Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Central Review of Amyloid-Related Imaging Abnormalities in Two Phase III Clinical Trials of Bapineuzumab in Mild-To-Moderate Alzheimer's Disease Patients.
Amyloid-related imaging abnormalities (ARIA) consist of ARIA-E (with effusion or edema) and ARIA-H (hemosiderin deposits [HDs]). ⋯ ARIA was detected more often on MRI scans when every scan was reviewed by trained neuroradiologists and results adjudicated. There was increased incidence of ARIA-E in bapineuzumab-treated carriers who had a microhemorrhage at baseline. ARIA-E was a risk factor for incident ARIA-H and late onset ARIA-E was milder radiologically. Age-related white matter changes did not progress during the study.
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Multicenter Study
The Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase C677T Polymorphism and Risk for Late-Onset Alzheimer's disease: Further Evidence in an Italian Multicenter Study.
A functional polymorphism in the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene, namely C677T (rs1801133), results in increased Hcy levels and has been associated with risk of late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD). Many investigators reported association between rs1801133 and LOAD risk in Asian populations and in carriers of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) ɛ4 allele, but recent meta-analyses suggest a contribution also in other populations, including Caucasians and/or northern Africans. ⋯ The present results suggest that the MTHFR C677T polymorphism is likely a LOAD risk factor in our cohort, either in APOEɛ4 or in non-APOEɛ4 carriers.
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The search for a biomarker of Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology (amyloid-β (Aβ) and tau) is ongoing, with the best markers currently being measurements of Aβ and tau in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and via positron emission tomography (PET) scanning. These methods are relatively invasive, costly, and often have high screening failure rates. Consequently, research is aiming to elucidate blood biomarkers of Aβ and tau. ⋯ We see some evidence that a case/control PGRS is marginally more predictive of Aβ and tau pathology than the basic models. The search for predictive factors of Aβ and tau pathologies, above and beyond demographic information, is still ongoing. Better understanding of AD risk alleles, development of more sensitive assays, and studies of larger sample size are three avenues that may provide such factors. However, the clinical utility of possible predictors of brain Aβ and tau pathologies must also be investigated.*'Beta amyloid oligomers in the early diagnosis of AD and as marker for treatment response'**'Development of screening guidelines and criteria for pre-dementia Alzheimer's disease'.
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Apathy is a common and problematic symptom of several neurodegenerative illnesses, but its neuroanatomical bases are not understood. ⋯ The current study, previous studies from our laboratory, and the previous literature suggest that impairment of the same brain networks involved in arousal, threat response, and reward processing are associated with apathy in AD and FTD.
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It is currently unknown why people with Alzheimer's disease (AD) receive less pain medication and report pain less frequently. ⋯ While AD had little effect on unpleasantness, people with AD had increased thermal thresholds, altered RSFC, and no association of psychophysics with RSFC in pain regions. Findings begin to elucidate that in people with AD, altered integration of pain sensation, affect, and descending modulation may, in part, contribute to decreased verbal pain reports and thus decreased analgesic administration.