Association of plasma Aβ40/Aβ42 ratio and brain Aβ accumulation: testing a whole-brain PLS-VIP in individuals at risk of Alzheimer's disease

Molecular and brain regional/network-wise pathophysiological changes at preclinical stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD) have primarily been found through knowledge-based studies conducted in late-stage mild cognitive impairment/dementia populations. However, such an approach may compromise the objective of identifying the earliest spatial-temporal pathophysiological processes. We investigated 261 individuals with subjective memory complaints, a condition at increased risk of AD, to test a whole-brain, non-a-priori method based on partial least squares, in unraveling the association between plasma Aβ42/Aβ40 ratio and an extensive set of brain regions characterized through molecular imaging of Aβ accumulation and cortical metabolism. Significant associations were mapped onto large-scale networks, identified through an atlas and by knowledge, to elaborate on the reliability of the results. Plasma Aβ42/40 ratio was associated with Aβ-PET uptake (but not FDG-PET) in regions generally investigated in preclinical AD such as those belonging to the default mode network, but also in regions/networks normally not accounted - including the central executive and salience networks - which likely have a selective vulnerability to incipient Aβ accumulation. The present whole-brain approach is promising to investigate early pathophysiological changes of AD to fully capture the complexity of the disease, which is essential to develop timely screening, detection, diagnostic, and therapeutic interventions

Plasma β-secretase1 concentrations correlate with basal forebrain atrophy and neurodegeneration in cognitively healthy individuals at risk for AD

BACKGROUND: Increased β-secretase 1 (BACE1) protein concentration, in body fluids, is a candidate biomarker of Alzheimer's disease (AD).We reported that plasma BACE1 protein concentrations are associated with the levels of brain amyloidβ (Αβ) accumulation in cognitively healthy individuals with subjective memory complaint (SMC). METHODS: In 302 individuals from the same cohort, we investigated the cross-sectional and longitudinal association between plasma BACE1 protein concentrations and AD biomarkers of neurodegeneration (plasma t-tau and Neurofilament light chain (NfL), fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography (FDG-PET), brain volumes in the basal forebrain [BF], hippocampus, and entorhinal cortex). RESULTS: We report a positive longitudinal correlation of BACE1 with both NfL and t-tau, as well as a correlation between annual BACE1 changes and bi-annual reduction of BF volume. We show a positive association between BACE1 and FDG-PET signal at baseline. CONCLUSIONS: The association between plasma BACE1 protein concentrations and BF atrophy we found in cognitively healthy individuals with SMC corroborates translational studies, suggesting a role of BACE1 in neurodegeneration

Age and sex impact plasma NFL and t-Tau trajectories in individuals with subjective memory complaints: a 3-year follow-up study

BACKGROUND: Plasma neurofilament light (NFL) and total Tau (t-Tau) proteins are candidate biomarkers for early stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The impact of biological factors on their plasma concentrations in individuals with subjective memory complaints (SMC) has been poorly explored. We longitudinally investigate the effect of sex, age, APOE ε4 allele, comorbidities, brain amyloid-β (Aβ) burden, and cognitive scores on plasma NFL and t-Tau concentrations in cognitively healthy individuals with SMC, a condition associated with AD development. METHODS: Three hundred sixteen and 79 individuals, respectively, have baseline and three-time point assessments (at baseline, 1-year, and 3-year follow-up) of the two biomarkers. Plasma biomarkers were measured with an ultrasensitive assay in a mono-center cohort (INSIGHT-preAD study). RESULTS: We show an effect of age on plasma NFL, with women having a higher increase of plasma t-Tau concentrations compared to men, over time. The APOE ε4 allele does not affect the biomarker concentrations while plasma vitamin B12 deficiency is associated with higher plasma t-Tau concentrations. Both biomarkers are correlated and increase over time. Baseline NFL is related to the rate of Aβ deposition at 2-year follow-up in the left-posterior cingulate and the inferior parietal gyri. Baseline plasma NFL and the rate of change of plasma t-Tau are inversely associated with cognitive score. CONCLUSION: We find that plasma NFL and t-Tau longitudinal trajectories are affected by age and female sex, respectively, in SMC individuals. Exploring the influence of biological variables on AD biomarkers is crucial for their clinical validation in blood

Awareness of cognitive decline trajectories in asymptomatic individuals at risk for AD

