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Background: Behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) is generally considered a young-onset dementia, although age at onset is highly variable. While several studies indicate clinical differences regarding age at onset, no biomarker validated cohort studies with updated clinical criteria have been performed. Objective: We aimed to examine behavior, cognition, and mortality over the full age spectrum in a cohort of bvFTD patients with neuroimaging, genetic, or histopathological confirmation and exclusion of positive Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers or severe cerebrovascular damage. Methods: In total, 315 patients with a clinical diagnosis of probable or definite bvFTD were included from the Amsterdam Dementia Cohort and grouped into quartiles by age-at-diagnosis. Neuropsychiatric symptoms and cognitive functioning were assessed with the neuropsychiatric inventory, the geriatric depression scale and a neuropsychological test battery. Data on mortality was obtained from the Dutch municipal register. Associations between age-at-diagnosis and clinical features and mortality risk were examined. Results: Age-at-diagnosis ranged from 26 to 85 years and established quartiles with mean ages of 52±6, 61±2, 66±2, and 74±3 years. In the total sample, 44.4%exceeded an age of 65 years at time of diagnosis. Earlier age-at-diagnosis was associated with more severe behavioral symptoms, while later age-at-diagnosis was associated with more severe memory impairment. Unexpectedly, mortality risk was not associated with age-at-diagnosis. Conclusion: In bvFTD, symptom profile is associated with age-at-diagnosis. This should be taken into account with regard to diagnostics, patient management, and trial design. Additionally, based on our sample, the prevalence of late-onset bvFTD is higher than generally thought.

OBJECTIVE: Examine the association between neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) and clinical outcome in memory clinic patients with vascular brain injury.DESIGN/SETTING: TRACE-VCI prospective memory clinic cohort with follow-up (2.1 ± 0.5 years).PARTICIPANTS: Five hundred and seventy-five memory clinic patients with vascular brain injury on MRI (i.e. possible Vascular Cognitive Impairment [VCI]). Severity of cognitive impairment ranged from no objective cognitive impairment to mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia.MEASUREMENTS: We used Neuropsychiatric Inventory (total score and score on hyperactive, psychotic, affective, and apathetic behavior domains) to measure NPS. We assessed the association between NPS and institutionalization, mortality and cognitive deterioration (increase ≥0.5 on Clinical Dementia Rating scale) with Cox proportional hazards models and logistic regression analyses.RESULTS: NPS were present in 89% of all patients, most commonly in the hyperactive and apathetic behavior domain. Across the whole cohort, affective behavior was associated with institutionalization (HR: 1.98 [1.01-3.87]), mainly driven by the dementia subgroup (HR: 2.06 [1.00-4.21]). Apathetic behavior was associated with mortality and cognitive deterioration (HR: 2.07 [1.10-3.90],OR: 1.67 [1.12-2.49], respectively), mainly driven by the MCI subgroup (HR: 4.93 [1.07-22.86],OR: 3.25 [1.46-7.24], respectively). Conversely, hyperactive behavior was related to lower mortality (HR: 0.54 [0.29-0.98]), again particularly driven by the MCI subgroup (HR:0.17 [0.04-0.75]). Psychotic behavior was associated with cognitive deterioration in patients with no objective cognitive impairment (OR: 3.10 [1.09-8.80]) and with institutionalization in MCI (HR: 12.45 [1.28-121.14]).CONCLUSION: NPS are common and have prognostic value in memory clinic patients with possible VCI. This prognostic value depends on the severity of cognitive impairment.

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BNDF) plays a role in synapse integrity. We investigated in 398 cognitively normal adults (60±8years, 41% female, MMSE=28±1) the joint association of the Val66Met polymorphism of the BDNF gene (Met+/-) and plasma BDNF levels and abnormal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) amyloid-beta status (A+/-) with cognitive decline and dementia risk. Age-, sex- and education-adjusted linear mixed models showed that compared to Met-A-, Met+A+ showed steeper decline on tests of global cognition, memory, language, attention and executive functioning, while Met-A+ showed steeper decline on a smaller number of tests. There were no associations between Met+A- and cognitive decline. Cox models showed that compared to Met-A-, Met+A+ participants were at increased risk of dementia (HR=8.8, 95%CI: 2.8–27.9), as were Met-A+ participants (HR=6.5, 95%CI: 2.2–19.5). Lower plasma BDNF was associated with an increased risk of progression to dementia in the A+ participants. Our results imply that Met-carriage on top of amyloid-beta pathology might increase rate of cognitive decline to dementia.

