Publications by authors named "Llado A"
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.
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- The study focuses on a modified script training intervention called Video-Implemented Script Training for Aphasia (VISTA) aimed at improving speech in people with Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA), a disorder that affects language skills.
- Thirteen bilingual participants (Spanish-Catalan) with different variants of PPA underwent the training over 8 weeks, with evaluations on their script accuracy and production quality at multiple time points.
- Results indicated significant improvements in various speech measures regardless of whether the training was conducted via teletherapy or in-person, highlighting the effectiveness and acceptability of the intervention for individuals with different PPA variants.
Article Synopsis
- Neuroimaging and fluid biomarkers, like MRI and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis, help distinguish frontotemporal dementia (FTD) from Alzheimer's disease (AD).
- A machine learning algorithm was developed to calculate individual probabilistic scores, yielding an 82% accuracy rate for differentiating between AD and FTD using MRI alone.
- Combining MRI data with CSF biomarkers improved diagnostic accuracy and confidence, making the algorithm a promising tool for clinical use, especially in scenarios with limited access to expert diagnoses.
Article Synopsis
- Early-onset Alzheimer's disease (EOAD) has more severe neuropsychiatric symptoms and lower integrity of the locus coeruleus (LC) compared to late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD).
- A study involving 104 subjects with AD and 32 healthy controls used MRI and other measurements to analyze the differences in LC integrity and symptoms between EOAD and LOAD.
- Results showed that EOAD's lower LC integrity correlates with increased neuropsychiatric symptoms, and its greater degeneration may explain these severe symptoms compared to LOAD.
Wasteosomes (or corpora amylacea) are polyglucosan bodies that appear in the human brain with aging and in some neurodegenerative diseases, and have been suggested to have a potential role in a nervous system cleaning mechanism. Despite previous studies in several neurodegenerative disorders, their status in frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) remains unexplored. Our study aims to characterize wasteosomes in the three primary FTLD proteinopathies, assessing frequency, distribution, protein detection, and association with aging or disease duration.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe aimed to characterize the cognitive profile of post-acute COVID-19 syndrome (PACS) patients with cognitive complaints, exploring the influence of biological and psychological factors. Participants with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and cognitive complaints ≥ 8 weeks post-acute phase were included. A comprehensive neuropsychological battery (NPS) and health questionnaires were administered at inclusion and at 1, 3 and 6 months.
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- Epigenetics may play a significant role in neurodegenerative diseases, but there is a lack of research on early-onset dementia and the use of Lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs).
- A study analyzed DNA methylation in samples from Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia patients, revealing frequent hypermethylation and altered biological pathways related to neuron development and immune responses.
- The findings suggest that LCLs could serve as a useful model for studying neurodegeneration in its early stages, with a noted difference in gene expression correlation between brain tissues and LCLs.
Previous studies have suggested a relationship between the number of CAG triplet repeats in the HTT gene and neurodegenerative diseases not related to Huntington's disease (HD). This study seeks to investigate whether the number of CAG repeats of HTT is associated with the risk of developing certain tauopathies and its influence as a modulator of the clinical and neuropathological phenotype. Additionally, it aims to evaluate the potential of polyglutamine staining as a neuropathological screening.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe analyzed Lewy body (LB) pathology in 18 autosomal dominant Alzheimer's disease (ADAD) brains via immunohistochemistry. Real-time quaking induced conversion was used to detect misfolded α-synuclein (α-syn) in 18 living ADAD cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples. Concomitant LB pathology was present in 44% ADAD brains.
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- Plasma biomarkers, particularly p-tau181, GFAP, and NfL, show promise in identifying amyloid beta (Aβ) pathology, but other factors affecting their levels need to be understood before clinical use.
- In a study of 360 patients, eGFR was the only significant factor affecting p-tau181 levels, while age, BMI, and comorbidities influenced GFAP and NfL concentrations.
- Despite these relationships, the diagnostic accuracy of p-tau181 for determining Aβ status remained high at 87%, indicating minimal impact from confounding factors, suggesting its strong potential for clinical application.
Introduction: Neuroinflammation is a major contributor to the progression of frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Galectin-3 (Gal-3), a microglial activation regulator, holds promise as a therapeutic target and potential biomarker. Our study aimed to investigate Gal-3 levels in patients with FTD and assess its diagnostic potential.
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- Alzheimer's disease (AD) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) exhibit distinct patterns of cortical thickness loss compared to healthy controls, sparking the development of models to analyze individual differences in these conditions.
- The study analyzed data from 379 participants, using structural MRI to create region-wise temporal models of cortical thickness, and examined the correlation of individual deviations with cognitive (MMSE) and biological (NfL, 14-3-3 protein) markers.
- The findings indicate that cortical thickness models can effectively track changes over time in AD and FTD, revealing important associations with cognition and biomarkers, although variability in FTD presented challenges in predicting longitudinal outcomes.
Agreement of cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers and amyloid-PET in a multicenter study.
Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci
October 2023
Core Alzheimer's disease (AD) cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers have shown incomplete agreement with amyloid-positron emission tomography (PET). Our goal was to analyze the agreement between AD CSF biomarkers and amyloid-PET in a multicenter study. Retrospective multicenter study (5 centers).
