Neural correlates of subjective cognitive decline in adults at high risk for Alzheimer's disease.

Introduction: Recently, interest has emerged in subjective cognitive decline (SCD) as a potential precursor to Alzheimer's disease (AD) dementia. Whether individuals with SCD harbor brain alterations in midlife, when AD-related pathology begins, is yet to be elucidated. Furthermore, the role of apolipoprotein ε4 (APOE ε4) allele, a robust AD risk factor, in the relationship between SCD and brain alterations is unknown. We examined whether APOE genotype modulates the association of SCD with brain measures in individuals at high AD risk. Methods: Middle-aged adults with parental history of AD dementia underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and the Memory Functioning Questionnaire. Regression analysis tested the extent to which SCD was associated with activation during an functional MRI (fMRI) working-memory task, and white-matter microstructure. APOE ε4 genotype was tested as a moderator. Results: Among APOE ε4 carriers, but not among non-carriers, SCD was associated with higher activation in the anterior cingulate (p = 0.003), inferior, middle, and superior frontal cortices (p = 0.041, p = 0.048, p = 0.037, respectively); and with lower fractional anisotropy in the uncinate fasciculus (p = 0.002), adjusting for age, sex, and education. Conclusion: In middle aged, cognitively normal individuals at high AD risk, higher SCD was associated with greater brain alterations possibly reflecting incipient AD pathology. When accompanied by a family history of AD and an APOE ε4 allele, SCD may have important clinical value, allowing a window for early intervention and for participants' stratification in AD prevention clinical trials.

Machine learning for comprehensive prediction of high risk for Alzheimer's disease based on chromatic pupilloperimetry.

Currently there are no reliable biomarkers for early detection of Alzheimer's disease (AD) at the preclinical stage. This study assessed the pupil light reflex (PLR) for focal red and blue light stimuli in central and peripheral retina in 125 cognitively normal middle age subjects (45-71 years old) at high risk for AD due to a family history of the disease (FH+), and 61 age-similar subjects with no family history of AD (FH-) using Chromatic Pupilloperimetry coupled with Machine Learning (ML). All subjects had normal ophthalmic assessment, and normal retinal and optic nerve thickness by optical coherence tomography. No significant differences were observed between groups in cognitive function and volumetric brain MRI. Chromatic pupilloperimetry-based ML models were highly discriminative in differentiating subjects with and without AD family history, using transient PLR for focal red (primarily cone-mediated), and dim blue (primarily rod-mediated) light stimuli. Features associated with transient pupil response latency (PRL) achieved Area Under the Curve Receiver Operating Characteristic (AUC-ROC) of 0.90 ± 0.051 (left-eye) and 0.87 ± 0.048 (right-eye). Parameters associated with the contraction arm of the rod and cone-mediated PLR were more discriminative compared to parameters associated with the relaxation arm and melanopsin-mediated PLR. Significantly shorter PRL for dim blue light was measured in the FH+ group in two test targets in the temporal visual field in right eye that had highest relative weight in the ML algorithm (mean ± standard error, SE 0.449 s ± 0.007 s vs. 0.478 s ± 0.010 s, p = 0.038). Taken together our study suggests that subtle focal changes in pupil contraction latency may be detected in subjects at high risk to develop AD, decades before the onset of AD clinical symptoms. The dendrites of melanopsin containing retinal ganglion cells may be affected very early at the preclinical stages of AD.

Thicker macula in asymptomatic APOE Ɛ4 middle-aged adults at high AD risk.

INTRODUCTION: We compared retinal layers' thickness between apolipoprotein E (APOE) Ɛ4 carriers and non-carriers in a cohort of cognitively normal middle-aged adults enriched for Alzheimer's disease (AD) risk. METHODS: Participants (N = 245) underwent spectral domain optical coherence tomography. Multivariate analyses of covariance adjusting for age, sex, education, and best corrected vision acuity was used to compare retinal thickness between APOE groups. RESULTS: Participants' mean age was 59.60 (standard deviation = 6.42) with 66.4% women and 32.2% APOE Ɛ4 carriers. Greater macular full thickness was observed in APOE Ɛ4 carriers compared to non-carriers (P = .017), reaching statistical significance for the inner and outer nasal (P = .009 and P = .005, respectively), inner superior (P = .041), and inner and outer inferior (P = .013 and P = .033, respectively) sectors. The differences between APOE groups were mainly driven by the ganglion cell layer (P < .05) and the inner plexiform layer (P < .05). DISCUSSION: A thicker macula is observed already in midlife asymptomatic APOE Ɛ4 carriers at high AD risk.