Background: Lack of awareness of cognitive decline (ACD) is common in late-stage Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Recent studies showed that ACD can also be reduced in the early stages. Methods: We described different trends of evolution of ACD over 3 years in a cohort of memory-complainers and their association to amyloid burden and brain metabolism. We studied the impact of ACD at baseline on cognitive scores’ evolution and the association between longitudinal changes in ACD and in cognitive score. Results: 76.8% of subjects constantly had an accurate ACD (reference class). 18.95% showed a steadily heightened ACD and were comparable to those with accurate ACD in terms of demographic characteristics and AD biomarkers. 4.25% constantly showed low ACD, had significantly higher amyloid burden than the reference class, and were mostly men. We found no overall effect of baseline ACD on cognitive scores’ evolution and no association between longitudinal changes in ACD and in cognitive scores. Conclusions: ACD begins to decrease during the preclinical phase in a group of individuals, who are of great interest and need to be further characterized. Trial registration: The present study was conducted as part of the INSIGHT-PreAD study. The identification number of INSIGHT-PreAD study (ID-RCB) is 2012-A01731-42

Low Cognitive Awareness, but Not Complaint, is a Good Marker of Preclinical Alzheimer's Disease

Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) may result from many conditions, including Alzheimer's disease (AD)

Cerebellar ataxia with oculomotor apraxia type 1: clinical and genetic studies

Ataxia with ocular motor apraxia type 1 (AOA1) is an autosomal recessive cerebellar ataxia (ARCA) associated with oculomotor apraxia, hypoalbuminaemia and hypercholesterolaemia. The gene APTX, which encodes aprataxin, has been identified recently. We studied a large series of 158 families with non-Friedreich progressive ARCA. We identified 14 patients (nine families) with five different missense or truncating mutations in the aprataxin gene (W279X, A198V, D267G, W279R, IVS5+1), four of which were new. We determined the relative frequency of AOA1 which is 5%. Mutation carriers underwent detailed neurological, neuropsychological, electrophysiological, oculographic and biological examinations, as well as brain imaging. The mean age at onset was 6.8 +/- 4.8 years (range 2-18 years). Cerebellar ataxia with cerebellar atrophy on MRI and severe axonal sensorimotor neuropathy were present in all patients. In contrast, oculomotor apraxia (86%), hypoalbuminaemia (83%) and hypercholesterolaemia (75%) were variable. Choreic movements were frequent at onset (79%), but disappeared in the course of the disease in most cases. However, a remarkably severe and persistent choreic phenotype was associated with one of the mutations (A198V). Cognitive impairment was always present. Ocular saccade initiation was normal, but their duration was increased by the succession of multiple hypometric saccades that could clinically be confused with 'slow saccades'. We emphasize the phenotypic variability over the course of the disease. Cerebellar ataxia and/or chorea predominate at onset, but later on they are often partially masked by severe neuropathy, which is the most typical symptom in young adults. The presence of chorea, sensorimotor neuropathy, oculomotor anomalies, biological abnormalities, cerebellar atrophy on MRI and absence of the Babinski sign can help to distinguish AOA1 from Friedreich's ataxia on a clinical basis. The frequency of chorea at onset suggests that this diagnosis should also be considered in children with chorea who do not carry the IT15 mutation responsible for Huntington's disease

Gray Matter Network Disruptions and Regional Amyloid Beta in Cognitively Normal Adults

The accumulation of amyloid plaques is one of the earliest pathological changes in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and may occur 20 years before the onset of symptoms. Examining associations between amyloid pathology and other early brain changes is critical for understanding the pathophysiological underpinnings of AD. Alterations in gray matter networks might already start at early preclinical stages of AD. In this study, we examined the regional relationship between amyloid aggregation measured with positron emission tomography (PET) and gray matter network measures in elderly subjects with subjective memory complaints. Single-subject gray matter networks were extracted from T1-weigthed structural MRI in cognitively normal subjects (n = 318, mean age 76.1 ± 3.5, 64% female, 28% amyloid positive). Degree, clustering, path length and small world properties were computed. Global and regional amyloid load was determined using [18F]-Florbetapir PET. Associations between standardized uptake value ratio (SUVr) values and network measures were examined using linear regression models. We found that higher global SUVr was associated with lower clustering (β = −0.12, p < 0.05), and small world values (β = −0.16, p < 0.01). Associations were most prominent in orbito- and dorsolateral frontal and parieto-occipital regions. Local SUVr values showed less anatomical variability and did not convey additional information beyond global amyloid burden. In conclusion, we found that in cognitively normal elderly subjects, increased global amyloid pathology is associated with alterations in gray matter networks that are indicative of incipient network breakdown towards AD dementia

Relations between C9orf72 expansion size in blood, age at onset, age at collection and transmission across generations in patients and presymptomatic carriers

