Associations between BDNF Val66Met and tau‐PET and episodic memory performance in sporadic AD.

Background: In the presence of abnormally high amyloid (Aβ+), carriage of the brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) Val66Met polymorphism Met allele (Met66) is associated with faster clinical disease progression, greater neuronal loss and faster rate of CSF total‐tau and p‐tau compared to matched Val66 Aβ+ homozygotes. Aβ levels are unaffected by carriage of Met66. This suggests reduced neurotrophic support may accelerate Aβ‐related neuronal dysfunction and cognitive decline.

DeepSUVR: Using temporal constraints to improve SUVR and Centiloid quantification.

Background: PET quantification using the Standardised Uptake Value Ratio (SUVR) relies on the availability of a robust reference region. Intrinsic noise, spill in, and specific binding in the reference region can impact the reliability of the resulting SUVR. We evaluate a novel deep learning method trained on longitudinal data that penalises unexpected temporal changes and learns a SUVR correction factor that compensates for any noise or bias in the reference region, resulting in an improved quantification.

Multi‐omic blood biomarkers and cognitive profiles discriminate causes of younger‐onset neurocognitive symptoms: a cohort study.

Background: Younger‐onset neurocognitive symptoms result from a heterogenous group of neurological and psychiatric disorders which present a diagnostic challenge. To identify such factors, we analysed the BeYOND (Biomarkers in Younger‐Onset Neurocognitive Disorders) cohort, a study of individuals less than 65 years old presenting with neurocognitive symptoms for a clinical diagnosis and who have undergone cognitive and biomarker analyses.

Method: 65 participants were recruited during their index presentation to the Royal Melbourne Hospital Neuropsychiatry Centre, a tertiary specialist service in Melbourne, Australia.

The prevalence of tau‐PET positivity in aging and dementia.

Background: Tau‐PET imaging allows in‐vivo detection of neurofibrillary tangles. One tau‐PET tracer (i.e.

OML‐Combine: Online Machine Learning tool for Combining datasets to increase power and facilitate multi‐centre collaboration on Alzheimer's disease studies.

Background: Diagnostic and prognostic decisions about Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are more accurate when based on large data sets. We developed and validated a machine learning (ML) data harmonization tool for aggregation of prospective data from neuropsychological tests applied to study AD. The online ML‐combine application (OML‐combine app) allows researchers to utilize the ML‐harmonization method for harmonization of their own data with that from other large available data bases (e.

Update on the current state of speech and language testing in Alzheimer's Disease.

Background: Screening and disease monitoring are two core challenges of disease management in Alzheimer's Disease (AD). Digital speech and language features have shown promise as clinical outcomes in related disorders.

Methods: We reviewed how speech digital markers are currently used in AD, focusing on how behaviours are connected to underlying disease pathology.

AT(N), neuronal and glial pathologies underlying neuropsychiatric symptoms and cognition in young‐onset dementia.

Background: Young‐onset dementia (YOD) refers to the occurrence of dementia symptoms in people under the age of 65. Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) are increasingly considered as the preclinical manifestations of YOD, posing a challenge to differentiate from psychiatric conditions with overlapping symptoms. The aim of this study is to investigate the AT(N), neuronal and glial pathologies underlying NPS and cognition in YOD.

Plasma p217+tau accurately discriminates Intermediate or Advanced Alzheimer's Disease biological PET stages.

Background: Plasma phospho‐tau biomarkers, such as p217+tau, excel at identifying Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) neuropathology. However, questions remain regarding their capacity to inform AD biological PET stages at group level and maintain the same precision at individual patient level.

Method: Participants included 248 cognitively unimpaired (CU) and 227 cognitively impaired (CI) individuals, with Janssen plasma p217+tau Simoa® assay, F‐NAV4694 Aβ PET (A) and F‐MK6240 tau PET (T) data.

Blood astrocyte biomarkers in AD: a systematic review and meta‐analysis.

Background: We performed a systematic review and meta‐analysis of blood astrocyte biomarkers in Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Method: MEDLINE and Web of Science were searched without any restrictions on language, time, or study design, for studies reporting blood levels of the astrocyte biomarkers GFAP, YKL‐40, and S100B in AD patients. Pooled effect sizes were determined using Hedge's g method with a random effects model.

Assessing the efficacy of BETTH‐derived tau thresholds to predict cognitive decline in non‐demented individuals.

Background: Tau PET thresholds should detect early tau deposition and predict cognitive decline. We evaluated the relationships between the BETTH‐derived sensitivity and specificity tau thresholds (Gogola et al, doi:10.2967/jnumed.

Does cultural and linguistic diversity impact timeliness of dementia diagnosis? Findings from the Australian Dementia Network Registry.

Background: The Australian Dementia Network (ADNeT) is a collaboration of dementia researchers and clinicians established in 2018. It includes a clinical quality registry that reports on diagnosis and early management of people with dementia or Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) across public, private, metropolitan and rural settings. Australia is multicultural and the registry collects information regarding cultural and linguistic diversity (CALD).

Can medical comorbidities modify the clinical evolution of mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s dementia?

Background: Despite the health and societal burden that Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has on the elderly population, the underlying cause is not fully understood. Researchers are investigating possible mechanisms, and current studies have suggested that a number of comorbidities increase/decrease the likelihood of AD onset. The aim of the current study was to explore the associations between various comorbidities and AD in older Australians from an epidemiological perspective.