Long-term trajectories and current BMI are associated with poorer cognitive functioning in middle-aged adults at high Alzheimer's disease risk.

INTRODUCTION: We examined relationships of body mass index (BMI) with cognition in middle-aged adults at Alzheimer's disease (AD) risk due to parental family history. METHODS: Participants are offspring of AD patients from the Israel Registry of Alzheimer's Prevention (N = 271). Linear regressions assessed associations of BMI and cognition, and whether associations differed by maternal/paternal history. Analyses of covariance examined associations of long-term trajectories of BMI with cognition. RESULTS: Higher BMI was associated with worse language (P = .045). Interactions of BMI with parental history were significant for episodic memory (P = .023), language (p = .027), working memory (P = .006), global cognition (P = .008); associations were stronger among participants with maternal history. Interactions of BMI trajectories with parental history were significant for episodic memory (P = .017), language (P = .013), working memory (P = .001), global cognition (P = .005), with stronger associations for maternal history. DISCUSSION: Higher BMI and overweight/obese trajectories were associated with poorer cognition in adults with maternal history of AD, but not those with paternal history.

The Israel Registry for Alzheimer's Prevention (IRAP) Study: Design and Baseline Characteristics.

BACKGROUND: Family history of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is associated with increased dementia-risk. OBJECTIVE: The Israel Registry for Alzheimer's Prevention (IRAP) is a prospective longitudinal study of asymptomatic middle-aged offspring of AD patients (family history positive; FH+) and controls (whose parents have aged without dementia; FH-) aimed to unravel the contribution of midlife factors to future cognitive decline and dementia. Here we present the study design, methods, and baseline characteristics. METHODS: Participants are members of the Maccabi Health Services, 40-65 years of age, with exquisitely detailed laboratory, medical diagnoses and medication data available in the Maccabi electronic medical records since 1998. Data collected through IRAP include genetic, sociodemographic, cognitive, brain imaging, lifestyle, and health-related characteristics at baseline and every three years thereafter. RESULTS: Currently IRAP has 483 participants [mean age 54.95 (SD = 6.68) and 64.8% (n = 313) women], 379 (78.5%) FH+, and 104 (21.5%) FH-. Compared to FH-, FH+ participants were younger (p = 0.011), more often males (p = 0.003) and with a higher prevalence of the APOE E4 allele carriers (32.9% FH+, 22% FH-; p = 0.040). Adjusting for age, sex, and education, FH+ performed worse than FH-in global cognition (p = 0.027) and episodic memory (p = 0.022). CONCLUSION: Lower cognitive scores and higher rates of the APOE E4 allele carriers among the FH+ group suggest that FH ascertainment is good. The combination of long-term historical health-related data available through Maccabi with the multifactorial information collected through IRAP will potentially enable development of dementia-prevention strategies already in midlife, a critical period in terms of risk factor exposure and initiation of AD-neuropathology.

Blue Autofluorescence Fundus Imaging for Monitoring Retinal Degeneration in Royal College of Surgeons Rats.

PURPOSE: Development of a method for noninvasive longitudinal follow-up of retinal degeneration in the whole retina for Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) rats, a commonly used model of retinitis pigmentosa associated with mutations in the MER-proto-oncogene tyrosine kinase (MERTK) gene. METHODS: Pigmented RCS rats at postnatal (p) days p28 to p84 were subjected to a biweekly spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT), blue laser fundus autofluorescence (BL-FAF) imaging, and multicolor fundus imaging. Wild-type (WT; Long Evans) rats were tested as control. RESULTS: Hyperautofluorescence developed throughout the fundus at p42, concomitant with a significant increase in SD-OCT thickness and reflectivity of the debris zone (DZ) layer as well as thinning of the photoreceptor outer nuclear layer (ONL). From p56 to p84, discrete hypofluorescent lesions surrounded by hyperfluorescent flecks were demonstrated around the optic disc that gradually spread throughout the retina. The hypofluorescent lesions were associated with loss of ONL and gradual thinning of the DZ layer. No hypofluorescent BL-FAF lesions were observed in WT rats. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that BL-FAF imaging may present a new method for noninvasive longitudinal follow-up of retinal degeneration in nearly the whole retina in RCS rats. TRANSLATIONAL RELEVANCE: A clinical test was developed that may be implemented in translational studies in the RCS rat model of MERTK-associated retinitis pigmentosa.

