition (-0.22±0.05), memory (-0.43±0.10), attention (-0.14±0.06), language (-0.15±0.05), and executive functioning (-0.15±0.05) and steeper decline in global cognition (-0.05±0.01). Higher NfL was associated with worse baseline performance on global cognition (-0.16±0.04), memory (-0.28±0.09), attention (-0.20±0.06), and executive functioning (-0.10±0.04), but was not associated with performance over time. In reference participants, no associations were found. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that blood-based biomarkers of AD-related pathology predict cognitive decline in patients with cardiovascular diseases.

Visual associative learning to detect early episodic memory deficits and distinguish Alzheimer's disease from other types of dementia.

OBJECTIVE: We investigated how well a visual associative learning task discriminates Alzheimer's disease (AD) dementia from other types of dementia and how it relates to AD pathology. METHODS: 3,599 patients (63.9 ± 8.9 years old, 41% female) from the Amsterdam Dementia Cohort completed two sets of the Visual Association Test (VAT) in a single test session and underwent magnetic resonance imaging. We performed receiver operating curve analysis to investigate the VAT's discriminatory ability between AD dementia and other diagnoses and compared it to that of other episodic memory tests. We tested associations between VAT performance and medial temporal lobe atrophy (MTA), and amyloid status (n = 2,769, 77%). RESULTS: Patients with AD dementia performed worse on the VAT than all other patients. The VAT discriminated well between AD and other types of dementia (area under the curve range 0.70-0.86), better than other episodic memory tests. Six-hundred forty patients (17.8%) learned all associations on VAT-A, but not on VAT-B, and they were more likely to have higher MTA scores (odds ratios range 1.63 (MTA 0.5) through 5.13 for MTA ≥ 3, all p < .001) and to be amyloid positive (odds ratio = 3.38, 95%CI = [2.71, 4.22], p < .001) than patients who learned all associations on both sets. CONCLUSIONS: Performance on the VAT, especially on a second set administered immediately after the first, discriminates AD from other types of dementia and is associated with MTA and amyloid positivity. The VAT might be a useful, simple tool to assess early episodic memory deficits in the presence of AD pathology.

Cognitive and Functional Change Over Time in Cognitively Healthy Individuals According to Alzheimer Disease Biomarker-Defined Subgroups.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: It is unclear to what extent cognitive outcome measures are sensitive to capture decline in Alzheimer disease (AD) prevention trials. We aimed to analyze the sensitivity to changes over time of a range of neuropsychological tests in several cognitively unimpaired, biomarker-defined patient groups. METHODS: Cognitively unimpaired individuals from the Amsterdam Dementia Cohort and the SCIENCe project with available AD biomarkers, obtained from CSF, PET scans, and plasma at baseline, were followed over time (4.5 ± 3.1 years, range 0.6-18.9 years). Based on common inclusion criteria for clinical trials, we defined groups (amyloid, phosphorylated tau [p-tau], APOE ε4). Linear mixed models, adjusted for age, sex, and education, were used to estimate change over time in neuropsychological tests, a functional outcome, and 2 cognitive composite measures. Standardized regression coefficients of time in years (ßtime) were reported as outcome of interest. We analyzed change over time with full follow-up, as well as with follow-up limited to 1.5 and 3 years. RESULTS: We included 387 individuals (aged 61.7 ± 8.6 years; 44% female) in the following (partly overlapping) biomarker groups: APOE ε4 carriers (n = 212), amyloid-positive individuals (n = 109), amyloid-positive APOE ε4 carriers (n = 66), CSF p-tau-positive individuals (n = 127), plasma p-tau-positive individuals (n = 71), and amyloid and CSF p-tau-positive individuals (n = 50), or in a control group (normal biomarkers; n = 65). An executive functioning task showed most decline in all biomarker groups (ßtime range -0.30 to -0.71), followed by delayed word list recognition (ßtime range -0.18 to -0.50). Functional decline (ßtime range -0.17 to -0.63) was observed in all, except the CSF and plasma tau-positive groups. Both composites showed comparable amounts of change (ßtime range -0.12 to -0.62) in all groups, except plasma p-tau-positive individuals. When limiting original follow-up duration, many effects disappeared or even flipped direction. DISCUSSION: In conclusion, functional, composite, and neuropsychological outcome measures across all cognitive domains detect changes over time in various biomarker-defined groups, with changes being most evident among individuals with more AD pathology. AD prevention trials should use sufficiently long follow-up duration and/or more sensitive outcome measures to optimally capture subtle cognitive changes over time.