Background: Serum glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and neurofilament light (NfL) are putative non-amyloid blood-based biomarkers indicative of ongoing inflammatory and neurodegenerative disease processes. We aimed to assess their prognostic and monitoring value for progression to dementia in individuals presenting at a memory clinic who are cognitively normal. Methods: For this prospective cohort study, we included individuals who were cognitively normal from the Amsterdam Dementia Cohort and received screening for dementia at first visit and annual follow-up visits. Participants without a serum sample stored in the Amsterdam Dementia Biobank within 6 months of baseline visit and without a follow-up diagnosis after a minimum of 6 months were excluded. We measured serum GFAP and NfL levels at baseline for all participants and at follow-up for a subset of participants. Using Cox proportional hazard models, we investigated associations of biomarker levels (Z-transformed) with incident dementia (adjusted for age and sex), by entering the markers first separately and then simultaneously, to test independent associations. We also assessed longitudinal performance of the markers on a standardised neuropsychological test battery covering global cognition, memory, language, executive functioning, and attention (adjusted for age, sex, and education). Finally, we evaluated the association of slopes of biomarker levels with incident dementia (adjusted for age and sex). Findings: Between July 13, 2001, and Aug 17, 2016, 300 individuals were included in the study. Mean baseline age was 61 years (SD 9), 125 (42%) of participants were women, and mini-mental state examination was 29 (IQR 27–29). Median follow-up time was 3·0 years (IQR 1·9–4·2), with a median of three visits per participant (range 2–12; 1010 total neuropsychological evaluations). During follow-up, 27 (9%) of 300 individuals developed dementia. Both high baseline GFAP (hazard ratio 3·6, 95% CI 2·2–5·7; p42/40, both GFAP (2·6, 1·4–5·0; p=0·0026) and amyloid β 42/40 (2·1, 1·2–3·6; p=0·0091) were independently associated with incident dementia whereas NfL was not (1·4, 0·8–2·5; p=0·28). Linear mixed models showed that higher baseline GFAP levels were associated with a steeper rate of decline in the domains of memory, attention, and executive functioning (p false discovery rate

INTRODUCTION: To date, the clinical relevance of comorbid amyloid-β (Aβ) pathology in patients with vascular cognitive disorders (VCD) is largely unknown.METHODS: We included 218 VCD patients with available cerebrospinal fluid Aβ42 levels. Patients were divided into Aβ+ mild-VCD (n = 84), Aβ- mild-VCD (n = 68), Aβ+ major-VCD (n = 31), and Aβ- major-VCD (n = 35). We measured depression with the Geriatric Depression Scale, cognition with a neuropsychological test battery and derived white matter hyperintensities (WMH) and gray matter atrophy from MRI.RESULTS: Aβ- patients showed more depressive symptoms than Aβ+. In the major-VCD group, Aβ- patients performed worse on attention (P = .02) and executive functioning (P = .008) than Aβ+. We found no cognitive differences in patients with mild VCD. In the mild-VCD group, Aβ- patients had more WMH than Aβ+ patients, whereas conversely, in the major-VCD group, Aβ+ patients had more WMH. Atrophy patterns did not differ between Aβ+ and Aβ- VCD group.DISCUSSION: Comorbid Aβ pathology affects the manifestation of VCD, but effects differ by severity of VCD.

BACKGROUND: Many older people worry about cognitive decline. Early cognitive screening in an anonymous and easily accessible manner may reassure older people who are unnecessarily worried about normal cognitive aging while it may also expedite help seeking in case of suspicious cognitive decline.OBJECTIVE: To develop and validate online and telephone-based automated self-tests of cognitive function.METHODS: We examined the feasibility and validity of the self-tests in a prospective study of 117 participants of whom 34 had subjective cognitive decline (SCD), 30 had mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and 53 had dementia. The ability of these self-tests to accurately distinguish MCI and dementia from SCD was examined with ROC curves. Convergent validity was examined by calculating rank correlations between the self-tests and neuropsychological tests.RESULTS: Both the online and telephone cognitive self-tests were feasible, because the majority of participants (86% and 80%, respectively) were able to complete them. The online self-test had adequate diagnostic accuracy in the screening for MCI and dementia versus SCD with an Area under the Curve (AUC) of 0.86 (95% CI: 0.78-0.93). The AUC of the MMSE was 0.82 (95% CI: 0.74-0.89). By contrast, the telephone self-test had lower diagnostic accuracy (AUC = 0.75, 95% CI: 0.64-0.86). Both self-tests had good convergent validity as demonstrated by moderate to strong rank correlations with neuropsychological tests.CONCLUSION: We demonstrated good diagnostic accuracy and convergent validity for the online self-test of cognitive function. It is therefore a promising tool in the screening for MCI and dementia.

