Neuropsychological profile of Alzheimer's disease based on amyloid biomarker findings results from a South American cohort.

Objective: Increased life expectancy and exponential growth of adults suffering from Alzheimer's disease (AD) worldwide, has led to biomarkers incorporation for diagnosis in early stages. Use of neuropsychological testing remains limited. This study aimed to identify which neuropsychological tests best indicated underlying AD pathophysiology.Methods: One hundred and forty-one patients with MCI (Mild Cognitive Impairment) were studied. A neuropsychological test battery based on the Uniform Data Set (UDS) from the Alzheimer's Disease Centers program of the National Institute on Aging (NIA) was performed and amyloid markers recorded; according to presence or absence of amyloid identified by positive PIB-PET findings, or low CSF Aβ42 levels, patients were separated into MCI amyloid-(n:58) and MCI amyloid + (n = 83) cases.Results: Statistical differences were found in all memory tests between groups. Delayed recall score at thirty minutes on the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AVLT) was the best predictor of amyloid pathology presence (AUC 0.68), followed by AVLT total learning (AUC 0.66) and AVLT Recognition (AUC 0.59) scores, providing useful cut off values in the clinical setting.Conclusions: Use of neuropsychological testing, specifically AVLT scores with cutoff values, contributed to the correct diagnosis of MCI due to AD in this SouthAmerican cohor

Prognostic value of atn alzheimer biomarkers: 60-month follow-up results from the argentine alzheimer's disease neuroimaging initiative

Purpose: To describe results of the Amyloid, Tau, Neurodegeneration (ATN) research framework classification in the Argentine-Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (arg-ADNI) cohort. Methods: Twenty-three patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), 12 dementia of Alzheimer's type (DAT), and 14 normal controls were studied following the ADNI2 protocol. Patients were categorized according to presence or absence of the biomarkers for amyloid beta (Aβ; A: amyloid positron emission tomography [PET] scan or cerebrospinal fluid [CSF] Aβ42), tau (T: CSF phosphorylated-tau), and neurodegeneration (N: CSF total-tau, fluorodeoxyglucose [FDG]-PET scan, or structural magnetic resonance imaging [MRI] scan). Results: A+T+N+ biomarker profile was identified at baseline in 91% of mild dementia patients, 20% of early MCI patients, 46% of late MCI patients, and 14% of control subjects. Suspected non-AD pathophysiology (SNAP, A-T-N+) was found in 8% of mild dementia, 20% of early MCI, 15% of late MCI, and 7% of control subjects. Conversion rates to dementia after 5-year follow-up were 85% in A+T+N+ MCI patients and 50% in A-T-N+ patients. Conclusions: We present initial 5-year follow-up results of a regional ADNI based on AD biomarkers and the ATN classification

Does Culture Shape Our Understanding of Others’ Thoughts and Emotions? An Investigation Across 12 Countries

Q2Q2Measures of social cognition have now become central in neuropsychology, being essential for early and differential diagnoses, follow-up, and rehabilitation in a wide range of conditions. With the scientific world becoming increasingly interconnected, international neuropsychological and medical collaborations are burgeoning to tackle the global challenges that are mental health conditions. These initiatives commonly merge data across a diversity of populations and countries, while ignoring their specificity. Objective: In this context, we aimed to estimate the influence of participants’ nationality on social cognition evaluation. This issue is of particular importance as most cognitive tasks are developed in highly specific contexts, not representative of that encountered by the world’s population. Method: Through a large international study across 18 sites, neuropsychologists assessed core aspects of social cognition in 587 participants from 12 countries using traditional and widely used tasks. Results: Age, gender, and education were found to impact measures of mentalizing and emotion recognition. After controlling for these factors, differences between countries accounted for more than 20% of the variance on both measures. Importantly, it was possible to isolate participants’ nationality from potential translation issues, which classically constitute a major limitation. Conclusions: Overall, these findings highlight the need for important methodological shifts to better represent social cognition in both fundamental research and clinical practice, especially within emerging international networks and consortia.https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9422-3579https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6529-7077Revista Internacional - IndexadaA2N

Neuropsychological profile of Alzheimer’s disease based on amyloid biomarker findings results from a South American cohort

Objective: Increased life expectancy and exponential growth of adults suffering from Alzheimer’s disease (AD) worldwide, has led to biomarkers incorporation for diagnosis in early stages. Use of neuropsychological testing remains limited. This study aimed to identify which neuropsychological tests best indicated underlying AD pathophysiology. Methods: One hundred and forty-one patients with MCI (Mild Cognitive Impairment) were studied. A neuropsychological test battery based on the Uniform Data Set (UDS) from the Alzheimer’s Disease Centers program of the National Institute on Aging (NIA) was performed and amyloid markers recorded; according to presence or absence of amyloid identified by positive PIB-PET findings, or low CSF Aβ42 levels, patients were separated into MCI amyloid–(n:58) and MCI amyloid + (n = 83) cases. Results: Statistical differences were found in all memory tests between groups. Delayed recall score at thirty minutes on the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AVLT) was the best predictor of amyloid pathology presence (AUC 0.68), followed by AVLT total learning (AUC 0.66) and AVLT Recognition (AUC 0.59) scores, providing useful cut off values in the clinical setting. Conclusions: Use of neuropsychological testing, specifically AVLT scores with cutoff values, contributed to the correct diagnosis of MCI due to AD in this SouthAmerican cohort.Fil: Clarens, Maria Florencia. Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia; ArgentinaFil: Crivelli, Lucia. Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia; ArgentinaFil: Calandri, Ismael. Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia; ArgentinaFil: Chrem Méndez, Patricio. Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia; ArgentinaFil: Martin, María Eugenia. Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia; ArgentinaFil: Russo, María Julieta. Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Campos, Jorge. Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia; ArgentinaFil: Surace, Ezequiel Ignacio. Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Vázquez, Silvia. Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia; ArgentinaFil: Sevlever, Gustavo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia; ArgentinaFil: Allegri, Ricardo Francisco. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia; Argentin