Emergence of an imaging biomarker for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: is the end point near?

A diagnostic and treatment biomarker for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) remains a holy grail.1 ,2 From a neuroimaging perspective, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) has been increasingly utilised to identify brain-related upper motor neuron changes in ALS. In particular, the corticospinal tract, anterior corpus callosum and hippocampal fractional anisotropy (FA) white matter changes have been closely linked with ALS pathology3 ,4 and associated with the underlying neuropathological spread of TAR DNA binding protein 43 (TDP-43).5 Thus, DTI emerges as an ideal neuroimaging biomarker end point for disease-modifying trials in ALS. However, most advanced trials are run on a multicentre basis, and currently it is not clear how DTI signatures across centres in ALS hold-up, in particular with varying imaging sequences and scanner variabilities

Terra incognita—cerebellar contributions to neuropsychiatric and cognitive dysfunction in behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia

Although converging evidence has positioned the human cerebellum as an important relay for intact cognitive and neuropsychiatric processing, changes in this large structure remain mostly overlooked in behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD), a disease which is characterized by cognitive and neuropsychiatric deficits. The present study assessed whether degeneration in specific cerebellar subregions associate with indices of cognition and neuropsychiatric performance in bvFTD. Our results demonstrate a relationship between cognitive and neuropsychiatric decline across various domains of memory, language, emotion, executive, visuospatial function, and motivation and the degree of gray matter degeneration in cerebellar lobules V–VII. Most notably, bilateral cerebellar lobule VII and the posterior vermis emerged as distinct for memory processes, the right cerebellar hemisphere underpinned emotion, and the posterior vermis was highlighted in language dysfunction in bvFTD. Based on cortico-cerebellar connectivity maps, these findings in the cerebellum are consistent with the neural connections with the cortices involved in these domains in patients with bvFTD. Overall, the present study underscores the significance of cortical-cerebellar networks associated with cognition and neuropsychiatric dysfunction in bvFTD

Occasional essay: upper motor neuron syndrome in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

The diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) requires recognition of both lower (LMN) and upper motor neuron (UMN) dysfunction.1 However, classical UMN signs are frequently difficult to identify in ALS.2 LMN involvement is sensitively detected by electromyography (EMG)3 but, as yet, there are no generally accepted markers for monitoring UMN abnormalities,4 the neurobiology of ALS itself, and disease spread through the brain and spinal cord,.5 Full clinical assessment is therefore necessary to exclude other diagnoses and to monitor disease progression. In part, this difficulty regarding detection of UMN involvement in ALS derives from the definition of ‘the UMN syndrome’. Abnormalities of motor control in ALS require reformulation within an expanded concept of the UMN, together with the neuropathological, neuro-imaging and neurophysiological abnormalities in ALS. We review these issues here

Functional Biomarkers for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

The clinical diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) relies on determination of progressive dysfunction of both cortical as well as spinal and bulbar motor neurons. However, the variable mix of upper and lower motor neuron signs result in the clinical heterogeneity of patients with ALS, resulting frequently in delay of diagnosis as well as difficulty in monitoring disease progression and treatment outcomes particularly in a clinical trial setting. As such, the present review provides an overview of recently developed novel non-invasive electrophysiological techniques that may serve as biomarkers to assess UMN and LMN dysfunction in ALS patients

Characterizing sexual behavior in frontotemporal dementia

Background: Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is characterized by a number of prominent behavioral changes. While FTD has been associated with the presence of aberrant or unusual sexual behaviors in a proportion of patients, few studies have formally investigated changes in sexual function in this disease. Objective: We aimed to systematically quantify changes in sexual behavior, including current symptoms and changes from prior diagnoses, in behavioral-variant (bvFTD) and semantic dementia (SD), compared to Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Methods: Carers of 49 dementia patients (21 bvFTD, 11 SD, 17 AD) were interviewed using the Sexual Behavior and Intimacy Questionnaire (SIQ), a survey designed to assess changes in sexual function across multiple domains including initiating, level of affection, and aberrant or unusual sexual behavior. Results: BvFTD patients show prominent hyposexual behavior including decreased affection, initiation, and response to advances by partners, and decreased frequency of sexual relations, compared to AD and to SD patients. The greatest changes in sexual behavior compared to pre-diagnoses were found in the bvFTD group with a 90–100% decrease in initiation, response, and frequency of sexual relations. Notably, aberrant or unusual sexual behavior was reported in a minority of bvFTD and SD patients and occurred in patients who also showed hyposexual behavior toward their partner. Conclusion: Overall loss of affection, reduced initiation of sexual activity, and responsiveness is an overwhelming feature of bvFTD. In contrast, aberrant or unusual sexual behavior is observed in the minority of bvFTD patients. The underlying pathophysiology of these changes likely reflects structural and functional changes in frontoinsular and limbic regions including the hypothalamus