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- Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the leading cause of dementia globally, with the thalamus identified as a key area affected by the disease, particularly the 'limbic thalamus.'
- The study utilized advanced segmentation methods to analyze thalamic atrophy in early-onset AD (EOAD) and late-onset AD (LOAD), comparing it to healthy control groups through MRI scans of 88 AD patients and 58 controls.
- Results indicated significant thalamic atrophy in both EOAD and LOAD, with specific patterns of atrophy linked to cognitive deficits, suggesting that thalamic nuclei may be uniquely impacted based on the age of onset and related to various brain regions and cognitive functions.
Background: Primary progressive aphasia (PPA) is a group of neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia characterized by language deterioration. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive intervention for brain dysfunction.
Objective: To evaluate the tolerability and efficacy of tDCS combined with speech therapy in the three variants of PPA.
Introduction: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most frequent cause of cognitive impairment. Improving knowledge of dementia management through health education for health professionals can improve clinical and community care in home and specialist settings. It is important to guarantee good dementia knowledge in health students, and it is necessary to evaluate it with a good standardized tool.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The diagnosis of symptomatic Alzheimer's disease is a clinical challenge in adults with Down syndrome. Blood biomarkers would be of particular clinical importance in this population. The astrocytic Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein (GFAP) is a marker of astrogliosis associated with amyloid pathology, but its longitudinal changes, association with other biomarkers and cognitive performance have not been studied in individuals with Down syndrome.
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- Alzheimer's disease (AD) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) are major types of dementia that share some symptoms, making accurate diagnosis crucial; researchers used machine learning techniques on MRI data to differentiate between them.
- The study analyzed MRI data from 339 participants, including healthy controls and patients with AD or FTD, achieving high classification accuracy (up to 90%) for distinguishing between healthy individuals and those with dementia over time.
- The findings demonstrated that a single feature could effectively classify individuals among healthy, AD, and FTD groups, confirming the algorithm's potential for both cross-sectional and longitudinal applications in disease tracking.
Article Synopsis
- The study focused on how the APOE genotype influences brain structure and memory function in patients with early-onset (EOAD) and late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD).
- Researchers analyzed 87 cerebrospinal fluid-confirmed AD patients, categorizing them based on their APOE genotype and age of onset to investigate differences in gray matter volume.
- Results indicated that EOAD patients with the APOE4 genotype showed significant atrophy in certain brain areas, particularly the mammillary body, while LOAD patients with APOE4 had more extensive atrophy in the medial temporal and posterior cingulate cortex, impacting their episodic and visuospatial memory capabilities.
Article Synopsis
- - Blood-based biomarkers, tested in a prospective real-world memory clinic cohort, show promise for evaluating cognitive impairment, with five specific plasma biomarkers being analyzed for diagnostic performance and applicability in clinical settings.
- - Among the 349 participants, plasma p-tau181 and GFAP were highly effective in distinguishing Alzheimer's disease from non-neurodegenerative conditions, achieving diagnostic accuracies of 94% and 92%, respectively.
- - The study found that p-tau181 not only predicted amyloid status with 85% accuracy but also worked well with NfL to identify frontotemporal dementia, highlighting the potential of these biomarkers in everyday clinical practice.
Article Synopsis
- Early- and late-onset Alzheimer's disease (EOAD and LOAD) share similar brain pathology but differ in cognitive profiles, with EOAD showing greater deficits in visual, motor, and executive functions.
- In a study of 195 individuals, the research found that EOAD patients experience a faster cognitive decline compared to those with LOAD, particularly in non-memory tasks, influenced by factors like education and APOE ε4 status.
- The findings suggest that age of onset significantly impacts cognitive deterioration, with younger patients facing a steeper decline in non-memory areas, while education level and genetic factors also play crucial roles in cognitive performance.
Barcelona scale for buccophonatory apraxia: Quantitative assessment tool.
Neurologia (Engl Ed)
October 2022
Introduction: Currently there is no tool to quantify buccophonatory apraxia to stratify, compare and monitor patients longitudinally in an objective manner. Our aim in this study is to create a quantitative scale for buccophonatory apraxia and evaluate it in patients with the non-fluent/grammatical variant of primary progressive aphasia (nfvPPA) and other neurodegenerative diseases that occur with speech and/or language problems.
Methods: The scale was designed based on useful elements in the assessment of buccophonatory apraxia and the total was quantified in seconds.
About 50% of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)+ breast cancer patients do not benefit from HER2-targeted therapy and almost 20% of them relapse after treatment. Here, we conduct a detailed analysis of two independent cohorts of HER2+ breast cancer patients treated with trastuzumab to elucidate the mechanisms of resistance to anti-HER2 monoclonal antibodies. In addition, we develop a fully humanized immunocompetent model of HER2+ breast cancer recapitulating ex vivo the biological processes that associate with patients' response to treatment.
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- The study investigates sex differences in early-onset Alzheimer's disease (EOAD), focusing on cognitive impairment and atrophy in the brain between male and female patients.
- Female EOAD patients exhibited more severe cognitive deficits and greater brain atrophy compared to their male counterparts, alongside higher levels of tau protein in their cerebrospinal fluid.
- The findings indicate that sex may play a significant role in how Alzheimer's disease progresses and affects individuals, with distinct patterns of impairment observed at the time of diagnosis.