Amyloid positron emission tomography candidates may focus more on benefits than risks of results disclosure

IntroductionGiven mounting calls to disclose biomarker test results to research participants, we explored factors underlying decisions by patients with mild cognitive impairment to receive amyloid imaging results.MethodsProspective, qualitative interviews were conducted with 59 participants (30 = mild cognitive impairment patients, 29 = care partners) from the scan arm of a randomized controlled trial on the effects of amyloid PET results disclosure in an Alzheimer Disease Research Center setting.ResultsSixty‐three percent of the participants were female, with an average age of 72.9 years, and most had greater than a high school level of education (80%). Primary motivations included: (1) better understanding one’s mild cognitive impairment etiology and prognosis to plan ahead, and (2) learning one’s brain amyloid status for knowledge’s sake, regardless of whether the information is actionable. Most participants demonstrated an adequate understanding of the scan’s limitations, yet instances of characterizing amyloid PET as a definitive test for Alzheimer’s disease occurred. Mention of potential drawbacks, such as negative psychological outcomes, was minimal, even among care partners.DiscussionFindings demonstrate a risk of disproportionate focus on possible benefits of testing among amyloid scan candidates and suggest a need to clearly emphasize the limitations of amyloid PET when counseling cognitively impaired patients and their families before testing. Future research should examine whether minimizing drawbacks at the pre‐imaging stage has adverse consequences on results disclosure.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/152635/1/dad2jdadm201805003.pd

Validity, Significance, Strengths, Limitations, and Evidentiary Value of Real-World Clinical Data for Combination Therapy in Alzheimer's Disease: Comparison of Efficacy and Effectiveness Studies

Background: Randomized controlled efficacy trials (RCTs), the scientific gold standard, are required for regulatory approval of Alzheimer's disease (AD) interventions, yet provide limited information regarding real-world therapeutic effectiveness. Objective: To compare the nature of evidence regarding the combination of approved AD treatments from RCTs versus long-term observational controlled studies (LTOCs). Methods: Comparisons of strengths, limitations, and evidence level for monotherapy [cholinesterase inhibitor (ChEI) or memantine] and combination therapy (ChEI + memantine) in RCTs versus LTOCs. Results: RCTs examined highly selected populations over months. LTOCs collected data across multiple AD stages in large populations over many years. RCTs and LTOCs show similar patterns favoring combination over monotherapy over placebo/no treatment. Long-term combination therapy compared to monotherapy reduced cognitive and functional decline and delayed time to nursing home admission. Persistent treatment was associated with slower decline. While LTOCs used control groups, adjusted for multiple covariates, had higher external validity, and favorable ethical, practical and cost considerations, their limitations included potential selection bias due to lack of placebo comparisons and randomization. Conclusions: Naturalistic LTOCs provide complementary long-term level II evidence to complement level I evidence from short-term RCTs regarding therapeutic effectiveness in AD that may otherwise be unobtainable. A coordinated strategy/consortium to pool LTOC data from multiple centers to estimate long-term comparative effectiveness, risks/benefits, and costs of AD treatments is needed

Psychosis in Alzheimer's Disease in the National Alzheimer's Disease Coordinating Center Uniform Data Set: Clinical Correlates and Association with Apolipoprotein E

Approximately 50% of late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients develop psychosis (AD+P), a heritable phenotype associated with more rapid cognitive decline. Prior studies conflict regarding whether apolipoprotein E (APOE) ϵ4 alleles are associated with AD+P, possibly due to small sample sizes, inconsistent diagnostic criteria, and different methodologies to assess psychosis. We used the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center Uniform Data Set to evaluate the largest uniformly characterized sample of AD+P subjects studied to date for the association of APOE ϵ4 genotype, along with other demographic and clinical variables. Greater cognitive impairment and depressive symptoms were associated with AD+P, while the Caucasian race was protective. Neither APOE ϵ4 carrier status nor allele number was associated with psychosis. The AD+P phenotype is not associated with the APOE ϵ4 genotype. AD+P may represent a useful phenotype for the discovery of non-APOE ϵ4 genetic variation contributing to the risk of AD

Dataset of why inclusion matters for Alzheimer's disease biomarker discovery in plasma

Here we present a plasma proteomics dataset that was generated to understand the importance of self-reported race for biomarker discovery in Alzheimer's disease. This dataset is related to the article “Why inclusion matters for Alzheimer's disease biomarker discovery in plasma” [1]. Plasma samples were obtained from clinically diagnosed Alzheimer's disease and cognitively normal adults of African American/Black and non-Hispanic White racial and ethnic backgrounds. Plasma was immunodepleted, digested, and isobarically tagged with commercial reagents. Tagged peptides were fractionated using high pH fractionation and resulting fractions analysed by liquid chromatography – mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS & MS3) analysis on an Orbitrap Fusion Lumos mass spectrometer. The resulting data was processed using Proteome Discoverer to produce a list of identified proteins with corresponding tandem mass tag (TMT) intensity information

