Apathy in Alzheimer's disease: Eye movements characteristics and neurostructural basis.

Background: We sought to evaluate the characteristics of eye movements in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients with apathy (AD-A) and their ability to identify AD-A and explore the shared neurostructure of eye movements and apathy.

Methods: Total 32 normal controls, 36 AD-A and 72 AD with no apathy (AD-NA) patients were recruited. Parameters of smooth pursuit, fixation, prosaccade and antisaccade were compared among the three groups.

Comparison of the amyloid plaque proteome in Down syndrome, early-onset Alzheimer's disease, and late-onset Alzheimer's disease.

Down syndrome (DS) is strongly associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) due to APP overexpression, exhibiting Amyloid-β (Aβ) and Tau pathology similar to early-onset (EOAD) and late-onset AD (LOAD). We evaluated the Aβ plaque proteome of DS, EOAD, and LOAD using unbiased localized proteomics on post-mortem paraffin-embedded tissues from four cohorts (n = 20/group): DS (59.8 ± 4.

Computerized cognitive testing to capture cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease: Longitudinal findings from the ARMADA study.

Introduction: Timely detection and tracking of Alzheimer's disease (AD) -related cognitive decline has become a public health priority. We investigated whether the NIH Toolbox for Assessment of Neurological and Behavioral Function-Cognition Battery (NIHTB-CB) detects AD-related cognitive decline.

Methods:  = 171 participants (age 76.

Protocol for a multi-domain scoping review to identify measures of decision-making ability in an ageing population.

Introduction: Deficits in decision-making (DM) can lead to adverse outcomes across multiple domains such as financial management and medical care. By hindering such DM abilities, cognitive impairment (CI) often affects quality of life. Routine screening for CI, however, does not include systematic and comprehensive assessment of DM ability.

High-density multielectrode arrays bring cellular resolution to neuronal activity and network analyses of corticospinal motor neurons.

Corticospinal motor neurons (CSMN), located in the motor cortex of the brain, are one of the key components of the motor neuron circuitry. They are in part responsible for the initiation and modulation of voluntary movement, and their degeneration is the hallmark for numerous diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), hereditary spastic paraplegia, and primary lateral sclerosis. Cortical hyperexcitation followed by in-excitability suggests the early involvement of cortical dysfunction in ALS pathology.

Assessment of disease impact through health-related quality of life measurement in primary progressive aphasia.

Introduction: Measurements of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) are important for capturing disease impact beyond physical health and relative to other diseases but have rarely been assessed in primary progressive aphasia (PPA).

Methods: HRQoL was characterized overall, by sex and subtype in PPA ( = 118) using the Health Utilities Index-2/3 (HUI2/3). Multiple linear regression assessed associations between HRQoL and language severity.

Spatial proteomic differences in chronic traumatic encephalopathy, Alzheimer's disease, and primary age-related tauopathy hippocampi.

Introduction: Alzheimer's disease (AD), primary age-related tauopathy (PART), and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) all feature hyperphosphorylated tau (p-tau)-immunoreactive neurofibrillary degeneration, but differ in neuroanatomical distribution and progression of neurofibrillary degeneration and amyloid beta (Aβ) deposition.

Methods: We used Nanostring GeoMx Digital Spatial Profiling to compare the expression of 70 proteins in neurofibrillary tangle (NFT)-bearing and non-NFT-bearing neurons in hippocampal CA1, CA2, and CA4 subregions and entorhinal cortex of cases with autopsy-confirmed AD (n = 8), PART (n = 7), and CTE (n = 5).

Results: There were numerous subregion-specific differences related to Aβ processing, autophagy/proteostasis, inflammation, gliosis, oxidative stress, neuronal/synaptic integrity, and p-tau epitopes among these different disorders.

The role of neuropsychological assessment in the evaluation of patients with cognitive-behavioral change due to suspected Alzheimer's disease and other causes of cognitive impairment and dementia.

The Alzheimer's Association convened a Diagnostic Evaluation, Testing, Counseling and Disclosure Clinical Practice Guideline workgroup to help combat the major global health challenges surrounding the timely detection, accurate diagnosis, and appropriate disclosure of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia due to Alzheimer's disease (AD) or other diseases that cause these types of cognitive-behavioral disorders. The newly published clinical practice guidelines are proposed as a structured approach to evaluation. The purpose of the present article is to provide a clinical perspective on the use of neuropsychology within the new framework and practice guidelines outlined under the Diagnostic Evaluation, Testing, Counseling and Disclosure of Suspected Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders (DETeCD-ADRD) recommendations for primary care and specialty care.

Psychotropic medication usage in sporadic versus genetic behavioral-variant frontotemporal dementia.

Introduction: Psychotropic medication (PM) use in behavioral-variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) is higher than in other dementias. However, no information exists on whether PM use differs between sporadic and genetic bvFTD.

Methods: We analyzed data from sporadic and genetic bvFTD participants with PM prescriptions in the Advancing Research and Treatment in Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration/Longitudinal Evaluation of Familial Frontotemporal Dementia Subjects study.

Longitudinal cognitive performance of participants with sporadic early onset Alzheimer's disease from LEADS.