Interest in genetic susceptibility testing and disclosure of AD dementia risk in cognitively normal adults: a survey study.

BACKGROUND: Apolipoprotein-E (APOE) genetic testing for Alzheimer's disease is becoming more important as clinical trials are increasingly targeting individuals carrying APOE-ε4 alleles. Little is known about the interest in finding out one's genetic risk for Alzheimer's disease in the general population. Our objective was to examine this in a sample of cognitively normal (CN) adults within a population-based online research registry with the goal to implement APOE-ε4 status for trial recruitment. METHODS: An online survey was completed by 442 CN participants between the age of 49 and 75 years (56% female) from the Dutch Brain Research Registry. The survey assessed interest in participation in research into, and disclosure of, genetic risk for dementia. The survey assessed interest in participation in research into, and disclosure of, genetic risk for dementia and knowing their genetic risk in different hypothetical risk scenarios (10%, 30%, and 50% genetic risk for dementia at age 85, corresponding to APOEε2/ε2 or ε2/ε3, APOEε3/ε4 or ε2ε4, and APOE-ε4/ε4 genotypes). Cochran's Q and post hoc McNemar tests were used to analyse differences in frequencies across scenarios. RESULTS: Most participants were interested in participating in research into and disclosure of their genetic risk (81%). The most reported reason was to contribute to scientific research (94%). Interest was higher in males, whilst lower-educated participants were more often undecided. When provided with different risk scenarios, interest in knowing their risk was somewhat higher in the scenarios with higher risk, i.e. in the 50% (79%) compared to the 10% scenario (73%;χ2(2) = 7.98; p = .005). Most individuals expected they would share their genetic risk with close relatives (77-89%), would participate in medication trials (79-88%), and would make long-term arrangements, e.g. retirement, health care, will (69-82%), with larger proportions for scenarios with higher hypothetical genetic risk. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that the vast majority of CN adults participating in a research registry expresses interest in AD genetic risk research and disclosure. Interest in genetic risk disclosure is higher in scenarios corresponding to the APOE-ε4 genotype. This suggests APOE-ε4 screening within an online research registry is potentially a well-received method to accelerate inclusion for trials.

Contributions of amyloid beta and cerebral small vessel disease in clinical decline.

INTRODUCTION: We assessed whether co-morbid small vessel disease (SVD) has clinical predictive value in preclinical or prodromal Alzheimer's disease. METHODS: In 1090 non-demented participants (65.4 ± 10.7 years) SVD was assessed with magnetic resonance imaging and amyloid beta (Aß) with lumbar puncture and/or positron emission tomography scan (mean follow-up for cognitive function 3.1 ± 2.4 years). RESULTS: Thirty-nine percent had neither Aß nor SVD (A-V-), 21% had SVD only (A-V+), 23% Aß only (A+V-), and 17% had both (A+V+). Pooled cohort linear mixed model analyses demonstrated that compared to A-V- (reference), A+V- had a faster rate of cognitive decline. Co-morbid SVD (A+V+) did not further increase rate of decline. Cox regression showed that dementia risk was modestly increased in A-V+ (hazard ratio [95% confidence interval: 1.8 [1.0-3.2]) and most strongly in A+ groups. Also, mortality risk was increased in A+ groups. DISCUSSION: In non-demented persons Aß was predictive of cognitive decline, dementia, and mortality. SVD modestly predicts dementia in A-, but did not increase deleterious effects in A+. HIGHLIGHTS: Amyloid beta (Aß; A) was predictive for cognitive decline, dementia, and mortality. Small vessel disease (SVD) had no additional deleterious effects in A+. SVD modestly predicted dementia in A-. Aß should be assessed even when magnetic resonance imaging indicates vascular cognitive impairment.

