Objective: To report the psychometric properties of an alternative instrument to the cognitive subscale of the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale, a neuropsychological test battery (NTB) for measuring drug efficacy in Alzheimer disease clinical trials.
Design: The NTB was evaluated in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of AN1792(QS-21) (synthetic beta-amyloid plus an adjuvant) (300 patients) and isotonic sodium chloride solution (72 patients). The test-retest reliability of the NTB was examined, and the NTB was correlated with other cognitive (cognitive subscale of the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale and Mini-Mental State Examination) and functional (Disability Assessment Scale for Dementia and Clinical Dementia Rating Sum of Boxes) measures. In addition, a factor analysis was performed on NTB components. Finally, the sensitivity of the NTB to change was assessed as a function of Mini-Mental State Examination performance.
Results: The NTB had high test-retest reliability at 6 (Pearson product moment correlation [r] = 0.92) and 12 (r = 0.88) months. Internal consistency was high (Cronbach alpha = 0.84). The correlations between the NTB z score and scores on traditional measures of cognition and function were significantly different from 0 (P < .001). A factor analysis yielded "memory" and "executive function" factors. The NTB z score declined linearly over 1 year in patients receiving placebo and, in contrast to the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale cognitive subscale, demonstrated similar declines in patients with high (21-26) and low (15-20) Mini-Mental State Examination scores at baseline.
Conclusions: The NTB exhibits excellent psychometric properties and seems to be a reliable and sensitive measure of cognitive change in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer disease. The psychometric properties of the NTB suggest that it may have particular utility in evaluating drug efficacy in clinical trials in which patients with mild Alzheimer disease are included.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
---|---|
http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archneur.64.9.1323 | DOI Listing |
Nat Commun
January 2025
Neurochemistry Laboratory, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Amsterdam Neuroscience, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
DOPA Decarboxylase (DDC) has been proposed as a cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarker with increased concentrations in Lewy body disorders (LBDs) and highest levels in patients receiving dopaminergic treatment. Here we evaluate plasma DDC, measured by proximity extension assay, and the effect of dopaminergic treatment in three independent LBD (with a focus on dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and Parkinson's disease (PD)) cohorts: an autopsy-confirmed cohort (n = 71), a large multicenter, cross-dementia cohort (n = 1498) and a longitudinal cohort with detailed treatment information (n = 66, median follow-up time[IQR] = 4[4, 4] years). Plasma DDC was not altered between different LBDs and other disease groups or controls in absence of treatment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Gen Intern Med
January 2025
Northwell Health, New Hyde Park, NY, USA.
Background: Oropharyngeal dysphagia (dysphagia) is a common (up to 86%) and devastating syndrome in hospitalized older adults with dementia.
Objective: To describe the perspectives of dysphagia management in hospitalized patients with dementia among hospital medicine providers (i.e.
Commun Biol
January 2025
School of Psychology and Sussex Neuroscience, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK.
Reduced cerebral blood flow occurs early in the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD), but the factors producing this reduction are unknown. Here, we ask whether genetic and lifestyle risk factors for AD-the ε4 allele of the Apolipoprotein (APOE) gene, and physical activity-can together produce this reduction in cerebral blood flow which leads eventually to AD. Using in vivo two-photon microscopy and haemodynamic measures, we record neurovascular function from the visual cortex of physically active or sedentary mice expressing APOE3 and APOE4 in place of murine APOE.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMol Psychiatry
January 2025
Department of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neuroscience, Cardiff University, United Kingdom and UK Dementia Research Institute at Cardiff, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
In this perspective we draw together the data from the genome wide association studies for Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and the tauopathies and reach the conclusion that in each case, most of the risk loci are involved in the clearance of the deposited proteins: in Alzheimer's disease, the microglial removal of Aβ, in the synucleinopathies, the lysosomal clearance of synuclein and in the tauopathies, the removal of tau protein by the ubiquitin proteasome. We make the point that most loci identified through genome wide association studies are not strictly pathogenic but rather relate to failures to remove age related damage. We discuss these issues in the context of copathologies in elderly individuals and the prediction of disease through polygenic risk score analysis at different ages.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Rep
January 2025
School of Government, University of International Business and Economics, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100029, P. R. China.
Overactive bladder (OAB) is a prevalent condition among older adults and may be linked to cognitive health. This study explored a relationship between OAB and cognitive health among adults aged 60 ≥ years in the United States, using NHANES 2011-2014. A cross-sectional analysis was conducted using a nationally representative sample of 2,324 (45.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!