Next to amyloid and tau, synaptic loss is a key pathological hallmark in Alzheimer's disease, closely related to cognitive dysfunction and neurodegeneration. Tau is thought to cause synaptic loss, but this has not been experimentally verified in vivo. In a 2-year follow-up study, dual tracer PET-MR was performed in 12 amnestic MCI patients using F-MK-6240 for tau and C-UCB-J for SV2A as a proxy for synaptic density.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has become important in the diagnostic work-up of neurodegenerative diseases. icobrain dm, a CE-labeled and FDA-cleared automated brain volumetry software, has shown potential in differentiating cognitively healthy controls (HC) from Alzheimer's disease (AD) dementia (ADD) patients in selected research cohorts.
Objective: This study examines the diagnostic value of icobrain dm for AD in routine clinical practice, including a comparison to the widely used FreeSurfer software, and investigates if combined brain volumes contribute to establish an AD diagnosis.
Objective: To investigate in vivo whether synaptic loss and neurofibrillary tangle load spatially overlap and correlate with clinical symptoms in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI).
Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 10 patients with aMCI and 10 healthy controls underwent triple PET-MRI with C-UCB-J (synaptic vesicle protein 2A), F-MK-6240 (tau deposition), and C-Pittsburgh compound B (β-amyloid) and neuropsychological assessment. Gray matter atrophy was assessed by voxel-based morphometry with T1-weighted MRIs.
Importance: Patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) may progress to clinical Alzheimer disease (AD), remain stable, or revert to normal. Earlier progression to AD among patients who were β-amyloid positive vs those who were β-amyloid negative has been previously observed. Current research now accepts that a combination of biomarkers could provide greater refinement in the assessment of risk for clinical progression.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) acquisition/processing techniques assess brain volumes to explore neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease (AD).
Objective: We examined the clinical utility of MSmetrix and investigated if automated MRI volumes could discriminate between groups covering the AD continuum and could be used as a predictor for clinical progression.
Methods: The Belgian Dementia Council initiated a retrospective, multi-center study and analyzed whole brain (WB), grey matter (GM), white matter (WM), cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), cortical GM (CGM) volumes, and WM hyperintensities (WMH) using MSmetrix in the AD continuum.
One of the effects of late-stage dementia is the loss of the ability to communicate verbally. Patients become unable to call for help if they feel uncomfortable. The first objective of this article was to record facial expressions of bedridden demented elderly.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The efficacy of galantamine has been shown in patients with mild, moderate, and advanced moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD). Here we report its efficacy in patients with severe AD.
Methods: Between December, 2003, and March, 2007, patients aged 84 (SD 6) years with severe AD (mini-mental state examination [MMSE] score 5-12 points), in a nursing home setting were randomly assigned to receive galantamine (n=207), titrated initially to 24 mg/day, or placebo (n=200).