Sarcopenia screening in elderly with Alzheimer's disease: performances of the SARC-F-3 and MSRA-5 questionnaires.

Background: The 3-item SARC-F (SARC-F-3) and the 5-item Mini Sarcopenia Risk Assessment (MSRA-5) questionnaires have been recently proposed to screen elderly people regarding the risk of sarcopenia. However, no studies have investigated their performances in Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Methods: We conducted a single-center observational study, including 130 consecutive AD patients (mean age: 70.

The diagnostic accuracy of late-life depression is influenced by subjective memory complaints and educational level in an older population in Southern Italy.

The prevalence of late-life depression (LLD) depends on the study sample, measurements, and diagnostic approaches. We estimated the 30 item-Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-30) accuracy against the gold standard LLD diagnosis made with the Semi-structured Clinical Diagnostic Interview for DSM-IV-TR Axis I Disorders, focusing on the prevalence of a late-life major depressive disorder (MDD), in a population-based sample of 843 subjects aged>65 years, subdivided into three groups: normal cognition, subjective memory complaints, and mild cognitive impairment. At the optimal cut-off score (≥4), the GDS-30 showed 65.

The Role of Age on Beta-Amyloid Plasma Levels in Healthy Subjects.

Beta-amyloid (Aβ) plaques have been observed in the brain of healthy elderlies with frequencies strongly influenced by age. The aim of the study is to evaluate the role of age and other biochemical and hematological parameters on Aβ plasma levels in cognitively and neurologically normal individuals. Two-hundred and seventy-five normal subjects stratified by age groups (<35 years, 35-65 years, and >65 years) were included in the study.

A New Presenilin 1 (Psen1) Mutation (p.Cys263Trp) as a Cause of Both Early and Late-Onset Alzheimer's Disease in a Large Italian Family.

Mutations in the PSEN1 gene are the most common cause of autosomal dominant Alzheimer's disease, and are characterized by a high phenotype variability. This study describes a five-generation family, with a prevalent late-onset of the disease and a high frequency of depression, in which a new missense mutation (c.789T > G, p.

Brain Structural Covariance Networks in Behavioral Variant of Frontotemporal Dementia.

Recent research on behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) has shown that personality changes and executive dysfunctions are accompanied by a disease-specific anatomical pattern of cortical and subcortical atrophy. We investigated the structural topological network changes in patients with bvFTD in comparison to healthy controls. In particular, 25 bvFTD patients and 20 healthy controls underwent structural 3T MRI.

The Italian Version of the Test Your Memory (TYM-I): A Tool to Detect Mild Cognitive Impairment in the Clinical Setting.

The Test Your Memory (TYM) is a brief self-administered, cognitive screening test, currently used in several settings. It requires minimal administrator supervision and the computation of the final test score takes approximately 2 min. We assessed the discrimination ability of the Italian version of the TYM (TYM-I) in detecting Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) in clinical setting.

Plasma Inflammatory Cytokines Are Elevated in ALS.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease which leads to death in a median time of 2-3 years. Inflammation has been claimed important to the ALS pathogenesis, but its role is still not well-characterized. In the present study, a panel of five cytokines (IL-2, IL-6, IL-10, IFN-gamma, and TNF-alpha) measured in plasma has been investigated in ALS.

Telemedicine for Delivery of Care in Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration During COVID-19 Pandemic: Results from Southern Italy.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic is changing clinical practice in neurology, after the governments decided the introduction of social distancing and interruption of medical non-emergency services in many countries. Teleneurology is an effective tool for the remote evaluation of patients but its adoption for frontotemporal lobar dementia (FTD) is in a preliminary stage.

Objective: We evaluated multidisciplinary assessment of patients with FTD using telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Associations of Cognitive Function and Education Level With All-Cause Mortality in Adults on Hemodialysis: Findings From the COGNITIVE-HD Study.

Rationale & Objective: In the general population, cognitive impairment is associated with increased mortality, and higher levels of education are associated with lower risks for cognitive impairment and mortality. These associations are not well studied in patients receiving long-term hemodialysis and were the focus of the current investigation.

Study Design: Prospective cohort study.

