Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD
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Comparative Study
The Apathy Evaluation Scale: A Comparison of Subject, Informant, and Clinician Report in Cognitively Normal Elderly and Mild Cognitive Impairment.
Apathy is a common neuropsychiatric symptom in Alzheimer's disease (AD) dementia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Detecting apathy accurately may facilitate earlier diagnosis of AD. The Apathy Evaluation Scale (AES) is a promising tool for measurement of apathy in prodromal and possibly preclinical AD. ⋯ In a sample of CN elderly and elderly with MCI, apathy increased over time, particularly in men and those with MCI. AES-S scores may be more sensitive than AES-I and AES-C scores in CN elderly, but less reliable if subjects have MCI. Moreover, the AES-C sub-scale predicted progression from MCI to AD dementia.
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Comparative Study
More atrophy of deep gray matter structures in frontotemporal dementia compared to Alzheimer's disease.
The involvement of frontostriatal circuits in frontotemporal dementia (FTD) suggests that deep gray matter structures (DGM) may be affected in this disease. ⋯ Nucleus accumbens, caudate nucleus, and globus pallidus were more severely affected in FTD than in AD and SC. The associations between cognition and DGM structures varied between the diagnostic groups. The observed difference in volume of these DGM structures supports the idea that next to frontal cortical atrophy, DGM structures, as parts of the frontal circuits, are damaged in FTD rather than in AD.
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The cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) amyloid-β (Aβ)(1-42), total-tau (T-tau), and phosphorylated-tau (P-tau181P) profile has been established as a valuable biomarker for Alzheimer's disease (AD). ⋯ CSF Aβ(1-42) levels and analyte combination ratios demonstrated very high correlation with PET Aβ imaging. Our study offers additional support for CSF biomarkers in the early and accurate detection of AD pathology, including enrichment of patient cohorts for treatment trials even at the pre-symptomatic stage.
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Olfactory deficits are prevalent in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). These symptoms precede clinical onset of cognitive and memory deficits and coincide with AD pathology preferentially in the central olfactory structures, suggesting a potential biomarker for AD early detection and progression. ⋯ Decline in olfactory activity was correlated with the AD structural degeneration in the POC. A more prominent olfactory activity deficit than that of behavioral and tissue volume measurements was shown in the MCI stage. Olfactory fMRI may thus provide an earlier and more sensitive measure of functional neurodegeneration in AD and MCI patients.
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Cerebral amyloid angiopathy-related inflammation (CAA-ri) represents the most readily responsive form of CAA, if diagnosed and treated early. Although CAA-ri typically presents with a monophasic pattern, recurrences have been occasionally reported. ⋯ Our observations highlight the importance of not underestimating any new neurological symptoms in patients who have already experienced an episode of CAA-ri. Although the frequency of CAA-ri recurrences is rare, in cases of suspected relapse, a prompt clinical and radiological follow-up should be considered in order to obtain a timely diagnosis and treatment, having a potential strong impact on patients' clinical outcome.