Evaluation of efficiency and effectiveness of different recruitment strategies for the FINGER-NL multidomain lifestyle intervention trial via the Dutch Brain Research Registry.

Introduction: Recruitment of participants for intervention studies is challenging. We evaluated the effectiveness and efficiency of a participant recruitment campaign through an online registry for the FINGER-NL study, a multi-domain lifestyle intervention trial targeting cognitively healthy individuals aged 60-79 with dementia prevention potential. Additionally, we explored which recruitment strategy successfully reached individuals from underrepresented groups in research.

Digital remote assessment of speech acoustics in cognitively unimpaired adults: feasibility, reliability and associations with amyloid pathology.

Background: Digital speech assessment has potential relevance in the earliest, preclinical stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD). We evaluated the feasibility, test-retest reliability, and association with AD-related amyloid-beta (Aβ) pathology of speech acoustics measured over multiple assessments in a remote setting.

Methods: Fifty cognitively unimpaired adults (Age 68 ± 6.

A multidomain lifestyle intervention to maintain optimal cognitive functioning in Dutch older adults-study design and baseline characteristics of the FINGER-NL randomized controlled trial.

Background: Evidence on the effectiveness of multidomain lifestyle interventions to prevent cognitive decline in older people without dementia is mixed. Embedded in the World-Wide FINGERS initiative, FINGER-NL aims to investigate the effectiveness of a 2-year multidomain lifestyle intervention on cognitive functioning in older Dutch at risk individuals.

Methods: Multi-center, randomized, controlled, multidomain lifestyle intervention trial with a duration of 24 months.

Facilitating clinical use of the Amsterdam Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Questionnaire: Normative data and a diagnostic cutoff value.

Objective: The Amsterdam Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Questionnaire (A-IADL-Q) is well validated and commonly used to assess difficulties in everyday functioning regarding dementia. To facilitate interpretation and clinical implementation across different European countries, we aim to provide normative data and a diagnostic cutoff for dementia.

Methods: Cross-sectional data from Dutch Brain Research Registry ( = 1,064; mean () age = 62 ± 11 year; 69.

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on mortality rate in memory clinic patients.

Introduction: We investigated whether mortality in memory clinic patients changed due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Methods: We included patients from the Amsterdam Dementia Cohort: (1)  = 923 pandemic patients (baseline visit: 2017-2018, follow-up: until 2021), and (2)  = 830 historical control patients (baseline visit: 2015-2016, follow-up: until 2019). Groups were well-balanced.

Interest in genetic susceptibility testing and disclosure of AD dementia risk in cognitively normal adults: a survey study.

Background: Apolipoprotein-E (APOE) genetic testing for Alzheimer's disease is becoming more important as clinical trials are increasingly targeting individuals carrying APOE-ε4 alleles. Little is known about the interest in finding out one's genetic risk for Alzheimer's disease in the general population. Our objective was to examine this in a sample of cognitively normal (CN) adults within a population-based online research registry with the goal to implement APOE-ε4 status for trial recruitment.

FindMyApps compared with usual tablet use to promote social health of community-dwelling people with mild dementia and their informal caregivers: a randomised controlled trial.

Background: FindMyApps is a tablet-based eHealth intervention designed to help people learn to use a tablet and find easy-to-use apps. This study evaluated the effectiveness of FindMyApps for supporting social health of people living with dementia, and sense of competence of their informal caregivers.

Methods: A single-centre, two-arm, non-blinded randomised controlled trial was conducted (Netherlands Trial Register NL8157).

Steeper memory decline after COVID-19 lockdown measures.

Background: During COVID-19 lockdown measures, memory clinic patients reported worries for faster cognitive decline, due to loss of structure and feelings of loneliness and depression. We aimed to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on rate of cognitive decline in a mixed memory clinic population, compared to matched historical controls.

Methods: We included patients who visited Alzheimer Center Amsterdam 6 months to 1 week before the first Dutch COVID-19 lockdown, and had a second visit 1 year later, after this lockdown period (n = 113; 66 ± 7 years old; 30% female; n = 55 dementia, n = 31 mild cognitive impairment (MCI), n = 18 subjective cognitive decline (SCD), n = 9 postponed diagnosis).

