FACEmemory, an Innovative Self-Administered Online Memory Assessment Tool.

: Alzheimer's disease (AD) dementia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are currently underdiagnosed in the community, and early detection of cognitive deficits is crucial for timely intervention. FACEmemory, the first completely self-administered online memory test with voice recognition, has been launched as an accessible tool to detect such deficits. This study aims to investigate the neuropsychological associations between FACEmemory subscores and cognitive composites derived from traditional paper-and-pencil neuropsychological tests and to develop an optimal algorithm using FACEmemory data and demographics to discriminate cognitively healthy (CH) individuals from those with MCI.

Changes in choroidal thickness quantified by Optical Coherence Tomography across cognitive impairment: data from the NORFACE cohort.

Background: Optical coherence tomography (OCT) enables high-resolution imaging of ocular structures in health and disease. Choroid thickness (CT) is a key vascular retinal parameter that can be assessed by OCT and might be relevant in the evaluation of the vascular component of cognitive decline. We aimed to investigate CT changes in a large cohort of individuals cognitive unimpaired (CU), with mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer's (MCI-AD), mild cognitive impairment due to cerebrovascular disease (MCI-Va), Alzheimer's disease dementia (ADD), and vascular dementia (VaD).

Clinical value of plasma pTau181 to predict Alzheimer's disease pathology in a large real-world cohort of a memory clinic.

Background: The identification of patients with an elevated risk of developing Alzheimer's disease (AD) dementia and eligible for the disease-modifying treatments (DMTs) in the earliest stages is one of the greatest challenges in the clinical practice. Plasma biomarkers has the potential to predict these issues, but further research is still needed to translate them to clinical practice. Here we evaluated the clinical applicability of plasma pTau181 as a predictive marker of AD pathology in a large real-world cohort of a memory clinic.

Unveiling the sound of the cognitive status: Machine Learning-based speech analysis in the Alzheimer's disease spectrum.

Background: Advancement in screening tools accessible to the general population for the early detection of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and prediction of its progression is essential for achieving timely therapeutic interventions and conducting decentralized clinical trials. This study delves into the application of Machine Learning (ML) techniques by leveraging paralinguistic features extracted directly from a brief spontaneous speech (SS) protocol. We aimed to explore the capability of ML techniques to discriminate between different degrees of cognitive impairment based on SS.

FACEmemory®, an Innovative Online Platform for Episodic Memory Pre-Screening: Findings from the First 3,000 Participants.

Background: The FACEmemory® online platform comprises a complex memory test and sociodemographic, medical, and family questions. This is the first study of a completely self-administered memory test with voice recognition, pre-tested in a memory clinic, sensitive to Alzheimer's disease, using information and communication technologies, and offered freely worldwide.

Objective: To investigate the demographic and clinical variables associated with the total FACEmemory score, and to identify distinct patterns of memory performance on FACEmemory.

Harnessing acoustic speech parameters to decipher amyloid status in individuals with mild cognitive impairment.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative condition characterized by a gradual decline in cognitive functions. Currently, there are no effective treatments for AD, underscoring the importance of identifying individuals in the preclinical stages of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to enable early interventions. Among the neuropathological events associated with the onset of the disease is the accumulation of amyloid protein in the brain, which correlates with decreased levels of A42 peptide in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).

Less invasive surfactant administration versus intubation-surfactant-extubation in the treatment of neonatal respiratory distress syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analyses.

Objectives: To compare LISA with INSURE technique for surfactant administration in preterm with gestational age (GA) < 36 weeks with RDS in respect to the incidence of pneumothorax, bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), need for mechanical ventilation (MV), regional cerebral oxygen saturation (rSO2), peri‑intraventricular hemorrhage (PIVH) and mortality.

Methods: A systematic search in PubMed, Embase, Lilacs, CINAHL, SciELO databases, Brazilian Registry of Randomized Clinical Trials (ReBEC), Clinicaltrials.gov, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) was performed.

A randomized, open-label clinical trial in mild cognitive impairment with EGb 761 examining blood markers of inflammation and oxidative stress.