Metabolic bariatric surgery generates substantial, sustained weight loss and health improvement in a real-world setting.

Background: To determine if the positive outcomes from clinical trials regarding the safety and efficacy of metabolic bariatric surgery are reproducible at a national level.

Methods: A longitudinal registry-based observation study with data collected from all persons undergoing metabolic bariatric surgery in Australia from 28 February 2012-31 December 2021 including data from 122,567 index patients who underwent 134,625 completed bariatric procedures.

Main Outcomes And Measures: Defined adverse outcomes at 90-days (unplanned readmission, intensive care admission and re-operation; death), annual change in weight (percent total body weight loss (TBWL)), diabetes treatment and need for re-operation.

Is Brief Admission Effective for Individuals With Lived Experience of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) When Experiencing Crisis? A Mixed Systematic Review.

Brief admission has been widely used to support individuals with lived experience of borderline personality disorder (BPD) who are experiencing crisis. This study updates a previous 2014 systematic review of the effectiveness of brief admission for individuals with BPD. Following PRISMA guidelines, four databases (MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsychINFO and Cochrane library) were searched from 2011.

Ten Year Patterns of Change in HbA1C and Risk of Dementia in a Diverse Cohort of Adults with Type 2 Diabetes.

Background: Though high HbA (marker for glycemic control) is associated with increased dementia risk, the influence of longitudinal changes in HbA is unclear. We examined the association between 10‐year trajectories of HbA and dementia risk in a large, diverse sample of people in Northern California.

Method: In a cohort of 32, 914 patients with Type 2 diabetes aged ≥ 50 years, we obtained repeated measures of HbA, dementia diagnoses, and comorbidities from electronic medical records (EMR) from 1996‐20021.

24 hour behaviors and dementia risk.

Background: Short sleep duration, low physical activity and high sedentary time are associated with higher dementia risk. To date, previous studies have considered these behaviors in isolation, and not as inter‐related behaviors part of the 24‐h day. Compositional data analysis (CoDA) treats these behaviors as inter‐related within a constrained 24hrs.

Dementia Research Priorities in Low‐ and Middle‐income Countries in Southeast Asia: A scoping review of the literature and nominal group technique outcome.

Background: Dementia is a global public health concern, that poses daily challenges to the individuals, families, and healthcare systems worldwide. Sixty percent of those affected reside in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs), where 71% of new cases are anticipated by 2025. Most dementia studies focus on high‐income countries, emphasizing the need for region‐specific investigations in areas like Southeast Asia, where diverse cultural, economic, and healthcare settings present unique complexities.

How Does Social Interaction Impact Grey Matter Volume in Healthy Older Women?

Background: The global population of adults over the age of 65 is expected to surpass 2 billion by 2050. Alongside this rise in the aging population, the incidence of age‐related cognitive decline and dementia will continue to grow. Importantly, women are at an elevated risk of cognitive decline compared to men.

A systematic review and meta‐analysis of the association between mood disorders and Alzheimer’s dementia.

Background: Anxiety and depression are mood disorders that can manifest decades before the onset of dementia, including mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). A systematic review with meta‐analysis was conducted to investigate whether anxiety/depression modifies the risk of MCI/AD.

Method: Embase, Global Health, MEDLINE, APA PsycInfo (from inception to July 2023) were systematically searched for well‐structured cohort studies examining the association between anxiety/depression and dementia.

Pursuing dementia detection for better prevalence estimation with artificial intelligence and traditional modelling techniques in electronic health data.

Background: Population dementia prevalence is traditionally estimated using cohort studies, surveys, routinely‐collected administrative data, and registries. Hospital Electronic Health Records (EHRs) are comprised of rich structured and unstructured (text) clinical data that are underutilised for this purpose. We aimed to develop a suite of algorithms using routinely‐collected EHR data to reliably identify cases of dementia, as a key step towards incorporating such data in prevalence estimation.

Social connection profiles of older adults as both heritable and modifiable influences on brain health: data from the Older Australian Twins Study.

Background: Social connections are associated with brain health, but the extent to which social connections are heritable remains unclear. Using longitudinal twin data, we explored the heritable and environmental contributions to social connections. We hypothesised that social connections patterns would be moderately heritable and would be associated with better cognitive and mental health over time.

Dementia risk reduction assessed with ANU‐ADRI in the trial, an online multidomain intervention to prevent cognitive decline and dementia.

Background: The (MYB) randomised controlled trial (RCT) aimed to prevent cognitive decline and dementia through a multidomain risk‐reduction intervention delivered digitally. The intervention targeted four modifiable risk areas (physical inactivity, poor diet, cognitive inactivity, and depression and/or anxiety). MYB ran for three years and targeted older Australians aged 55‐77 years.

Baseline demographic, risk and cognitive characteristics of the final randomized sample enrolled in a decentralised multi‐domain lifestyle intervention trial (BetterBrains) to delay cognitive decline.

Background: The BetterBrains Trial is a prospective behavior‐modification blinded endpoint randomized controlled trial to delay cognitive decline in middle‐aged adults (aged 40‐70) with a family history of dementia. The primary outcome is absence of decline on at‐least one out of four cognitive tests at 24‐months. We present trial recruitment and current participant completion statistics and baseline demographic, modifiable dementia risk factor (MDRF) and cognitive characteristics of the randomized sample, blinded to intervention arm.