Predominant right temporal lobe atrophy: Clinical, neuropsychological and structural differences based on amyloid status.

Background: Predominant right temporal atrophy is a radiological sign usually associated with frontotemporal dementia but this sign can also be present in Alzheimer's disease. Given the overlap of clinical symptoms between the two conditions, it is important to know which characteristics allow them to be differentiated.

Objectives: To compare clinical, neuropsychological and structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data of subjects with prominent right anterior temporal atrophy, depending on the status of amyloid biomarkers.

Caregiver Tele-Assistance for Reduction of Emotional Distress During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Psychological Support to Caregivers of People with Dementia: The Italian Experience.

Background: COVID-19 pandemic worsened vulnerability of patients with dementia (PWD). This new reality associated with government restriction and isolation worsened stress burden and psychological frailties in PWD caregivers.

Objective: To give tele-psychological support to caregivers and evaluate the effect of this intervention by quantifying stress burden and quality of life during the first COVID-19 lockdown.

Parieto-occipital sulcus widening differentiates posterior cortical atrophy from typical Alzheimer disease.

Objectives: Posterior Cortical Atrophy (PCA) is an atypical presentation of Alzheimer disease (AD) characterized by atrophy of posterior brain regions. This pattern of atrophy is usually evaluated with Koedam visual rating scale, a score developed to enable visual assessment of parietal atrophy on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). However, Koedam scale is complex to assess and its utility in the differential diagnosis between PCA and typical AD has not been demonstrated yet.

Monozygotic Twins with Frontotemporal Dementia Due To Thr272fs GRN Mutation Discordant for Age At Onset.

We report the case of two monozygotic twins with Thr272fs mutation in progranulin gene. Both patients developed frontotemporal dementia with 5 years difference in age at onset (Twin 1:73 years, Twin 2:68 years), with early behavioral, language, dysexecutive, and memory problems. They had the same formal education (5 years), but while Twin 1 dedicated more to social and leisure activity, Twin 2 worked all her life.

A very light lunch: Interoceptive deficits and food aversion at onset in a case of behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia.

Introduction: Patients affected by the behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) frequently experience, at a delayed onset, abnormal eating behavior involving increased food intake. Although delusional food-related symptoms have attracted much attention, the behavioral and neural features of food aversion manifestations in bvFTD remain poorly documented.

Methods: We describe the rare case of a patient with bvFTD presenting with lack of interoception for swallowing and digestion, coupled with a dramatic food aversion at onset.

Amyloid PET as a marker of normal-appearing white matter early damage in multiple sclerosis: correlation with CSF β-amyloid levels and brain volumes.

Purpose: The disease course of multiple sclerosis (MS) is unpredictable, and reliable prognostic biomarkers are needed. Positron emission tomography (PET) with β-amyloid tracers is a promising tool for evaluating white matter (WM) damage and repair. Our aim was to investigate amyloid uptake in damaged (DWM) and normal-appearing WM (NAWM) of MS patients, and to evaluate possible correlations between cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) β-amyloid (Aβ) levels, amyloid tracer uptake, and brain volumes.

The Neuroanatomy of Somatoform Disorders: A Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study.

Background: Somatoform disorders (SDs) are a heterogeneous group of psychiatric syndromes characterized by common symptoms, which may mimic a physical condition but they are not explained by a medical condition. Although the biologic nature of this disorder has been widely accepted, the neuroanatomical correlates characterizing SDs are still inconclusive.

Objective: This study aims to explore gray matter (GM) volume alterations in SD patients compared to healthy controls and their possible association with clinical and cognitive measures.

Distinct patterns of brain atrophy in Genetic Frontotemporal Dementia Initiative (GENFI) cohort revealed by visual rating scales.

Background: In patients with frontotemporal dementia, it has been shown that brain atrophy occurs earliest in the anterior cingulate, insula and frontal lobes. We used visual rating scales to investigate whether identifying atrophy in these areas may be helpful in distinguishing symptomatic patients carrying different causal mutations in the microtubule-associated protein tau (MAPT), progranulin (GRN) and chromosome 9 open reading frame (C9ORF72) genes. We also analysed asymptomatic carriers to see whether it was possible to visually identify brain atrophy before the appearance of symptoms.

Word and Picture Version of the Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test (FCSRT): Is There Any Difference?

The Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test (FCSRT) is the most commonly used neuropsychological test to evaluate episodic memory. Two variants of FCSRT exist, using the recall of words (FCSRT-w) or pictures (FCSRT-p). Fourteen patients with mild cognitive impairment underwent neuropsychological evaluation and brain magnetic resonance.