Although beta-amyloid (Aβ) and phosphorylated tau remain the preferred targets for disease-modifying treatments (DMT) against Alzheimer's disease (AD), part of the pathophysiological mechanisms of cognitive impairment are related to neuroinflammation and oxidative stress. In mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a prodromal stage of AD and other neurodegenerative conditions, the joint appearance of inflammation, oxidative stress, and metabolic alterations are the common pathways of neurotoxicity and neurodegeneration. The standardized extract of Ginkgo biloba EGb 761 interferes with the pathogenic mechanisms involved in both the development of cognitive impairment due to AD and that of vascular origin.

Macular vessel density in the superficial plexus is not associated to cerebrospinal fluid core biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease in individuals with mild cognitive impairment: The NORFACE cohort.

Background: Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A) is a novel method in the dementia field that allows the detection of retinal vascular changes. The comparison of OCT-A measures with established Alzheimer's disease (AD)-related biomarkers is essential to validate the former as a marker of cerebrovascular impairment in the AD continuum. We aimed to investigate the association of macular vessel density (VD) in the superficial plexus quantified by OCT-A with the AT(N) classification based on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) Aβ1-42, p181-tau and t-tau measurements in individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

The Synergic Effect of AT(N) Profiles and Depression on the Risk of Conversion to Dementia in Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment.

Few studies have addressed the impact of the association between Alzheimer's disease (AD) biomarkers and NPSs in the conversion to dementia in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and no studies have been conducted on the interaction effect of these two risk factors. AT(N) profiles were created using AD-core biomarkers quantified in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) (normal, brain amyloidosis, suspected non-Alzheimer pathology (SNAP) and prodromal AD). NPSs were assessed using the Neuropsychiatric Inventory Questionnaire (NPI-Q).

Differences in macular vessel density in the superficial plexus across cognitive impairment: the NORFACE cohort.

Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A) allows the detection of retinal vessel density (VD) loss, which is a reflection of brain vascular pathology. We aimed to investigate differences in macular VD in the superficial plexus in a large cohort of individuals cognitively unimpaired (CU), with mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer´s disease (MCI-AD), MCI due to cerebrovascular pathology (MCI-Va), probable Alzheimer´s disease dementia (ADD) and Vascular Dementia (VaD). Clinical, demographical, ophthalmological and OCT-A data from the Neuro-ophthalmology Research at Fundació ACE (NORFACE) project were analyzed.

The Latin American Spanish version of the Face-Name Associative Memory Exam is sensitive to cognitive and pathological changes in preclinical autosomal dominant Alzheimer's disease.

Background: To determine whether performance on the Latin American Spanish version of the Face-Name Associative Memory Exam (LAS-FNAME) can differentiate between cognitively intact carriers of an autosomal dominant Alzheimer's disease mutation (E280A) in Presenilin-1, who are genetically determined to develop early-onset dementia, from matched non-carriers. We also sought to examine whether LAS-FNAME performance is associated with amyloid-β and regional tau burden in mutation carriers.

Methods: A total of 35 cognitively intact mutation carriers (age range 26-41), 19 symptomatic carriers, and 48 matched non-carriers (age range 27-44) completed a neuropsychological assessment including the LAS-FNAME.

A computerized version of the Short Form of the Face-Name Associative Memory Exam (FACEmemory®) for the early detection of Alzheimer's disease.

Background: Computerized neuropsychological tests for early detection of Alzheimer's disease (AD) have attracted increasing interest. Memory for faces and proper names is a complex task because its association is arbitrary. It implicates associative occipito-temporal cerebral regions, which are disrupted in AD.

Personality Factors and Subjective Cognitive Decline: The FACEHBI Cohort.

Individuals with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) have the perception of memory problems without showing impairment on standardized cognitive tests. SCD has been associated with an increased risk of developing Alzheimer's disease (AD). Neuroticism and openness personality dimensions have also been associated with SCD and AD.

Oxidative stress and repetitive element methylation changes in artisanal gold miners occupationally exposed to mercury.

Mercury (Hg) exposure is a public health concern due to its persistence in the environment and its high toxicity. Such toxicity has been associated with the generation of oxidative stress in occupationally exposed subjects, such as artisanal gold miners. In this study, we characterize occupational exposure to Hg by measuring blood, urine and hair levels, and investigate oxidative stress and DNA methylation associated with gold mining.