Communication about diagnosis, prognosis, and prevention in the memory clinic: perspectives of European memory clinic professionals.

BACKGROUND: The paradigm shift towards earlier Alzheimer's disease (AD) stages and personalized medicine creates new challenges for clinician-patient communication. We conducted a survey among European memory clinic professionals to identify opinions on communication about (etiological) diagnosis, prognosis, and prevention, and inventory needs for augmenting communication skills. METHODS: Memory clinic professionals (N = 160) from 21 European countries completed our online survey (59% female, 14 ± 10 years' experience, 73% working in an academic hospital). We inventoried (1) opinions on communication about (etiological) diagnosis, prognosis, and prevention using 11 statements; (2) current communication practices in response to five hypothetical cases (AD dementia, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), subjective cognitive decline (SCD), with ( +) or without ( -) abnormal AD biomarkers); and (3) needs for communication support regarding ten listed communication skills. RESULTS: The majority of professionals agreed that communication on diagnosis, prognosis, and prevention should be personalized to the individual patient. In response to the hypothetical patient cases, disease stage influenced the inclination to communicate an etiological AD diagnosis: 97% would explicitly mention the presence of AD to the patient with AD dementia, 68% would do so in MCI + , and 29% in SCD + . Furthermore, 58% would explicitly rule out AD in case of MCI - when talking to patients, and 69% in case of SCD - . Almost all professionals (79-99%) indicated discussing prognosis and prevention with all patients, of which a substantial part (48-86%) would personalize their communication to patients' diagnostic test results (39-68%) or patients' anamnestic information (33-82%). The majority of clinicians (79%) would like to use online tools, training, or both to support them in communicating with patients. Topics for which professionals desired support most were: stimulating patients' understanding of information, and communicating uncertainty, dementia risk, remotely/online, and with patients not (fluently) speaking the language of the country of residence. CONCLUSIONS: In a survey of European memory clinic professionals, we found a strong positive attitude towards communication with patients about (etiological) diagnosis, prognosis, and prevention, and personalization of communication to characteristics and needs of individual patients. In addition, professionals expressed a need for supporting tools and skills training to further improve their communication with patients.

Plasma-derived biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease and neuropsychiatric symptoms: A community-based study.

INTRODUCTION: We examined associations between plasma-derived biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) in community-dwelling older adults. METHODS: Cross-sectional study involving 1005 persons ≥50 years of age (mean 74 years, 564 male, 118 cognitively impaired), who completed plasma-derived biomarker (amyloid beta 42 [Aß42]/Aß40, phosphorylated tau 181 [p-tau181], p-tau217, total tau [t-tau], neurofilament light [NfL]), and NPS assessment. RESULTS: P-tau181 (odds ratio [OR] 2.06, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.41-3.00, p < 0.001), p-tau217 (OR 1.70, 95% CI 1.10-2.61, p = 0.016), and t-tau (OR 1.44, 95% CI 1.08-1.92, p = 0.012) were associated with appetite change. We also found that p-tau181 and p-tau217 were associated with increased symptoms of agitation (OR 1.93, 95% CI 1.20-3.11, p = 0.007 and OR 2.04, 95% CI 1.21-3.42, p = 0.007, respectively), and disinhibition (OR 2.39, 95% CI 1.45-3.93, p = 0.001 and OR 2.30, 95% CI 1.33-3.98, p = 0.003, respectively). Aß42/Aß40 and NfL were not associated with NPS. CONCLUSION: Higher plasma-derived p-tau181 and p-tau217 levels are associated with increased symptoms of appetite change, agitation, and disinhibition. These findings may support the validity of plasma tau biomarkers for predicting behavioral symptoms that often accompany cognitive impairment. HIGHLIGHTS: We studied 1005 community-dwelling persons aged ≥ 50 yearsHigher plasma tau levels are associated with increased neuropsychiatric symptomsAß42/Aß40 and NfL are not associated with neuropsychiatric symptomsClinicians should treat neuropsychiatric symptoms in persons with high plasma-derived tau.