Frontostriatal grey matter atrophy in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis A visual rating study

Background: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is characterised by frontostriatal grey matter changes similar to those in frontotemporal dementia (FTD). However, these changes are usually detected at a group level, and simple visual magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) cortical atrophy scales may further elucidate frontostriatal changes in ALS. Objective: To investigate whether frontostriatal changes are detectable using simple visual MRI atrophy rating scales applied at an individual patient level in ALS. Methods: 21 ALS patients and 17 controls were recruited and underwent an MRI scan. Prefrontal cortex sub-regions of the medial orbitofrontal cortex (MOFC), lateral orbitofrontal cortex (LOFC) and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), striatal sub-regions of the caudate nucleus (CN) and nucleus accumbens (NAcc) were rated using visual grey matter atrophy 5-point Likert scales. Results: Significantly higher atrophy ratings in the bilateral MOFC in ALS patients versus controls was only observed (p<.05). Patients with higher MOFC atrophy had significantly higher atrophy of the CN (p<.05) and LOFC (p<.05). Conclusions: Use of simple visual atrophy rating scales on an individual level reliably detects frontostriatal deficits specific to ALS, showing MOFC atrophy differences with associated CN and LOFC atrophy. This is an applicable method that could be used to support clinical diagnosis and management

Dissociation of structural and functional integrities of the motor system in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and behavioral-variant frontotemporal dementia

Background and Purpose: This study investigated the structural and functional changes in the motor system in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS; n=25) and behavioral-variant fronto-temporal dementia (bvFTD; n=17) relative to healthy controls (n=37). Methods: Structural changes were examined using a region-of-interest approach, applying voxel-based morphometry for gray-matter changes and diffusion tensor imaging for white-matter changes. Functional changes in the motor system were elucidated using threshold-tracking transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) measurements of upper motor-neuron excitability. Results: The structural analyses showed that in ALS there were more white-matter changes in the corticospinal and motor-cortex regions and more gray-matter changes in the cerebellum in comparison to controls. bvFTD showed substantial gray- and white-matter changes across virtually all motor-system regions compared to controls, although the brainstem was affected less than the other regions. Direct comparisons across patient groups showed that the gray- and white-matter motor-system changes inclusive of the motor cortex were greater in bvFTD than in ALS. By contrast, the functional integrity of the motor system was more adversely affected in ALS than in bvFTD, with both patient groups showing increased excitability of upper motor neurons compared to controls. Conclusions: Cross-correlation of structural and functional data further revealed a neural dissociation of different motor-system regions and tracts covarying with the TMS excitability across both patient groups. The structural and functional motor-system integrities appear to be dissociated between ALS and bvFTD, which represents useful information for the diagnosis of motor-system changes in these two disorders

Novel approaches to diagnosis and management of hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis

© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. Open access This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited, appropriate credit is given, any changes made indicated, and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0Hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTRv) is a severe, adult-onset autosomal dominant inherited systemic disease predominantly affecting the peripheral and autonomic nervous system, heart, kidney and the eyes. ATTRv is caused by mutations of the transthyretin (TTR) gene, leading to extracellular deposition of amyloid fibrils in multiple organs including the peripheral nervous system. Typically, the neuropathy associated with ATTRv is characterised by a rapidly progressive and disabling sensorimotor axonal neuropathy with early small-fibre involvement. Carpal tunnel syndrome and cardiac dysfunction frequently coexist as part of the ATTRv phenotype. Although awareness of ATTRv polyneuropathy among neurologists has increased, the rate of misdiagnosis remains high, resulting in significant diagnostic delays and accrued disability. A timely and definitive diagnosis is important, given the emergence of effective therapies which have revolutionised the management of transthyretin amyloidosis. TTR protein stabilisers diflunisal and tafamidis can delay the progression of the disease, if treated early in the course. Additionally, TTR gene silencing medications, patisiran and inotersen, have resulted in up to 80% reduction in TTR production, leading to stabilisation or slight improvement of peripheral neuropathy and cardiac dysfunction, as well as improvement in quality of life and functional outcomes. The considerable therapeutic advances have raised additional challenges, including optimisation of diagnostic techniques and management approaches in ATTRv neuropathy. This review highlights the key advances in the diagnostic techniques, current and emerging management strategies, and biomarker development for disease progression in ATTRv.SV gratefully acknowledges funding support from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) of Australia (project grant numbers 510233, 1024915 and 1055778; program grant number 1132524; dementia research team grant number 1095127; and Partnership Project number 1153439) and the Motor Neuron Disease Research Institute of Australia. MCK was supported by a NHMRC Practitioner Fellowship (number 1156093).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Assessment of Eating Behavior Disturbance and Associated Neural Networks in Frontotemporal Dementia.

