Journal of Alzheimer's Disease - Volume 48, issue 4

Authors: Mistridis, Panagiota | Krumm, Sabine | Monsch, Andreas U. | Berres, Manfred | Taylor, Kirsten I.

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Background: The identification of the type and sequence of cognitive decline in preclinical mild cognitive impairment (MCI) prior to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is crucial for understanding AD pathogenesis and implementing therapeutic interventions. Objective: To model the longitudinal courses of different neuropsychological functions in MCI due to AD. Methods: We investigated the prodromal phase of MCI over a 12-year period in 27 initially healthy participants with subsequent MCI preceding AD (NC-MCI) and 60 demographically matched healthy individuals (NC-NC). The longitudinal courses of cognitive performance (verbal and visual episodic memory, semantic memory, executive functioning, constructional praxis, psychomotor …speed, language, and informant-based reports) were analyzed with linear mixed effects models. Results: The sequence with which different cognitive functions declined in the NC-MCI relative to the NC-NC group began with verbal memory and savings performance approximately eight years, and verbal episodic learning, visual memory, and semantic memory (animal fluency) circa four years prior to the MCI diagnosis. Executive functioning, psychomotor speed, and informant-based reports of the NC-MCI group declined approximately two years preceding the MCI diagnosis. Conclusions: Measurable neuropsychological deterioration occurs up to approximately eight years preceding MCI due to AD. Show more

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease, cognitive decline, neuropsychology, linear mixed effects models, longitudinal course, mild cognitive impairment, prodromal

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-150137

Citation: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 48, no. 4, pp. 1095-1107, 2015

Authors: Alegret, Montserrat | Rodríguez, Octavio | Espinosa, Ana | Ortega, Gemma | Sanabria, Angela | Valero, Sergi | Hernández, Isabel | Rosende-Roca, Maitée | Vargas, Liliana | Abdelnour, Carla | Mauleón, Ana | Gailhajanet, Anna | Martín, Elvira | Tárraga, Lluís | Rentz, Dorene M. | Amariglio, Rebecca E. | Ruíz, Agustín | Boada, Mercè

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Subjective memory impairment (SMI) refers to subjective awareness of initial memory decline undetectable with existing standardized cognitive tests. The Face Name Associative Memory Exam (FNAME) was created to detect memory deficits in individuals with preclinical Alzheimer’s disease (AD). We reported normative data of a Spanish version of FNAME (S-FNAME) in cognitively normal (CN) Spanish-speaking subjects >49. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether higher SMI [a modification of Memory Failures Everyday (MFE-30)] was related to worse memory performance (S-FNAME) or associated with greater affective symptoms in subjects >49; and whether MFE-30 and FNAME were able to discriminate between …CN and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) subjects. METHODS: 317 subjects (CN = 196, MCI = 121) were included in the analysis because they attended the annual “Open House Initiative” at Memory Clinic Fundació ACE, were >49 years, literate, received S-FNAME, MFE-30, and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, had Mini-Mental State Examination scores ≥27, and returned to complete a comprehensive diagnostic assessment. RESULTS: MFE-30 scores were associated with affective symptoms but not with S-FNAME performance. S-FNAME scores were related to performance on memory variables of NBACE (neuropsychological battery used in Fundació ACE). Although the MCI group showed significantly higher MFE-30 and worse S-FNAME scores than the CN group, their discriminability values were similar (Sensitivity: 49.6 versus 52.9; Specificity: 85.1 versus 83.6, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: SMI was more related to depressive symptoms than to S-FNAME memory performance; and S-FNAME scores were related to other episodic memory test performances, but neither to affective symptoms nor to SMI. MFE-30 and S-FNAME are not optimal for discriminating between CN and MCI groups. Longitudinal follow-up will determine if lower S-FNAME and higher SMI are related to increased risk of AD. Show more

Keywords: Episodic memory, FNAME, neuropsychology, preclinical Alzheimer’s disease, subjective memory impairment

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-150594

Citation: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 48, no. 4, pp. 1109-1117, 2015

Authors: Bäckman, Kristoffer | Joas, Erik | Waern, Margda | Östling, Svante | Guo, Xinxin | Blennow, Kaj | Skoog, Ingmar | Gustafson, Deborah R.

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Background: Overweight and obesity in mid- and late-life may increase risk for dementia, whereas a decline in body weight or body mass index (BMI) and underweight in years preceding a clinical dementia diagnosis are also associated with dementia. Little is known about the modifying effect of the APOE genotype, a major susceptibility gene for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), on the BMI-dementia adult life course trajectory. Objective: We evaluated the exposure, BMI, in relationship to the outcome, clinical dementia, over 37 years, considering the effect modification of the APOE ɛ4 allele. Methods: The Prospective Population Study of …Women (PPSW) in Sweden is a systematic sample of 1462 women born 1908, 1914, 1918, 1922, and 1930 and aged 38–60 years at baseline. Examinations occurred in 1968, 1974, 1980, 1992, 2000, and 2005; 559 women had information on dementia, BMI, and APOE ɛ4 allele status, in addition to covariates. Statistical analyses were conducted using mixed effects regression models. Results: Trajectories of BMI over 37 years differed by APOE ɛ4 allele status. While women gained BMI similarly from mid-life to age 70 years, women with at least one APOE ɛ4 allele experienced BMI decline more quickly after age 70 years compared to women without an APOE ɛ4 allele. However, upon stratifying the sample by dementia occurrence, it appeared that dementia drove the overall BMI-trajectory. There was a main effect of age, interactions of age by APOE ɛ4 allele status, and age by presence versus absence of dementia. Conclusions: Women with similar average BMI at mid-life exhibited different BMI trajectories in relation to dementia occurrence. In addition, the pattern of BMI decline in late-life differed on the basis of APOE ɛ4 allele possession. Thus, these data suggest roles for both dementia- and APOE-associated changes in BMI during the adult life course. Show more

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease, APOE, body mass index change, dementia, prospective, risk factor

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-150326

Citation: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 48, no. 4, pp. 1119-1127, 2015

Article Type: Other

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-150906

Citation: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 48, no. 4, pp. 1129-1139, 2015

Article Type: Other

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-150718

Citation: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 48, no. 4, pp. 1141-1144, 2015

Article Type: Other

Citation: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 48, no. 4, pp. 1145-1156, 2015