The CADM2 gene is associated with processing speed performance - evidence among elderly with type 2 diabetes.

Objectives: Recent large-scale meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) from multiple cohorts, demonstrated the association of the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs17518584, with processing speed (measured by the Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST) or the Letter Digit Substitution Test (LDST)), at GWAS significance level. This SNP is located within the cell adhesion molecule 2 (CADM2) gene. We aimed to validate this finding in our sample of 944 cognitively normal Jewish elderly individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D), a population which is at risk for cognitive decline and dementia.Methods: Using linear regression, we studied the association of rs17518584 with DSST performance, adjusting for demographic, T2D-related characteristics and cardiovascular factors. In secondary analyses, associations with performance in four cognitive domains (episodic memory, language/semantic categorisation, attention/working memory and executive function) and overall cognition were examined.Results: Controlling for sex, age at cognitive assessment, years of education and ancestry, we found a significant association of rs17518584 with DSST performance (P = 0.013), consistent with the originally reported effect direction. Results remained significant even when the additional covariates (T2D-related and cardiovascular factors) were included in the analysis (P = 0.034). Moreover, this SNP was significantly associated with performance in the cognitive domains of language/semantic categorisation and executive function, as well as overall cognition.Conclusions: Taken together, irrespective of T2D-related characteristics and cardiovascular factors, our findings provide independent support for the association of CADM2 SNP rs17518584 with processing speed (and demonstrate association with additional cognitive phenotypes), among cognitively normal elderly individuals with T2D.

Chromatic pupilloperimetry for objective diagnosis of Best vitelliform macular dystrophy.

PURPOSE: To determine the pupil response of Best vitelliform macular dystrophy (BVMD) patients for focal blue and red light stimuli presented at 76 test points in a 16.2° visual field (VF) using a chromatic pupilloperimeter. METHODS: An observational study was conducted in 16 participants: 7 BVMD patients with a heterozygous BEST1 mutation and 9 similar-aged controls. All participants were tested for best-corrected visual acuity, chromatic pupilloperimetry and Humphrey perimetry. Percentage of pupil contraction (PPC), maximal pupil contraction velocity (MCV) and latency of MCV (LMCV) were determined. RESULTS: The mean PPC and MCV recorded in BVMD patients in response to red stimuli were lower by >2 standard errors (SEs) from the mean of controls in 47% and 43% of VF test points, respectively. The mean PPC and MCV recorded in the patients in response to blue stimuli were lower by >2 SEs from the mean of controls in 36% and 24% of VF test points, respectively. The patients' mean and median MCV recorded in response to red light correlated with their Humphrey mean deviation score (r=-0.714, P=0.071 and r=-0.821, P=0.023, respectively) and visual acuity (r=0.709, P=0.074 and r=0.655, P=0.111, respectively). A substantially shorter mean LMCV was recorded in BVMD patients compared to controls in 54% and 93% of VF test points in response to red and blue light, respectively. Receiver operating characteristic analysis for LMCV in response to red light identified a test point at the center of the VF with high diagnostic accuracy (area under the curve of 0.94). CONCLUSION: Chromatic pupilloperimetry may potentially be used for objective noninvasive assessment of rod and cone cell function in different locations of the retina in BVMD patients.

High-fat diet protects the blood-brain barrier in an Alzheimer's disease mouse model.

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is associated with increased risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD). There is evidence for impaired blood-brain barrier (BBB) in both diseases, but its role in the interplay between them is not clear. Here, we investigated the effects of high-fat diet (HFD), a model for T2D, on the Tg2576 mouse model of AD, in regard to BBB function. We showed that HFD mice had higher weight, more insulin resistance, and higher serum HDL cholesterol levels, primarily in Tg2576 mice, which also had higher brain lipids content. In terms of behavior, Tg2576 HFD mice were less active and more anxious, but had better learning in the Morris Water Maze compared to Tg2576 on regular diet. HFD had no effect on the level of amyloid beta 1-42 in the cortex of Tg2576 mice, but increased the transcription level of insulin receptor in the hippocampus. Tg2576 mice on regular diet demonstrated more BBB disruption at 8 and 12 months accompanied by larger lateral ventricles volume in contrast to Tg2576 HFD mice, whose BBB leakage and ventricular volume were similar to wild-type (WT) mice. Our results suggest that in AD, HFD may promote better cognitive function through improvements of BBB function and of brain atrophy but not of amyloid beta levels. Lipid metabolism in the CNS and peripheral tissues and brain insulin signaling may underlie this protection.