Testing the link between isoaspartate and Alzheimer's disease etiology.

Isoaspartate (isoAsp) is a damaging amino acid residue formed in proteins as a result of spontaneous deamidation. IsoAsp disrupts protein structures, making them prone to aggregation. Here we strengthened the link between isoAsp and Alzheimer's disease (AD) by novel approaches to isoAsp analysis in human serum albumin (HSA), the most abundant blood protein and a major carrier of amyloid beta (Aβ) and phosphorylated tau (p-tau) in blood.

Identifying best practices for disclosure of amyloid imaging results: A randomized controlled trial.

Introduction: Empirical studies on effective communication for amyloid disclosure in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are lacking. We aimed to study the impact of six communication strategies.

Method: We performed a randomized controlled trial with seven randomly assigned, video-vignette conditions: six emphasizing a communication strategy and one basic condition.

The Impact of Amyloid PET Disclosure on Quality of Life in Patients With Young Onset Dementia.

Introduction: The impact of amyloid positron emission tomography (PET) imaging on patient health outcomes for individuals with dementia is unknown. In the present study, we explored the association between diagnostic outcome and clinician's level of certainty with quality of life (QoL) after [18F]flutemetamol PET results were disclosed in young onset dementia patients in a memory clinic cohort.

Methods: In 154 patients suspected of dementia, QoL was measured before and after [18F]flutemetamol PET results were disclosed.

Everyday Functioning in a Community-Based Volunteer Population: Differences Between Participant- and Study Partner-Report.

Impaired awareness in dementia caused by Alzheimer's disease and related disorders made study partner-report the preferred method of measuring interference in "instrumental activities of daily living" (IADL). However, with a shifting focus toward earlier disease stages and prevention, the question arises whether self-report might be equally or even more appropriate. The aim of this study was to investigate how participant- and study partner-report IADL perform in a community-based volunteer population without dementia and which factors relate to differences between participant- and study partner-report.

Psychosocial Effects of COVID-19 Measures on (Pre-)Dementia Patients During Second Lockdown.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic poses enormous social challenges, especially during lockdown. People with cognitive decline and their caregivers are particularly at risk of lockdown consequences.

Objective: To investigate psychosocial effects in (pre-)dementia patients and caregivers during second lockdown and compare effects between first and second lockdown.

The Cognitive Online Self-Test Amsterdam (COST-A): Establishing norm scores in a community-dwelling population.

Background: Heightened public awareness about Alzheimer's disease and dementia increases the need for at-home cognitive self-testing. We offered Cognitive Online Self-Test Amsterdam (COST-A) to independent groups of cognitively normal adults and investigated the robustness of a norm-score formula and cutoff.

Methods: Three thousand eighty-eight participants (mean age ± standard deviation = 61 ± 12 years, 70% female) completed COST-A and evaluated it.

Dutch Brain Research Registry for study participant recruitment: Design and first results.

Introduction: The Dutch Brain Research Registry aims to facilitate online recruitment of participants for brain disease studies.

Methods: Registrants were primarily recruited through an online social media campaign. The registration process included a short questionnaire, which was subsequently used in the prescreening process to match participants to studies.

Combination of plasma amyloid beta and glial fibrillary acidic protein strongly associates with cerebral amyloid pathology.

Background: Blood-based biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease (AD) might facilitate identification of participants for clinical trials targeting amyloid beta (Abeta) accumulation, and aid in AD diagnostics. We examined the potential of plasma markers Abeta, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and neurofilament light (NfL) to identify cerebral amyloidosis and/or disease severity.

Methods: We included individuals with a positive (n = 176: 63 ± 7 years, 87 (49%) females) or negative (n = 76: 61 ± 9 years, 27 (36%) females) amyloid PET status, with syndrome diagnosis subjective cognitive decline (18 PET+, 25 PET-), mild cognitive impairment (26 PET+, 24 PET-), or AD-dementia (132 PET+).