Rationale and design of the ABOARD project (A Personalized Medicine Approach for Alzheimer's Disease).

The key to stopping Alzheimer's disease (AD) lies in the pre-dementia stages, with the goal to stop AD before dementia has started. We present the rationale and design of the ABOARD (A Personalized Medicine Approach for Alzheimer's Disease) project, which aims to invest in personalized medicine for AD. ABOARD is a Dutch public-private partnership of 32 partners, connecting stakeholders from a scientific, clinical, and societal perspective. The 5-year project is structured into five work packages on (1) diagnosis, (2) prediction, (3) prevention, (4) patient-orchestrated care, and (5) communication and dissemination. ABOARD functions as a network organization in which professionals interact cross-sectorally. ABOARD has a strong junior training program "Juniors On Board." Project results are shared with society through multiple communication resources. By including relevant partners and involving citizens at risk, patients, and their care partners, ABOARD builds toward a future with personalized medicine for AD. Highlights: ABOARD (A Personalized Medicine Approach for Alzheimer's Disease) is a public-private research project executed by 32 partners that functions as a network organization.Together, the project partners build toward a future with personalized medicine for Alzheimer's disease.Although ABOARD is a Dutch consortium, it has international relevance.ABOARD improves diagnosis, prediction, prevention, and patient-orchestrated care.

Linking self-perceived cognitive functioning questionnaires using item response theory: The subjective cognitive decline initiative.

OBJECTIVE: Self-perceived cognitive functioning, considered highly relevant in the context of aging and dementia, is assessed in numerous ways-hindering the comparison of findings across studies and settings. Therefore, the present study aimed to link item-level self-report questionnaire data from international aging studies. METHOD: We harmonized secondary data from 24 studies and 40 different questionnaires with item response theory (IRT) techniques using a graded response model with a Bayesian estimator. We compared item information curves to identify items with high measurement precision at different levels of the self-perceived cognitive functioning latent trait. Data from 53,030 neuropsychologically intact older adults were included, from 13 English language and 11 non-English (or mixed) language studies. RESULTS: We successfully linked all questionnaires and demonstrated that a single-factor structure was reasonable for the latent trait. Items that made the greatest contribution to measurement precision (i.e., "top items") assessed general and specific memory problems and aspects of executive functioning, attention, language, calculation, and visuospatial skills. These top items originated from distinct questionnaires and varied in format, range, time frames, response options, and whether they captured ability and/or change. CONCLUSIONS: This was the first study to calibrate self-perceived cognitive functioning data of geographically diverse older adults. The resulting item scores are on the same metric, facilitating joint or pooled analyses across international studies. Results may lead to the development of new self-perceived cognitive functioning questionnaires guided by psychometric properties, content, and other important features of items in our item bank. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Decreased emotion recognition and reduced focus on facial hallmarks in behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia compared to primary psychiatric disorders and controls.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Early diagnosis of behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) is challenging due to symptomatic overlap with primary psychiatric disorders (PPD). As emotion recognition deficits are early and key features of bvFTD, the aim was to explore processes driving social cognition deficits that may aid in the differentiation between bvFTD and PPD. METHODS: The total sample (N = 51) included 18 patients with bvFTD, 11 patients with PPD (mood, autism spectrum and psychotic disorders) and 22 controls from the Alzheimer Center Amsterdam of the Amsterdam UMC. Emotion recognition was assessed with the Ekman 60 Faces test, during which eye tracking metrics were collected in the first 5 s a face was presented. Group differences in dwell time on the total image as well as the circumscribed eyes area and mouth area were analysed using ANOVA, with post hoc comparisons. RESULTS: Patients with bvFTD scored lowest, patients with PPD scored intermediate and controls scored highest on emotion recognition. During facial processing, patients with bvFTD spent less dwell time on the total image than controls (mean difference 11.3%, F(2, 48) = 6.095, p = 0.004; bvFTD-controls p = 0.001, 95% confidence interval [CI] -892.64, -239.70). Dwell time on the eyes area did not differ between diagnostic groups, whilst patients with bvFTD spent less dwell time on the mouth area than PPD patients (mean difference 10.7%; F(2, 48) = 3.423, p = 0.041; bvFTD-PPD p = 0.022, 95% CI -986.38, -79.47) and controls (mean difference 7.8%; bvFTD-controls p = 0.043, 95% CI -765.91, -12.76). CONCLUSIONS: In bvFTD, decreased emotion recognition may be related to reduced focus on facial hallmarks. These findings suggest a valuable role for biometrics in social cognition assessment and the differentiation between bvFTD and PPD.