Introduction: Early-onset Alzheimer's disease (EOAD) manifests prior to the age of 65, and affects 4%-8% of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). The current analyses sought to examine longitudinal cognitive trajectories of participants with early-onset dementia.

Methods: Data from 307 cognitively normal (CN) volunteer participants and those with amyloid-positive EOAD or amyloid-negative cognitive impairment (EOnonAD) were compared.

Differences in baseline cognitive performance between participants with early-onset and late-onset Alzheimer's disease: Comparison of LEADS and ADNI.

Introduction: Early-onset Alzheimer's disease (EOAD) and late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD) share similar amyloid etiology, but evidence from smaller-scale studies suggests that they manifest differently clinically. Current analyses sought to contrast the cognitive profiles of EOAD and LOAD.

Methods: Z-score cognitive-domain composites for 311 amyloid-positive sporadic EOAD and 314 amyloid-positive LOAD participants were calculated from baseline data from age-appropriate control cohorts.

Abnormal eye movements: relationship with clinical symptoms and predictive value for Alzheimer's disease.

Background: Abnormal eye movements occur at the early stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the characteristics of abnormal eye movements of patients with AD and their relationship with clinical symptoms remain inconsistent, and their predictive value for diagnosing and monitoring the progression of AD remains unclear.

Methods: A total of 42 normal controls, 63 patients with mild cognitive impairment due to AD (AD-MCI), and 49 patients with dementia due to AD (AD-D) were recruited.

Raphe and ventrolateral medulla proteomics in sudden unexplained death in childhood with febrile seizure history.

Sudden unexplained death in childhood (SUDC) is death of a child ≥ 12 months old that is unexplained after autopsy and detailed analyses. Among SUDC cases, ~ 30% have febrile seizure (FS) history, versus 2-5% in the general population. SUDC cases share features with sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), in which brainstem autonomic dysfunction is implicated.

The relationship between anxiety and levels of Alzheimer's disease plasma biomarkers.

Anxiety is highly prevalent in Alzheimer's disease (AD), correlating with cerebrospinal fluid/positron emission tomography biomarkers and disease progression. Relationships to plasma biomarkers are unclear. Herein, we compare levels of plasma biomarkers in research participants with and without anxiety at cognitively normal, mild cognitive impairment, and AD dementia stages.

SMOC1 colocalizes with Alzheimer's disease neuropathology and delays Aβ aggregation.

SMOC1 has emerged as one of the most significant and consistent new biomarkers of early Alzheimer's disease (AD). Recent studies show that SMOC1 is one of the earliest changing proteins in AD, with levels in the cerebrospinal fluid increasing many years before symptom onset. Despite this clear association with disease, little is known about the role of SMOC1 in AD or its function in the brain.

Lewy pathology formation in patient-derived GBA1 Parkinson's disease midbrain organoids.

Fibrillary aggregation of α-synuclein in Lewy body inclusions and nigrostriatal dopaminergic neuron degeneration define Parkinson's disease neuropathology. Mutations in GBA1, encoding glucocerebrosidase, are the most frequent genetic risk factor for Parkinson's disease. However, the lack of reliable experimental models able to reproduce key neuropathological signatures has hampered the clarification of the link between mutant glucocerebrosidase and Parkinson's disease pathology.

Gaps in biomedical research in frontotemporal dementia: A call for diversity and disparities focused research.

Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is one of the leading causes of young-onset dementia before age 65, typically manifesting as abnormal behavior (in behavioral variant FTD) or language impairment (in primary progressive aphasia). Although FTD affects all populations across the globe, knowledge regarding the pathophysiology and genetics derives primarily from studies conducted in North America and Western Europe. Globally, biomedical research for FTD is hindered by variable access to diagnosis, discussed in this group's earlier article, and by reduced access to expertise, funding, and infrastructure.

An international core outcome set for primary progressive aphasia (COS-PPA): Consensus-based recommendations for communication interventions across research and clinical settings.

Introduction: Interventions to treat speech-language difficulties in primary progressive aphasia (PPA) often use word accuracy as a highly comparable outcome. However, there are more constructs of importance to people with PPA that have received less attention.

Methods: Following Core Outcome Set Standards for Development Recommendations (COSSTAD), this study comprised: Stage 1 - systematic review to identify measures; Stage 2 - consensus groups to identify important outcome constructs for people with PPA (n = 82) and care partners (n = 91); Stage 3 - e-Delphi consensus with 57 researchers.

Assessing the impact of immersive virtual reality technology on the psychological recovery of patients with Parkinson's disease depression: study protocol of a randomized controlled trial.

Background And Aim: Depression in Parkinson's disease (DPD) has a high incidence rate among patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). It is a common nonmotor symptom of PD that seriously affects the quality of life of patients. Thus, improving DPD is important for improving the quality of life of patients.

Gut microbiome-derived metabolites in Alzheimer's disease: Regulation of immunity and potential for therapeutics.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disorder and cause of dementia. Despite the prevalence of AD, there is a lack of effective disease modifying therapies. Recent evidence indicates that the gut microbiome (GMB) may play a role in AD through its regulation of innate and adaptive immunity.