IMPORTANCE: Abnormal eating behaviors are common in patients with frontotemporal dementia (FTD), yet their exact prevalence, severity, and underlying biological mechanisms are not understood. OBJECTIVE: To define the severity of abnormal eating behavior and sucrose preference and their neural correlates in patients with behavioral variant FTD (bvFTD) and semantic dementia. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Forty-nine patients with dementia (19 with bvFTD, 15 with semantic dementia, and 15 with Alzheimer disease) were recruited, and their eating behavior was compared with that of 25 healthy controls. The study was conducted from November 1, 2013, through May 31, 2015, and data analyzed from June 1 to August 31, 2015. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Patients participated in an ad libitum breakfast test meal, and their total caloric intake and food preferences were measured. Changes in eating behavior were also measured using the Appetite and Eating Habits Questionnaire (APEHQ) and the Cambridge Behavioral Inventory (CBI). Sucrose preference was tested by measuring liking ratings of 3 desserts of varying sucrose content (A: 26%, B: 39%, C: 60%). Voxel-based morphometry analysis of whole-brain 3-T high-resolution brain magnetic resonance imaging was used to determine the gray matter density changes across groups and their relations to eating behaviors. RESULTS: Mean (SD) ages of patients in all 4 groups ranged from 62 (8.3) to 66 (8.4) years. At the ad libitum breakfast test meal, all patients with bvFTD had increased total caloric intake (mean, 1344 calories) compared with the Alzheimer disease (mean, 710 calories), semantic dementia (mean, 573 calories), and control groups (mean, 603 calories) (P < .001). Patients with bvFTD and semantic dementia had a strong sucrose preference compared with the other groups. Increased caloric intake correlated with atrophy in discrete neural networks that differed between patients with bvFTD and semantic dementia but included the cingulate cortices, thalami, and cerebellum in patients with bvFTD, with the addition of the orbitofrontal cortices and nucleus accumbens in patients with semantic dementia. A distributed network of neural correlates was associated with sucrose preference in patients with FTD. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Marked hyperphagia is restricted to bvFTD, present in all patients with this diagnosis, and supports its diagnostic value. Differing neural networks control eating behavior in patients with bvFTD and semantic dementia and are likely responsible for the differences seen, with a similar network controlling sucrose preference. These networks share structures that control cognitive-reward, autonomic, neuroendocrine, and visual modulation of eating behavior. Delineating the neural networks involved in mediating these changes in eating behavior may enable treatment of these features in patients with complex medical needs and aid in our understanding of structures that control eating behavior in patients with FTD and healthy individuals.This work was supported by funding to Forefront, a collaborative research group dedicated to the study of frontotemporal dementia and motor neurone disease, from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (NHMRC) program grant (#1037746 to MK and JH) and the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders Memory Node (#CE110001021 to OP and JH) and other grants/sources (NHMRC project grant #1003139). We are grateful to the research participants involved with the ForeFront research studies. RA is a Royal Australasian College of Physicians PhD scholar and MND Australia PhD scholar. MI is an ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award Fellow Ahmed et al. (#DE130100463). OP is an NHMRC Career Development Research Fellow (#1022684). ISF is supported by the Wellcome Trust, Medical Research Council, European Research Council, NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre and The Bernard Wolfe Endowment.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from American Medical Association at http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jamaneurol.2015.4478