Investigating Compensatory Brain Activity in Older Adults with Subjective Cognitive Decline.

BACKGROUND: Preclinical Alzheimer's disease (AD) is one possible cause of subjective cognitive decline (SCD). Normal task performance despite ongoing neurodegeneration is typically considered as neuronal compensation, which is reflected by greater neuronal activity. Compensatory brain activity has been observed in frontal as well as parietal regions in SCD, but data are scarce, especially outside the memory domain. OBJECTIVE: To investigate potential compensatory activity in SCD. Such compensatory activity is particularly expected in participants where blood-based biomarkers indicated amyloid positivity as this implies preclinical AD. METHODS: 52 participants with SCD (mean age: 71.00±5.70) underwent structural and functional neuroimaging (fMRI), targeting episodic memory and spatial abilities, and a neuropsychological assessment. The estimation of amyloid positivity was based on plasma amyloid-ß and phosphorylated tau (pTau181) measures. RESULTS: Our fMRI analyses of the spatial abilities task did not indicate compensation, with only three voxels exceeding an uncorrected threshold at p < 0.001. This finding was not replicated in a subset of 23 biomarker positive individuals. CONCLUSION: Our results do not provide conclusive evidence for compensatory brain activity in SCD. It is possible that neuronal compensation does not manifest at such an early stage as SCD. Alternatively, it is possible that our sample size was too small or that compensatory activity may be too heterogeneous to be detected by group-level statistics. Interventions based on the individual fMRI signal should therefore be explored.

Changes in self- and study partner-perceived cognitive functioning in relation to amyloid status and future clinical progression: Findings from the SCIENCe project.

INTRODUCTION: We investigated changes in self- and study partner-reported self-perceived cognitive decline in relation to amyloid pathology and clinical progression, in a sample of cognitively normal individuals. METHODS: A total of 404 participants (63 ± 9 years, 44% female) and their study partners completed the Cognitive Change Index (CCI) yearly (0.7-6.8 follow-up years; n visits = 1436). Baseline and longitudinal associations between (change in) CCI scores, amyloid, and clinical progression were modeled in linear mixed models and Cox regressions. RESULTS: CCI-study partner scores of amyloid-positive individuals increased over time (B = 1.79, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [0.51, 3.06]), while CCI-self scores remained stable (B = -0.45, 95% CI = [-1.77, 0.87]). Ten-point higher baseline CCI-study partner (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.75, 95% CI = [1.30, 2.36]) and CCI-self scores (HR = 1.90, 95% CI = [1.40, 2.58]) were associated with an approximately 2-fold increased risk of progression to mild cognitive impairment or dementia. DISCUSSION: Study partner-reported but not self-perceived complaints increase over time in amyloid-positive individuals, supporting the value of longitudinal study partner report, even in initially cognitively normal individuals.

Association between CSF biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease and neuropsychiatric symptoms: Mayo Clinic Study of Aging.