Comparative evaluation of two immunoassays for cerebrospinal fluid β-Amyloid measurement.

Aim Of The Study: Beta-Amyloid 1-42 peptide (βA42) is a cerebro-spinal fluid (CSF) biomarker, key element of the NIA Alzheimer's disease diagnostic criteria. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) has been the mainstay method for βA42 measurement on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Recently, a new βA42 measurement method in chemiluminescence enzyme immunoassay (CLEIA) is available on Lumipulse G 600 II automatic platform.

Loss of Swallow Tail Sign on Susceptibility-Weighted Imaging in Dementia with Lewy Bodies.

We assessed nigral dorsolateral hyperintensity (swallow tail sign) at susceptibility-weighted imaging using 3T-MRI in 15 dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), 11 Alzheimer's disease (AD), and 8 frontotemporal dementia (FTD) patients and 10 subjects with subjective memory complaint (SMC). More DLB patients lacked nigral hyperintesity (p < 0.05).

Plasma β-amyloid reference values in cognitively normal subjects.

Background: In clinical practice, the use of plasma β-Amyloid1-42 (Aβ) as biomarker for Alzheimer's disease is largely limited by the absence of reference values. The aim of this study was to evaluate Aβ plasma concentrations in cognitively normal subjects and to propose reference values.

Methods: Plasma samples were obtained from 245 subjects, with a wide age-range (19-89 years), enrolled at the Unit of Laboratory Medicine of the "Azienda Ospedaliera Cardinale G.

Social Dysfunction in Older Age and Relationships with Cognition, Depression, and Apathy: The GreatAGE Study.

Background: Most studies focused on only one measure of social dysfunction in older age, without proper validation and distinction across different dimensions including subjectivity, structural, and functional aspects.

Objective: We sought to validate the Social Dysfunction Rating Scale (SDRS) and its factorial structure, also determining the association of SDRS with cognitive functions, global psychopathology, and social deprivation.

Methods: The SDRS was administered to 484 Italian community-dwelling elderly, recruited in the GreatAGE study, a population-based study on aging conducted in Castellana Grotte, Bari, Southern Italy.

Clinical features and genetic characterization of two dizygotic twins with C9orf72 expansion.

The objective of the study was to present a detailed clinical, genetic, and epigenetic characterization of 2 amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) concordant dizygotic twins. The described cases underwent clinical and paraclinical examinations according to the motor neuron disease protocol of our referral center. Mutation analysis of the major causative genes related to ALS was performed.

Prevalence and patterns of cognitive impairment in adult hemodialysis patients: the COGNITIVE-HD study.

Background: Mounting evidence indicates an increased risk of cognitive impairment in adults with end-stage kidney disease on dialysis, but the extent and pattern of deficits across the spectrum of cognitive domains are uncertain.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 676 adult hemodialysis patients from 20 centers in Italy, aiming to evaluate the prevalence and patterns of cognitive impairment across five domains of learning and memory, complex attention, executive function, language and perceptual-motor function. We assessed cognitive function using a neuropsychological battery of 10 tests and calculated test and domain z-scores using population norms (age or age/education).

An Old Challenge with New Promises: A Systematic Review on Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment in Long-Term Care Facilities.

Comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) is a multidimensional and multidisciplinary diagnostic process focused on determining the clinical profile, pathological risk, residual skills, short- and long-term prognosis, and personalized therapeutic and care plan of the functionally compromised and frail older subjects. Previous evidence suggested that the effectiveness of CGA programs may be influenced by settings where the CGA is performed [i.e.

Midlife Metabolic Profile and the Risk of Late-Life Cognitive Decline.

Among metabolic syndrome components, the effects of higher plasma glucose levels on cognitive decline (CD) have been considered in few studies. We evaluated the associations among midlife glycemia, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, midlife insulin resistance [homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-index)], and CD in the older subjects of the population-based MICOL Study (Castellana Grotte, Italy) at baseline (M1) and at follow-ups seven (M2) and twenty years later (M3). At M1, a dementia risk score and a composite cardiovascular risk score for dementia were calculated.