A (GGGGCC) n repeat expansion in C9orf72 gene is the major cause of frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The relations between the repeats size and the age at disease onset (AO) or the clinical phenotype (FTD vs. ALS) were investigated in 125 FTD, ALS, and presymptomatic carriers. Positive correlations were found between repeats number and the AO (p &lt; 10 e−4 ) but our results suggested that the association was mainly driven by age at collection (p &lt; 10 e−4 ). A weaker association was observed with clinical presentation (p = 0.02), which became nonsignificant after adjustment for the age at collection in each group. Importantly, repeats number variably expanded or contracted over time in carriers with multiple blood samples, as well as through generations in parent-offspring pairs, conversely to what occurs in several expansion diseases with anticipation at the molecular level. Finally, this study establishes that measure of repeats number in lymphocytes is not a reliable biomarker predictive of the AO or disease outcome in C9orf72 long expansion carriers

«La relation de limitation et d’exception dans le français d’aujourd’hui : excepté, sauf et hormis comme pivots d’une relation algébrique »

L’analyse des emplois prépositionnels et des emplois conjonctifs d’ “excepté”, de “sauf” et d’ “hormis” permet d’envisager les trois prépositions/conjonctions comme le pivot d’un binôme, comme la plaque tournante d’une structure bipolaire. Placées au milieu du binôme, ces prépositions sont forcées par leur sémantisme originaire dûment métaphorisé de jouer le rôle de marqueurs d’inconséquence systématique entre l’élément se trouvant à leur gauche et celui qui se trouve à leur droite. L’opposition qui surgit entre les deux éléments n’est donc pas une incompatibilité naturelle, intrinsèque, mais extrinsèque, induite. Dans la plupart des cas (emplois limitatifs), cette opposition prend la forme d’un rapport entre une « classe » et le « membre (soustrait) de la classe », ou bien entre un « tout » et une « partie » ; dans d’autres (emplois exceptifs), cette opposition se manifeste au contraire comme une attaque de front portée par un « tout » à un autre « tout ». De plus, l’inconséquence induite mise en place par la préposition/conjonction paraît, en principe, tout à fait insurmontable. Dans l’assertion « les écureuils vivent partout, sauf en Australie » (que l’on peut expliciter par « Les écureuils vivent partout, sauf [qu’ils ne vivent pas] en Australie »), la préposition semble en effet capable d’impliquer le prédicat principal avec signe inverti, et de bâtir sur une telle implication une sorte de sous énoncé qui, à la rigueur, est totalement inconséquent avec celui qui le précède (si « les écureuils ne vivent pas en Australie », le fait qu’ils « vivent partout » est faux). Néanmoins, l’analyse montre qu’alors que certaines de ces oppositions peuvent enfin être dépassées, d’autres ne le peuvent pas. C’est, respectivement, le cas des relations limitatives et des relations exceptives. La relation limitative, impliquant le rapport « tout » - « partie », permet de résoudre le conflit dans les termes d’une somme algébrique entre deux sous énoncés pourvus de différent poids informatif et de signe contraire. Les valeurs numériques des termes de la somme étant déséquilibrées, le résultat est toujours autre que zéro. La relation exceptive, au contraire, qui n’implique pas le rapport « tout » - « partie », n’est pas capable de résoudre le conflit entre deux sous énoncés pourvus du même poids informatif et en même temps de signe contraire : les valeurs numériques des termes de la somme étant symétriques et égales, le résultat sera toujours équivalent à zéro

Geopolymer/PEG Hybrid Materials Synthesis and Investigation of the Polymer Influence on Microstructure and Mechanical Behavior

Geopolymers are aluminosilicate inorganic polymers, obtained from the alkali activation of powders containing SiO2+Al2O3>80wt%, mainly proposed as environmentally friendly building materials. In this work, metakaolin-based geopolymers have been prepared and a water-soluble polymer, polyethylene glycol (PEG), has been added in different percentages to obtain organic-inorganic hybrid geopolymers. The influence of both the polymer amount and aging time on the structure and the mechanical behavior of the materials were investigated. FTIR spectroscopy allowed us to follow the evolution of the aluminosilicate framework during the geopolymerization process. This analysis revealed that PEG leads to a network which is rich in Al-O-Si bonds and forms H-bonds with the inorganic phase. SEM microscope showed that the two phases are interpenetrated on micrometric scales. Traction and bending tests have been carried out on appropriate samples to investigate the mechanical behavior of the obtained hybrids, showing that both PEG content and aging time affect the material behavior