Association of Changes in Cerebral and Hypothalamic Structure With Sleep Dysfunction in Patients With Genetic Frontotemporal Dementia.

Background And Objectives: Sleep dysfunction is common in patients with neurodegenerative disorders; however, its neural underpinnings remain poorly characterized in genetic frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Hypothalamic nuclei important for sleep regulation may be related to this dysfunction. Thus, we examined changes in hypothalamic structure across the lifespan in patients with genetic FTD and whether these changes related to sleep dysfunction.

Association of Initial Side of Brain Atrophy With Clinical Features and Disease Progression in Patients With Frontotemporal Dementia.

Background And Objectives: Pathogenic variants in the gene cause frontotemporal dementia (FTD-) with marked brain asymmetry. This study aims to assess whether the disease progression of FTD- depends on the initial side of the atrophy. We also investigated the potential use of brain asymmetry as a biomarker of the disease.

Frequency and Longitudinal Course of Behavioral and Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in Participants With Genetic Frontotemporal Dementia.

Background And Objectives: Behavioral and neuropsychiatric symptoms are frequent in patients with genetic frontotemporal dementia (FTD). We aimed to describe behavioral and neuropsychiatric phenotypes in genetic FTD, quantify their temporal association, and investigate their regional association with brain atrophy.

Methods: We analyzed data of pathogenic variant carriers in the chromosome 9 open reading frame 72 (), progranulin (), or microtubule-associated protein tau () gene from the Genetic Frontotemporal dementia Initiative cohort study that enrolls both symptomatic pathogenic variant carriers and first-degree relatives of known carriers.

Frequency and Longitudinal Course of Motor Signs in Genetic Frontotemporal Dementia.

Background And Objectives: Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is a highly heritable disorder. The majority of genetic cases are caused by autosomal dominant pathogenic variants in the chromosome 9 open reading frame 72 (), progranulin (), and microtubule-associated protein tau () gene. As motor disorders are increasingly recognized as part of the clinical spectrum, the current study aimed to describe motor phenotypes caused by genetic FTD, quantify their temporal association, and investigate their regional association with brain atrophy.

Longitudinal Cognitive Changes in Genetic Frontotemporal Dementia Within the GENFI Cohort.

Background And Objectives: Disease-modifying therapeutic trials for genetic frontotemporal dementia (FTD) are underway, but sensitive cognitive outcome measures are lacking. The aim of this study was to identify such cognitive tests in early stage FTD by investigating cognitive decline in a large cohort of genetic FTD pathogenic variant carriers and by investigating whether gene-specific differences are moderated by disease stage (asymptomatic, prodromal, and symptomatic).

Methods: , , and pathogenic variant carriers as well as controls underwent a yearly neuropsychological assessment covering 8 cognitive domains as part of the Genetic FTD Initiative, a prospective multicenter cohort study.

Characterizing the Clinical Features and Atrophy Patterns of -Related Frontotemporal Dementia With Disease Progression Modeling.

Background And Objective: Mutations in the gene cause frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Most previous studies investigating the neuroanatomical signature of mutations have grouped all different mutations together and shown an association with focal atrophy of the temporal lobe. The variability in atrophy patterns between each particular mutation is less well-characterized.

Plasma Neurofilament Light for Prediction of Disease Progression in Familial Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration.

Objective: We tested the hypothesis that plasma neurofilament light chain (NfL) identifies asymptomatic carriers of familial frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD)-causing mutations at risk of disease progression.

Methods: Baseline plasma NfL concentrations were measured with single-molecule array in original (n = 277) and validation (n = 297) cohorts. , , and mutation carriers and noncarriers from the same families were classified by disease severity (asymptomatic, prodromal, and full phenotype) using the CDR Dementia Staging Instrument plus behavior and language domains from the National Alzheimer's Disease Coordinating Center FTLD module (CDR+NACC-FTLD).