Plasma Neurofilament Light Chain and Clinical Diagnosis in Frontotemporal Dementia Syndromes.

Background: Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) syndromes, mimics, phenocopy (phFTD), and slowly progressive behavioral variant FTD (bvFTD) can be difficult to distinguish clinically. Biomarkers such as neurofilament light chain (NfL) may be helpful.

Objective: To study plasma NfL levels in people with FTD syndromes and determine if plasma NfL can distinguish between FTD syndromes and phFTD.

Psychometric deficits in autoimmune encephalitis: A retrospective study from the Australian Autoimmune Encephalitis Consortium.

Background And Purpose: Despite the rapid increase in research examining outcomes in autoimmune encephalitis (AE) patients, there are few cohort studies examining cognitive outcomes in this population. The current study aimed to characterise psychometric outcomes in this population, and explore variables that may predict psychometric outcomes.

Methods: This retrospective observational study collected psychometric data from 59 patients across six secondary and tertiary referral centres in metropolitan hospitals in Victoria, Australia between January 2008 and July 2019.

White matter microstructure is associated with language in children born very preterm.

Very preterm birth is associated with altered white matter microstructure and language difficulties, which may compromise communication, social function and academic achievement, but the relationship between these two factors is unclear. The aim of this study was to explore associations between white matter microstructure and language domains of semantics, grammar and phonological awareness at 7-years of age on a whole-brain level and within the arcuate fasciculus, an important language pathway, in very preterm and term-born children. Language was assessed in 145 very preterm-born (<30 weeks' gestation and/or <1250 g birth weight) and 33 term-born children aged 7 years.

Impaired language abilities and white matter abnormalities in children born very preterm and/or very low birth weight.

Objectives: To investigate language abilities in children born very preterm (VPT; <32 weeks' gestational age) or very low birth weight (VLBW; <1500 g) at 7 years of age and compare their performances with children born at term, and to determine whether group differences could be explained by cerebral white matter abnormality on neonatal magnetic resonance imaging.

Study Design: A cohort of 198 children born <30 weeks' gestational age and/or <1250 g, and 70 term controls were examined. White matter abnormalities were rated quantitatively on brain magnetic resonance imaging at term-equivalent age.

Assessing executive function in preschoolers.

Executive function develops at an unprecedented rate during the preschool period, yet few clinicians attempt to assess executive processes in young children. The primary objective of this article is to demonstrate that executive function can be assessed in preschoolers, and to highlight the importance of detecting executive dysfunction as early as possible. Following a description of executive function and the underlying neural systems, this article outlines some of the challenges in assessing executive function in young children.