Neuropsychological test performance of former American football players.

Background: Patterns of cognitive impairment in former American football players are uncertain because objective neuropsychological data are lacking. This study characterized the neuropsychological test performance of former college and professional football players.

Methods: One hundred seventy male former football players (n=111 professional, n=59 college; 45-74 years) completed a neuropsychological test battery.

Continuing education in diversity and multicultural factors: Current state psychology board requirements and a call to action.

A growing body of literature shows the unequivocal importance of incorporating diversity-related factors into the practice of clinical neuropsychology. Thus, it is imperative that we continue to seek and obtain updated training and knowledge on how culture and diversity intersect with our clinical roles throughout our careers, not merely to satisfy initial coursework requirements. Although most professional organizations pertaining to clinical psychology - and thereby neuropsychology - strongly the pursuit of training in diversity-related factors, explicit for such training across one's career are minimal.

Optimal deep brain stimulation sites and networks for stimulation of the fornix in Alzheimer's disease.

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) to the fornix is an investigational treatment for patients with mild Alzheimer's Disease. Outcomes from randomized clinical trials have shown that cognitive function improved in some patients but deteriorated in others. This could be explained by variance in electrode placement leading to differential engagement of neural circuits.

Dimethyl Fumarate Delays Multiple Sclerosis in Radiologically Isolated Syndrome.

Objective: The radiologically isolated syndrome (RIS) represents the earliest detectable pre-clinical phase of multiple sclerosis (MS). This study evaluated the impact of therapeutic intervention in preventing first symptom manifestation at this stage in the disease spectrum.

Methods: We conducted a multi-center, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study involving people with RIS.

Expert opinion on COVID-19 vaccines and cladribine tablets in MS: A plain language summary.

What Is This Summary About?: People with multiple sclerosis (shortened to MS) who are taking cladribine tablets may have concerns about whether they can be vaccinated against COVID-19. This summary details the findings from a previously published article, in which an international committee of 10 MS experts developed recommendations to answer some important questions about COVID-19 vaccines in people with MS (including relapsing-remitting or active secondary progressive disease) taking cladribine tablets.

What Were The Results?: The committee identified 13 recommendations, which were all agreed upon by at least three-quarters (75%) of the 38 voting MS experts.

Associations between near end-of-life flortaucipir PET and postmortem CTE-related tau neuropathology in six former American football players.

Purpose: Flourine-18-flortaucipir tau positron emission tomography (PET) was developed for the detection for Alzheimer's disease. Human imaging studies have begun to investigate its use in chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Flortaucipir-PET to autopsy correlation studies in CTE are needed for diagnostic validation.

Effects of dose change on the success of clinical trials.

The search for disease modifying therapies in Alzheimers disease (AD) has recently led to promising results but also revealed design issues in clinical trials themselves. Of particular importance is the potential statistical challenges that can arise when dosages change after an interim analysis, which is not uncommon in contemporary AD trials. Following the recent Aducanumab trials, we sought to study the implications of dose changes on the statistical power of an AD trial.

Curriculum Innovations: Virtual Didactics as a Tool for Harmonizing Education About Rare Topics in Neuroimmunology.

Introduction And Problem Statement: Neuroimmunology is a rapidly evolving subspecialty. At this time, fellowship training is not standardized. Discrepancies exist in fellowship programs across the United States, including in faculty expertise in rarer neuroimmunologic conditions.

COR388 (atuzaginstat): an investigational gingipain inhibitor for the treatment of Alzheimer disease.

Introduction: Evidence from in vitro and in vivo studies demonstrates that amyloid beta (Aβ) oligomers have potent, broad-spectrum antimicrobial properties created by fibrils that entrap pathogens and disrupt their membranes. Data suggest that Aβ may play a protective role in the innate immune response to microbial infections and that Aβ in the brain plays a damaging role when the inflammatory response is not well controlled.

Areas Covered: This paper describes the relationship between periodontal disease and Alzheimer disease (AD), the role of and its secreted gingipains in AD, and the potential of the gingipain inhibitor atuzaginstat (COR388) to modulate AD neuropathologies.

White matter hyperintensities in former American football players.

Introduction: The presentation, risk factors, and etiologies of white matter hyperintensities (WMH) in people exposed to repetitive head impacts are unknown. We examined the burden and distribution of WMH, and their association with years of play, age of first exposure, and clinical function in former American football players.

