Objectives: Abnormal beliefs and delusions have been reported in some people with dementia, however, the prevalence of delusions, and their neurocognitive basis has been underexplored. This study aimed to examine the presence, severity, content and neural correlates of delusions in a large, well-characterised cohort of dementia patients using a transdiagnostic, cross-sectional approach.

Methods: Four-hundred and eighty-seven people with dementia were recruited: 102 Alzheimer's disease, 136 behavioural-variant frontotemporal dementia, 154 primary progressive aphasia, 29 motor neurone disease, 46 corticobasal syndrome, 20 progressive supranuclear palsy. All patients underwent neuropsychological assessment and brain magnetic resonance imaging, and the Neuropsychiatric Inventory was conducted with an informant, by an experienced clinician.

Results: In our cohort, 48/487 patients (10.8%) had delusions. A diagnosis of behavioural-variant frontotemporal dementia (18.4%) and Alzheimer's disease (11.8%) were associated with increased risk of delusions. A positive gene mutation was observed in 11/27 people with delusions. Individuals with frequent delusions performed worse on the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination (p = 0.035), particularly on the orientation/attention (p = 0.022) and memory (p = 0.013) subtests. Voxel-based morphometry analyses found that increased delusional psychopathology was associated with reduced integrity of the right middle frontal gyrus, right planum temporale and left anterior temporal pole.

Conclusion: Our results demonstrate that delusions are relatively common in dementia and uncover a unique cognitive and neural profile associated with the manifestation of delusions. Clinically, delusions may lead to delayed or misdiagnosis. Our results shed light on how to identify individuals at risk of neuropsychiatric features of dementia, a crucial first step to enable targeted symptom management.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9546395PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/gps.5692DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

alzheimer's disease
12
frontotemporal dementia
12
delusions
11
dementia
8
people dementia
8
behavioural-variant frontotemporal
8
examining presence
4
presence nature
4
nature delusions
4
delusions alzheimer's
4

Similar Publications

Alzheimer's disease and antibody-mediated immune responses to infectious diseases agents: a mendelian randomization study.

Hereditas

January 2025

The Affiliated Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Southwest Medical University, No. 182 Chunhui Road, Longmatan District, Luzhou, Sichuan, 646000, China.

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a prevalent neurodegenerative disorder, with antibody-mediated immune responses to infectious diseases agents potentially playing a decisive role in its pathophysiological process. However, the causal relationship between antibodies and AD remains unclear.

Methods: A two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis was conducted to investigate the causal link between antibody-mediated immune responses to infectious diseases agents and the risk of AD.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: PSEN1, PSEN2, and APP mutations cause Alzheimer's disease (AD) with an early age at onset (AAO) and progressive cognitive decline. PSEN1 mutations are more common and generally have an earlier AAO; however, certain PSEN1 mutations cause a later AAO, similar to those observed in PSEN2 and APP.

Methods: We examined whether common disease endotypes exist across these mutations with a later AAO (~ 55 years) using hiPSC-derived neurons from familial Alzheimer's disease (FAD) patients harboring mutations in PSEN1, PSEN2, and APP and mechanistically characterized by integrating RNA-seq and ATAC-seq.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In this study, new cinnamic acid linked to triazole acetamide derivatives was synthesized and evaluated for anti-Alzheimer and anti-melanogenesis activities. The structural elucidation of all analogs was performed using different analytical techniques, including H-NMR, C-NMR, mass spectrometry, and IR spectroscopy. The synthesized compounds were assessed in vitro for their inhibitory activities against acetylcholinesterase (AChE), butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), and tyrosinase enzymes.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Adenosine deaminase action on RNA 1 (ADAR1) can convert the adenosine in double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) molecules into inosine in a process known as A-to-I RNA editing. ADAR1 regulates gene expression output by interacting with RNA and other proteins; plays important roles in development, including growth; and is linked to innate immunity, tumors, and central nervous system (CNS) diseases.

Results: In recent years, the role of ADAR1 in tumors has been widely discussed, but its role in CNS diseases has not been reviewed.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A nucleolar mechanism suppresses organismal proteostasis by modulating TGFβ/ERK signalling.

Nat Cell Biol

January 2025

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, the Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada, the Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.

The protein homeostasis (proteostasis) network encompasses a myriad of mechanisms that maintain the integrity of the proteome by controlling various biological functions, including protein folding and degradation. Alas, ageing-associated decline in the efficiency of this network enables protein aggregation and consequently the development of late-onset neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease. Accordingly, the maintenance of proteostasis through late stages of life bears the promise to delay the emergence of these devastating diseases.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!