ABIDE Delphi study: topics to discuss in diagnostic consultations in memory clinics.

Background: Information given to patients and caregivers during the clinician-patient encounter varies considerably between memory clinic professionals. Patients and caregivers express a clear desire for more information. It is unclear what information patients and caregivers value most during the diagnostic process and whether this is concordant with professionals' opinion.

Development and Usability of ADappt: Web-Based Tool to Support Clinicians, Patients, and Caregivers in the Diagnosis of Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer Disease.

Background: As a result of advances in diagnostic testing in the field of Alzheimer disease (AD), patients are diagnosed in earlier stages of the disease, for example, in the stage of mild cognitive impairment (MCI). This poses novel challenges for a clinician during the diagnostic workup with regard to diagnostic testing itself, namely, which tests are to be performed, but also on how to engage patients in this decision and how to communicate test results. As a result, tools to support decision making and improve risk communication could be valuable for clinicians and patients.

Personalized risk for clinical progression in cognitively normal subjects-the ABIDE project.

Background: Biomarkers such as cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have predictive value for progression to dementia in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). The pre-dementia stage takes far longer, and the interpretation of biomarker findings is particular relevant for individuals who present at a memory clinic, but are deemed cognitively normal. The objective of the current study is to construct biomarker-based prognostic models for personalized risk of clinical progression in cognitively normal individuals presenting at a memory clinic.

Diagnostic performance of Elecsys immunoassays for cerebrospinal fluid Alzheimer's disease biomarkers in a nonacademic, multicenter memory clinic cohort: The ABIDE project.

Introduction: We compared the automated Elecsys and manual Innotest immunoassays for cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) Alzheimer's disease biomarkers in a multicenter diagnostic setting.

Methods: We collected CSF samples from 137 participants in eight local memory clinics. Amyloid β(1-42) (Aβ42), total tau (t-tau), and phosphorylated tau (p-tau) were centrally analyzed with Innotest and Elecsys assays.

Pre-amyloid stage of Alzheimer's disease in cognitively normal individuals.

Objective: To study risk factors for decreasing a concentrations in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in cognitively unimpaired individuals with initially normal amyloid and tau markers, and to investigate whether such a1-42 decreases are associated with subsequent decline in cognition and other biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease.

Methods: Cognitively normal subjects ( = 83, 75 ± 5 years, 35(42%) female) with normal CSF a and tau and repeated CSF sampling were selected from ADNI. Subject level slopes of a decreases were estimated with mixed models.

Quantification of [F]florbetapir: A test-retest tracer kinetic modelling study.

Accumulation of amyloid beta can be visualized using [F]florbetapir positron emission tomography. The aim of this study was to identify the optimal model for quantifying [F]florbetapir uptake and to assess test-retest reliability of corresponding outcome measures. Eight Alzheimer's disease patients (age: 67 ± 6 years, Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE): 23 ± 3) and eight controls (age: 63 ± 4 years, MMSE: 30 ± 0) were included.

Unbiased Approach to Counteract Upward Drift in Cerebrospinal Fluid Amyloid-β 1-42 Analysis Results.

Background: Low cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) amyloid-β 1-42 (Aβ 1-42) concentrations indicate amyloid plaque accumulation in the brain, a pathological hallmark of Alzheimer disease (AD). Innotest assay values of Aβ 1-42 have gradually increased over the past 2 decades, which might lead to misclassification of AD when a single cutpoint for abnormality is used. We propose an unbiased approach to statistically correct for drift.

Clinicians' views on conversations and shared decision making in diagnostic testing for Alzheimer's disease: The ABIDE project.

Introduction: This study explores clinicians' views on and experiences with when, how, and by whom decisions about diagnostic testing for Alzheimer's disease are made and how test results are discussed with patients.

Methods: Following a preparatory focus group with 13 neurologists and geriatricians, we disseminated an online questionnaire among 200 memory clinic clinicians.

Results: Respondents were 95 neurologists and geriatricians (response rate 47.