Methods: A total of 149 former football players and 53 asymptomatic unexposed participants (all men, 45-74 years) completed fluid-attenuated inversion recovery magnetic resonance imaging, neuropsychological testing, and self-report neuropsychiatric measures.

A novel framework to estimate cognitive impairment via finger interaction with digital devices.

Measuring cognitive function is essential for characterizing brain health and tracking cognitive decline in Alzheimer's Disease and other neurodegenerative conditions. Current tools to accurately evaluate cognitive impairment typically rely on a battery of questionnaires administered during clinical visits which is essential for the acquisition of repeated measurements in longitudinal studies. Previous studies have shown that the remote data collection of passively monitored daily interaction with personal digital devices can measure motor signs in the early stages of synucleinopathies, as well as facilitate longitudinal patient assessment in the real-world scenario with high patient compliance.

Brain functional topology differs by sex in cognitively normal older adults.

Introduction: Late onset Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia, in which almost 70% of patients are women.

Hypothesis: We hypothesized that women show worse global FC metrics compared to men, and further hypothesized a sex-specific positive correlation between FC metrics and cognitive scores in women.

Methods: We studied cognitively healthy individuals from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative cohort, with resting-state functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

Memory for the Future: Psychodynamic Approach to Time and Self Through the Default Network.

Time exists in us, and our self exists in time. Our self is affected and shaped by time to the point that a better understanding of the former can aid the understanding of the latter. Psychoanalysis works through self and time, where the self is composed of the biopsychosocial history (the past) of the individual and able to map a trajectory for the future.

Levodopa-Carbidopa Intestinal Gel may improve treatment-resistant freezing of gait in Parkinson's disease.

Introduction: Freezing of gait (FOG) is a highly disabling symptom in Parkinson's Disease (PD) with varying degree of benefits from oral dopaminergic medications and several subtypes that present with different medication states (e.g., off FOG, on FOG, pseudo-on FOG, supra-on FOG).

The Two Sides of Siponimod: Evidence for Brain and Immune Mechanisms in Multiple Sclerosis.

Siponimod is a selective sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor subtype 1 (S1P) and 5 (S1P) modulator approved in the United States and the European Union as an oral treatment for adults with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (RMS), including active secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS). Preclinical and clinical studies provide support for a dual mechanism of action of siponimod, targeting peripherally mediated inflammation and exerting direct central effects. As an S1P receptor modulator, siponimod reduces lymphocyte egress from lymph nodes, thus inhibiting their migration from the periphery to the central nervous system.

Sex Modulates the Pathological Aging Effect on Caudate Functional Connectivity in Mild Cognitive Impairment.

Purpose: To assess the pathological aging effect on caudate functional connectivity among mild cognitive impairment (MCI) participants and examine whether and how sex and amyloid contribute to this process.

Materials And Methods: Two hundred and seventy-seven functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) sessions from 163 cognitive normal (CN) older adults and 309 sessions from 139 participants with MCI were included as the main sample in our analysis. Pearson's correlation was used to characterize the functional connectivity (FC) between caudate nuclei and each brain region, then caudate nodal strength was computed to quantify the overall caudate FC strength.

A Novel Way of Measuring Dual-Task Interference: The Reliability and Construct Validity of the Dual-Task Effect Battery in Neurodegenerative Disease.

Background: Decreased automaticity is common among individuals with neurodegenerative disease and is often assessed using dual-task (DT) paradigms. However, the best methods for assessing performance changes related to DT demands remain inconclusive.

Objective: To investigate the reliability and validity of a novel battery of DT measures (DT Effect-Battery (DTE-B)) encompassing three domains: task-specific interference, task prioritization, and automaticity.

Impact of Isolation During the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Patient Burden of Parkinson's Disease: A PMD Alliance Survey.

Purpose: As the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in social restrictions around the globe, this cross-sectional survey aimed to assess the impact of social isolation on self- or proxy-reported symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD) during the pandemic.

Patients And Methods: The survey was distributed among 7109 subscribers of the Parkinson and Movement Disorders Alliance (PMD Alliance) News and Information list and was open only to people with PD (PwP) and care partners (CP, defined as main caregivers of PwP and serving as proxy respondents). No attempt was made to identify PwP and CP pairs.