Bioinspired design of triboceramics: Learning from the anisotropic microfracture response of dental enamel under sliding contact

[EN] In the quest for novel ceramics for tribological applications via bioinspired design, the differences in the fracture modes that arise upon scratching relevant locations of ceramic-like tooth enamel are investigated. It is found that fracture initiates from weak rod-sheath interfaces at relatively low loads, independent of the sliding direction. However, the geometry and propagation of the cracks depends on the orientation of the interfaces relative to the maximum tensile stress: scratching along the occlusal surface propagates approximately sinusoidal cracks, parallel to the sliding direction, while scratching along the cross-section produces straight cracks that propagate normal (scratch parallel to occlusal surface) or parallel (scratch perpendicular to occlusal surface) to the sliding direction. The formation of cracks is hindered in scratching near the enamel-dentine junction. Implications for the microstructural design of triboceramics (bulks and coatings) with improved durability are discussed.The authors wish to thank Dr Florencio Monje Gil for kindly providing tooth specimens from his clinic (CICOM, Centro de Implantologia Cirugia Oral y Maxilofacial, Badajoz, Spain). This study was supported by Junta de Extremadura, Spain, and FEDER/ERDF funds (grants IB16139 and GR18149), and the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (grant PID2019-105377RB-I00). E. P.-C. gratefully acknowledges support from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) under grant FJCI-2015-27228.Sanchez-Gonzalez, E.; Rodriguez-Rojas, F.; Pinilla-Cienfuegos, E.; Borrero-Lopez, O.; Ortiz, AL.; Guiberteau, F. (2020). Bioinspired design of triboceramics: Learning from the anisotropic microfracture response of dental enamel under sliding contact. Ceramics International. 46(18):27983-27989. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ceramint.2020.07.2922798327989461

Assessment of a Comparative Bayesian-Enhanced Population-Based Decision Model for COVID-19 Critical Care Prediction in the Dominican Republic Social Security Affiliates

Introduction: The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been a major health concern worldwide. This study aims to develop a Bayesian model to predict critical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Methods: Sensitivity and specificity were obtained from previous meta-analysis studies. The complex vulnerability index (IVC-COV2 index for its abbreviation in Spanish) was used to set the pretest probability. Likelihood ratios were integrated into a Fagan nomogram for posttest probabilities, and IVC-COV2 + National Early Warning Score (NEWS) values and CURB-65 scores were generated. Absolute and relative diagnostic gains (RDGs) were calculated based on pretest and posttest differences. Results: The IVC-COV2 index was derived from a population of 1,055,746 individuals and was based on mortality in high-risk (71.97%), intermediate-risk (26.11%), and low-risk (1.91%) groups. The integration of models in which IVC-COV2 intermediate + NEWS ≥ 5 and CURB-65 \u3e 2 led to a number needed to (NNT) diagnose that was slightly improved in the CURB-65 model (2 vs. 3). A comparison of diagnostic gains revealed that neither the positive likelihood ratio (P = 0.62) nor the negative likelihood ratio (P = 0.95) differed significantly between the IVC-COV2 NEWS model and the CURB-65 model. Conclusion: According to the proposed mathematical model, the combination of the IVC-COV2 intermediate score and NEWS or CURB-65 score yields superior results and a greater predictive value for the severity of illness. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first population-based/mathematical model developed for use in COVID-19 critical care decision-making

Design of a comprehensive Alzheimer’s disease clinic and research center in Spain to meet critical patient and family needs

AbstractObjectivesAlzheimer's disease (AD) affects people worldwide, and the prevalence is increasing as the population ages. There is an international effort to understand the biology of AD to develop primary and secondary prevention strategies, and to develop effective therapeutic interventions for individuals who are already symptomatic. One of the critically important pieces of all national plans to address AD is the call for the development of service models to deliver quality, effective care based on the best evidence available.MethodsWe describe one type of care model developed by the Fundacio ACE, Institut Catala de Neurociencies Aplicades (Fundacio ACE, Barcelona, Spain) that integrates diagnosis, therapy, follow-up care, daycare, and a day hospital, and does so in the context of an active clinical research and educational program.ResultsThere were 13,048 individuals newly evaluated and diagnosed in Fundacio ACE between 1996 and 2011. Of these, 6132 had AD (47.0%), 3871 had mild cognitive impairment (MCI) (29.7%), and 1958 had no cognitive impairment (15.0%). Follow-up information is available on 4735 (47.3%) AD and MCI patients, and these data indicate that MCI develops into dementia at a rate of 222.6/1000 person-years. Apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotyping was available in 22.4% of the patients. The ε4 allele occurred in 45.7% of the AD patients, in 37.8% of the MCI subjects, and in 31.6% of those without cognitive impairment.ConclusionsFundació ACE can serve as a model system that can be adapted to other settings within their specific cultural, governmental, and legal constraints