INTRODUCTION: We examined the association between cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)-derived biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease and neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) in older non-demented adults. METHODS: We included 784 persons (699 cognitively unimpaired, 85 with mild cognitive impairment) aged ≥ 50 years who underwent CSF amyloid beta (Aß42), hyperphosphorylated tau 181 (p-tau), and total tau (t-tau) as well as NPS assessment using Beck Depression and Anxiety Inventories (BDI-II, BAI), and Neuropsychiatric Inventory Questionnaire (NPI-Q). RESULTS: Lower CSF Aß42, and higher t-tau/Aß42 and p-tau/Aß42 ratios were associated with BDI-II and BAI total scores, clinical depression (BDI-II ≥ 13), and clinical anxiety (BAI ≥ 10), as well as NPI-Q-assessed anxiety, apathy, and nighttime behavior. DISCUSSION: CSF Aß42, t-tau/Aß42, and p-tau/Aß42 ratios were associated with NPS in community-dwelling individuals free of dementia. If confirmed by a longitudinal cohort study, the findings have clinical relevance of taking into account the NPS status of individuals with abnormal CSF biomarkers.

Life satisfaction across the entire trajectory of Alzheimer's disease: A mediation analysis.

Introduction: We studied life satisfaction across Alzheimer's disease (AD) stages and studied mobility and meaningful activities as mediators of the associations between these AD stages and life satisfaction. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we included n = 269 amyloid-positive patients with subjective cognitive decline (SCD), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and AD dementia from the Amsterdam Dementia Cohort. Life satisfaction was measured with the satisfaction with life scale. The mediating role of transportation, work, sports, and hobbies on life satisfaction was examined in single and multiple mediator models. Results: Patients with dementia are less satisfied with life compared to SCD and MCI. These differences in life satisfaction are explained by reduced participation in meaningful activities, which in turn, was largely attributable to decreased transportation use. Discussion: Our findings suggest that improving access to transportation, therewith allowing participation in meaningful activities help to maintain life satisfaction and may be an important target for intervention.

Age- and disease-specific reference values for neurofilament light presented in an online interactive support interface.

Interpretation of axonal damage biomarker Neurofilament Light chain (NfL) concentrations is difficult due to the lack of age-specific and disease-specific reference values. We here developed an interactive interface to support interpretation of NfL results in human body fluids. We used NfL values of 1698 individuals without a neurological disorder, aged 19-85 years, and patients with MS and dementias. Percentile regression estimates per diagnosis populate interactive graphs, alongside NfL background information (available on: https://mybiomarkers.shinyapps.io/Neurofilament). This accessible interface provides reference for interpretation of the individual patient results for clinicians. It showcases an adaptable method to support interpretation of age-dependent biomarkers in neurology.

A longitudinal study on quality of life along the spectrum of Alzheimer's disease.

BACKGROUND: Quality of life (QoL) is an important outcome from the perspective of patients and their caregivers, in both dementia and pre-dementia stages. Yet, little is known about the long-term changes in QoL over time. We aimed to compare the trajectories of QoL between amyloid-positive and amyloid-negative SCD or MCI patients and to evaluate QoL trajectories along the Alzheimer's disease (AD) continuum of cognitively normal to dementia. METHODS: We included longitudinal data of 447 subjective cognitive decline (SCD), 276 mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and 417 AD dementia patients from the Amsterdam Dementia Cohort. We compared QoL trajectories (EQ-5D and visual analog scale (VAS)) between (1) amyloid-positive and amyloid-negative SCD or MCI patients and (2) amyloid-positive SCD, MCI, and dementia patients with linear mixed-effect models. The models were adjusted for age, sex, Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), education, and EQ-5D scale (3 or 5 level). RESULTS: In SCD, amyloid-positive participants had a higher VAS at baseline but showed a steeper decline over time in EQ-5D and VAS than amyloid-negative participants. Also, in MCI, amyloid-positive patients had higher QoL at baseline but subsequently showed a steeper decline in QoL over time compared to amyloid-negative patients. When we compared amyloid-positive patients along the Alzheimer continuum, we found no difference between SCD, MCI, or dementia in baseline QoL, but QoL decreased at a faster rate in the dementia stage compared with the of SCD and MCI stages. CONCLUSIONS: QoL decreased at a faster rate over time in amyloid-positive SCD or MCI patients than amyloid-negative patients. QoL decreases over time along the entire AD continuum of SCD, MCI and dementia, with the strongest decrease in dementia patients. Knowledge of QoL trajectories is essential for the future evaluation of treatments in AD.