We examined the relationships between amyloid-β PET and concurrent and longitudinal cognitive performance in 107 cognitively normal individuals with subjective cognitive decline (age: 64 ± 8 years, 44% female, Mini-Mental State Examination score 29 ± 1). All underwent 90-minute dynamic [ 18 F]florbetapir PET scanning and longitudinal neuropsychological tests with a mean follow-up of 3.4 ± 3.0 years. Receptor parametric mapping was used to calculate [ 18 F]florbetapir binding potential (BP ND ), and we performed linear mixed models to assess the relationships between global [ 18 F]florbetapir BP ND and neuropsychological performance. Higher [ 18 F]florbetapir BP ND was related to lower concurrent Mini-Mental State Examination (β ± SE: −1.69 ± 0.63 p < 0.01) and to steeper rate of decline on tasks capturing memory (Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Task immediate [β ± SE −1.81 ± 0.81, p < 0.05] and delayed recall [β ± SE −1.19 ± 0.34, p < 0.01]), attention/executive functions (Stroop II [color] [β ± SE −0.02 ± 0.01, p < 0.05], Stroop III [word-color] [β ± SE −0.03 ± 0.02, p < 0.05]), and language (category fluency [β ± SE −0.04 ± 0.01, p < 0.01]). These findings suggest that higher amyloid-β load in cognitively normal individuals with subjective cognitive decline from a memory clinic is associated with lower concurrent global cognition and with faster rate of decline in a variety of cognitive domains.

Background/Aims: We aimed to prospectively assess the diagnostic accuracy of the revised criteria for behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) among subjects presenting with a frontal lobe syndrome in middle-late adulthood. Methods: Patients were included based on a predominant behavioural clinical presentation, a Frontal Behavioural Inventory (FBI) score of ≥11 and/or a Stereotypy Rating Inventory (SRI) score of ≥10. At baseline, the fulfilment of the international consensus criteria for behavioural variant FTD (FTDC) was systematically recorded. The 2-year follow-up consensus diagnosis was used as the gold standard to calculate sensitivity and specificity of the FTDC criteria for possible and probable bvFTD. Results: Two-year follow-up data were available for 116 patients (85%). Two-year follow-up consensus diagnoses consisted of probable/definite bvFTD (n = 27), other dementia (n = 30), psychiatric disorders (n = 46) and other neurological disorders (n = 13). Sensitivity for possible bvFTD was 85% (95% CI 70-95%) at a specificity of 27% (95% CI 19-37%). Sensitivity for probable bvFTD was 85% (95% CI 69-95%), whereas their specificity was 82% (95% CI 73-89%). Conclusions: We found a good diagnostic accuracy for FTDC probable bvFTD. However, the specificity for FTDC possible bvFTD was low. Our results reflect the symptomatic overlap between bvFTD, other neurological conditions and psychiatric disorders, and the relevance of adding neuroimaging to the diagnostic process.

We aimed to assess the impact of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease on decision making and patient management in a tertiary memory clinic.We included all patients, for 1 year, visiting the VUmc Alzheimer Center for cognitive screening. Neurologists completed questionnaires before and after CSF disclosure. We assessed the change of diagnosis, diagnostic confidence, and impact on patient management.A total of 438 patients (age 63 ± 8 years, 39% women) were included, of whom 351 (80%) underwent lumbar puncture. After the disclosure of CSF 23/351 diagnoses (7%) were changed. Diagnostic confidence increased from 84% to 89% (P.001). There were consequences for management in 44/351 patients (13%) with CSF, and 13/87 patients (15%) because of unavailable CSF. There was no effect of age on these results.CSF biomarkers aid clinicians with decision making during diagnostic work-up of cognitive disorders. This study may be useful for developing guidelines for the implementation of CSF biomarkers in daily practice.

