Asian Cohort for Alzheimer's Disease (ACAD) pilot study on genetic and non-genetic risk factors for Alzheimer's disease among Asian Americans and Canadians.

Introduction: Clinical research in Alzheimer's disease (AD) lacks cohort diversity despite being a global health crisis. The Asian Cohort for Alzheimer's Disease (ACAD) was formed to address underrepresentation of Asians in research, and limited understanding of how genetics and non-genetic/lifestyle factors impact this multi-ethnic population.

Methods: The ACAD started fully recruiting in October 2021 with one central coordination site, eight recruitment sites, and two analysis sites.

Delusions in Alzheimer Disease are Associated With Decreased Default Mode Network Functional Connectivity.

Objective: Approximately one-third of patients with Alzheimer disease (AD) develop delusions. Delusions have been linked to numerous adverse outcomes, including worsened cognitive and functional decline, increased caregiver burden, and higher mortality rates. Previous studies have indicated that both AD and neuropsychiatric symptoms within AD are associated with abnormal functional connectivity of the resting brain, but no studies have focused on how delusions alter resting-state functional connectivity.

Gray Matter Changes Associated With the Development of Delusions in Alzheimer Disease.

Objective: Delusions affect approximately a third of Alzheimer disease (AD) patients and are associated with poor outcomes. Previous studies investigating the neuroanatomic correlates of delusions have yet to reach a consensus, with findings of reduced volume across all lobes, particularly in frontal regions. The current study examined the gray matter (GM) differences associated with delusions in AD.

Determining the impact of psychosis on rates of false-positive and false-negative diagnosis in Alzheimer's disease.

Introduction: The rate of clinical misdiagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and how psychosis impacts that clinical judgment is unclear.

Methods: Using data from National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center, we compared the clinical and neuropathologic diagnosis in patients with a diagnosis of AD with autopsy and in neuropathology-confirmed AD cases ( = 961). We determined the rate of true positives, false positives, and false negatives in patients with and without psychosis.

Association Between Psychosis Phenotype and APOE Genotype on the Clinical Profiles of Alzheimer's Disease.

Background: Psychosis is a common phenomenon in Alzheimer's disease (AD). The APOE ε4 allele is the strongest genetic risk factor for the development of AD, but its association with psychosis remains unclear.

Objective: We investigated the associations between psychosis, subdivided into delusions and hallucinations, as well as APOE ε4 allele on cognitive and functional outcomes.

Anti N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor encephalitis: a game-changer?

Introduction: Anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) encephalitis is an inflammatory disorder of the brain that has garnered significant interest within the medical and lay communities. There is a need for formal guidelines to assist physicians in identifying patients who should undergo testing for NMDAR encephalitis, recognizing the high potential for this potentially treatable disease to mimic more common disorders, and consequently remain undiagnosed.

Areas Covered: This review highlights the impact of the discovery of NMDAR encephalitis on the fields of neurology and psychiatry, and discusses the steps that are necessary to improve recognition and treatment of NMDAR encephalitis.

Lewy Bodies, Vascular Risk Factors, and Subcortical Arteriosclerotic Leukoencephalopathy, but not Alzheimer Pathology, are Associated with Development of Psychosis in Alzheimer's Disease.

Background: The neuropathological correlates of psychosis in Alzheimer's disease (AD) is unclear, with some studies reporting a correlation between psychosis and increased AD pathology while others have found no association.

Objective: To determine the demographic, clinical, and neuropathological features associated with psychotic symptoms in clinically attributed and neuropathologically proven AD.

Method: We separately reviewed two overlapping groups of clinically diagnosed (cAD) AD patients with neuropathology data and neuropathologically definite (npAD) cases (regardless of clinical diagnosis) from the NACC database, and explored the relationships between psychosis and clinical variables, neuropathologic correlates, and vascular risk factors.

The VASOGRADE: A Simple Grading Scale for Prediction of Delayed Cerebral Ischemia After Subarachnoid Hemorrhage.

Background And Purpose: Patients are classically at risk of delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage. We validated a grading scale-the VASOGRADE-for prediction of DCI.

Methods: We used data of 3 phase II randomized clinical trials and a single hospital series to assess the relationship between the VASOGRADE and DCI.

Effect of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage on word generation.

Background: Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) survivors commonly exhibit impairment on phonemic and semantic fluency tests; however, it is unclear which of the contributing cognitive processes are compromised in aSAH patients. One method of disentangling these processes is to compare initial word production, which is a rapid, semiautomatic, frontal-executive process, and late phase word production, which is dependent on more effortful retrieval and lexical size and requires a more distributed neural network.

Methods: Seventy-two individuals with aSAH and twenty-five control subjects were tested on a cognitive battery including the phonemic and semantic fluency task.

Impact of socioeconomic status on initial clinical presentation to a memory disorders clinic.

Background: Dementia affects 15% of Canadians 65 and older, and the prevalence is expected to double over the next two decades. Low socioeconomic status (SES) can increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and the precursor mild cognitive impairment (MCI), but it is unknown what the relationship of SES is on initial clinical presentation to a memory disorders clinic.

Methods: Data from 127 AD and 135 MCI patients who presented to our Memory Disorders Clinic from 2004 to 2013 were analyzed retrospectively.

CD86 gene variants and susceptibility to pancreatic cancer.

Background: Pancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal cancers worldwide. CD86 (B7-2) is a costimulatory molecule on antigen-presenting cells and plays critical roles in tumor immunity. It has been reported that polymorphisms in CD86 gene can be involved in the development of various cancers.