Bipolar Disorder and Frontotemporal Dementia: An Intriguing Association.

Bipolar disorder (BD) could represent a prodromal state of frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Two patients affected by lifelong BD with a progressive decline of cognitive functions, behavioral, and neurological signs, reached the early diagnosis of FTD before the age of 60. They were diagnosed as affected by primary progressive aphasia and FTD with parkinsonism, respectively.

Prefrontal Activity and Connectivity with the Basal Ganglia during Performance of Complex Cognitive Tasks Is Associated with Apathy in Healthy Subjects.

Objective: Convergent evidence indicates that apathy affects cognitive behavior in different neurological and psychiatric conditions. Studies of clinical populations have also suggested the primary involvement of the prefrontal cortex and the basal ganglia in apathy. These brain regions are interconnected at both the structural and functional levels and are deeply involved in cognitive processes, such as working memory and attention.

Tau-Centric Targets and Drugs in Clinical Development for the Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease.

The failure of several Phase II/III clinical trials in Alzheimer's disease (AD) with drugs targeting β-amyloid accumulation in the brain fuelled an increasing interest in alternative treatments against tau pathology, including approaches targeting tau phosphatases/kinases, active and passive immunization, and anti-tau aggregation. The most advanced tau aggregation inhibitor (TAI) is methylthioninium (MT), a drug existing in equilibrium between a reduced (leuco-methylthioninium) and oxidized form (MT(+)). MT chloride (methylene blue) was investigated in a 24-week Phase II clinical trial in 321 patients with mild to moderate AD that failed to show significant positive effects in mild AD patients, although long-term observations (50 weeks) and biomarker studies suggested possible benefit.

Classification of Single Normal and Alzheimer's Disease Individuals from Cortical Sources of Resting State EEG Rhythms.

Previous studies have shown abnormal power and functional connectivity of resting state electroencephalographic (EEG) rhythms in groups of Alzheimer's disease (AD) compared to healthy elderly (Nold) subjects. Here we tested the best classification rate of 120 AD patients and 100 matched Nold subjects using EEG markers based on cortical sources of power and functional connectivity of these rhythms. EEG data were recorded during resting state eyes-closed condition.

Examination of level of knowledge in Italian general practitioners attending an education session on diagnosis and management of the early stage of Alzheimer's disease: pass or fail?

Background: We detected the general level of knowledge about the early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and subsequent care in general practitioners (GPs) from Southern Italy. We explored also the GP perception about their knowledge and training on diagnosis and management of AD.

Methods: On a sample of 131 GPs, we administered two questionnaires: the GP-Knowledge, evaluating GPs' expertise about AD epidemiology, differential diagnosis, and available treatments, and the GP-QUestionnaire on Awareness of Dementia (GP-QUAD), assessing the GPs' attitudes, awareness, and practice regarding early diagnosis of dementia.

COGNITIVE-HD study: protocol of an observational study of neurocognitive functioning and association with clinical outcomes in adults with end-stage kidney disease treated with haemodialysis.

Introduction: The prevalence of cognitive impairment may be increased in adults with end-stage kidney disease compared with the general population. However, the specific patterns of cognitive impairment and association of cognitive dysfunction with activities of daily living and clinical outcomes (including withdrawal from treatment) among haemodialysis patients remain incompletely understood. The COGNITIVE impairment in adults with end-stage kidney disease treated with HemoDialysis (COGNITIVE-HD) study aims to characterise the age-adjusted and education-adjusted patterns of cognitive impairment (using comprehensive testing for executive function, perceptual-motor function, language, learning and memory, and complex attention) in patients on haemodialysis and association with clinical outcomes.

Pseudobulbar affect (PBA) in an incident ALS cohort: results from the Apulia registry (SLAP).

The aim of this study is to investigate the frequency and the clinical correlations of pseudobulbar affect (PBA) in a population-based incident cohort of ALS patients. Incident ALS cases, diagnosed in 2011 and 2012, according to El Escorial criteria were enrolled from a prospective population-based registry in Apulia, Southern Italy. Neurological status was assessed using a standard neurological examination and the revised ALS Functional Rating Scale (ALSFRSr).