Background: The behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) has a broad differential diagnosis including other neurological and psychiatric disorders. Psychiatric misdiagnoses occur in up to 50% of bvFTD patients. Numbers on misdiagnosis of bvFTD in psychiatric disorders are lacking. Objective: The aim of our study was to investigate the frequency and characteristics of bvFTD misdiagnoses in psychiatric disorders and other neurologic disorders. Methods: Thirty-five patients with a (possible or probable) bvFTD diagnosis made by specialized memory clinic neurologists were included. Change in diagnosis after consulting a psychiatrist at baselinewas recorded as well as change in diagnosis after two years of multidisciplinary neuropsychiatric follow-up. Differences in cognitive and behavioral profiles were investigated per diagnostic group after follow-up (bvFTD, psychiatry, other neurologic disorders). Clinical profiles are described in detail. Results: In 17 patients (48.5%), the bvFTD baseline diagnosis changed: Two at baseline after psychiatric consultation, and 15 after two years of multidisciplinary follow-up. Eleven (64.5%) of these 17 patients (31.5% of total) were reclassified with a psychiatric diagnosis. We found no differences for cognitive baseline profiles between patients with bvFTD versus psychiatric diagnoses. Conclusion: In almost half of cases, the initial bvFTD diagnosis was changed after follow-up, most often into a psychiatric disorder. A multidisciplinary neuropsychiatric approach in the diagnostic process of bvFTD results in the identification of treatable disorders. Our findings illustrate a limited specificity of the [18F]FDG-PET-scan and the bvFTD criteria in a neuropsychiatric cohort, especially combined with certain clinical symptoms, like disinhibition, apathy, or loss of empathy.

Introduction We examined the association between decreased cerebral blood flow (CBF) and cognitive impairment in Alzheimer's disease (AD), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and subjective cognitive decline (SCD). Methods We included 161 AD, 95 MCI, and 143 SCD patients from the Amsterdam Dementia Cohort. We used 3-T pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling to estimate whole-brain and regional partial volume–corrected CBF. Neuropsychological tests covered global cognition and five cognitive domains. Associations were investigated using linear regression analyses. Results In the whole sample, reduced overall and regional CBF was associated with impairment in all cognitive domains. We found significant interactions between diagnosis and CBF for language and between diagnosis and parietal CBF for global cognition and executive functioning. Stratification showed that decreased CBF was associated with worse performance in AD patients but not in MCI or SCD. Discussion Our results suggest that CBF may have potential as a functional marker of disease severity.

Author(s): Sachdev, Perminder; Kalaria, Raj; O'Brien, John; Skoog, Ingmar; Alladi, Suvarna; Black, Sandra E; Blacker, Deborah; Blazer, Dan G; Chen, Christopher; Chui, Helena; Ganguli, Mary; Jellinger, Kurt; Jeste, Dilip V; Pasquier, Florence; Paulsen, Jane; Prins, Niels; Rockwood, Kenneth; Roman, Gustavo; Scheltens, Philip; Internationlal Society for Vascular Behavioral and Cognitive Disorders | Abstract: BackgroundSeveral sets of diagnostic criteria have been published for vascular dementia since the 1960s. The continuing ambiguity in vascular dementia definition warrants a critical reexamination.MethodsParticipants at a special symposium of the International Society for Vascular Behavioral and Cognitive Disorders (VASCOG) in 2009 critiqued the current criteria. They drafted a proposal for a new set of criteria, later reviewed through multiple drafts by the group, including additional experts and the members of the Neurocognitive Disorders Work Group of the fifth revision of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-5) Task Force.ResultsCognitive disorders of vascular etiology are a heterogeneous group of disorders with diverse pathologies and clinical manifestations, discussed broadly under the rubric of vascular cognitive disorders (VCD). The continuum of vascular cognitive impairment is recognized by the categories of Mild Vascular Cognitive Disorder, and Vascular Dementia or Major Vascular Cognitive Disorder. Diagnostic thresholds are defined. Clinical and neuroimaging criteria are proposed for establishing vascular etiology. Subtypes of VCD are described, and the frequent cooccurrence of Alzheimer disease pathology emphasized.ConclusionsThe proposed criteria for VCD provide a coherent approach to the diagnosis of this diverse group of disorders, with a view to stimulating clinical and pathologic validation studies. These criteria can be harmonized with the DSM-5 criteria such that an international consensus on the criteria for VCD may be achieved.