Distinct profiles of impaired associative memory and underlying cerebral networks in Alzheimer's disease

peer reviewe

Anosognosia in Mild Cognitive Impairment: Lack of awareness of memory difficulties characterizes prodromal Alzheimer’s disease

peer reviewe

In vivo exploration of synaptic projections in frontotemporal dementia.

The purpose of this exploratory research is to provide data on synaptopathy in the behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD). Twelve patients with probable bvFTD were compared to 12 control participants and 12 patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Loss of synaptic projections was assessed with ­[18F]UCBH-PET. Total distribution volume was obtained with Logan method using carotid artery derived input function. Neuroimages were analyzed with SPM12. Verbal fluency, episodic memory and awareness of cognitive impairment were equally impaired in patients groups. Compared to controls, ­[18F]UCBH uptake tended to decrease in the right anterior parahippocampal gyrus of bvFTD patients. Loss of synaptic projections was observed in the right hippocampus of AD participants, but there was no significant difference in ­[18F]UCBH brain uptake between patients groups. Anosognosia for clinical disorder was correlated with synaptic density in the caudate nucleus and the anteromedial prefrontal cortex. This study suggests that synaptopathy in bvFTD targets the temporal social brain and self-referential processes

In vivo imaging of synaptic loss in Alzheimer’s disease with [18F]UCB-H Positron Emission Tomography

IUAP - Interuniversity Attraction Poles Programme (IUAP 7/11); ARC - Actions de recherche concertées (ARC 12/17-01); Special Research Funds classical grant 2016 (Faculty of Medicine, University of Liege, Belgium), FRS-FNR