Anxiety and Depression as Risk Factors in Frontotemporal Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease: The HUNT Study

Background: The roles of both anxiety and depression as risk factors for frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) have not been previously investigated together. Objective: To study anxiety and depression as independent risk factors for FTD and AD. Methods: Eighty-four patients with FTD and 556 patients with AD were compared with 117 cognitively healthy (CH), elderly individuals. Both cases and controls were participants in the second Health Study of Nord-Trøndelag (HUNT2) from 1995 to 1997, in which depression and anxiety were assessed with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Results: Significant associations were found between anxiety and FTD and between depression and AD. A significantly increased risk of developing FTD was observed in patients who had reported anxiety on the HADS (p = 0.017) (odds ratio [OR]: 2.947, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.209–7.158) and a significantly increased risk of developing AD was observed in patients who had reported depression on the HADS (p = 0.016) (OR: 4.389, 95% CI: 1.311–14.690). Conclusion: Our study findings suggest that anxiety and depression may play different roles as risk factors for FTD and AD

People's interest in brain health testing: Findings from an international, online cross-sectional survey

Brain health entails mental wellbeing and cognitive health in the absence of brain disorders. The past decade has seen an explosion of tests, cognitive and biological, to predict various brain conditions, such as Alzheimer's Disease. In line with these current developments, we investigated people's willingness and reasons to—or not to—take a hypothetical brain health test to learn about risk of developing a brain disease, in a cross-sectional multilanguage online survey. The survey was part of the Global Brain Health Survey, open to the public from 4th June 2019 to 31st August 2020. Respondents were largely recruited via European brain councils and research organizations. 27,590 people responded aged 18 years or older and were predominantly women (71%), middle-aged or older (>40 years; 83%), and highly educated (69%). Responses were analyzed to explore the relationship between demographic variables and responses. Results: We found high public interest in brain health testing: over 91% would definitely or probably take a brain health test and 86% would do so even if it gave information about a disease that cannot be treated or prevented. The main reason for taking a test was the ability to respond if one was found to be at risk of brain disease, such as changing lifestyle, seeking counseling or starting treatment. Higher interest in brain health testing was found in men, respondents with lower education levels and those with poor self-reported cognitive health. Conclusion: High public interest in brain health and brain health testing in certain segments of society, coupled with an increase of commercial tests entering the market, is likely to put pressure on public health systems to inform the public about brain health testing in years to come.publishedVersio

Vurdering av tester for PD-L1 ved urotelialt karsinom: en forenklet metodevurdering

Hovedbudskap: Programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) på tumorceller kan binde til Programmed cell death protein 1 på immunceller og hindre disse i å bekjempe og nøytralisere kreftsvulster. Det finnes flere legemidler som blokkerer bindingen og er tilgjengelige i behandling av ulike krefttyper. I vurdering av denne formen for immunterapi kan tilstedeværelse av PD-L1 på kreftceller si noe om forventet effekt i forkant av en behandling (prediksjon). Flere tester og testmetoder har blitt utviklet for å måle PD-L1 på vevssnitt fra kreftbiopsier. Bestillerforum for nye metoder har gitt Folkehelseinstituttet i oppdrag å utarbeide en metodevurdering om testegenskaper til kommersielt tilgjengelige PD-L1 tester til bruk ved urotelialt karsinom. Vi har besvart oppdraget ved å utarbeide en forenklet metodevurdering der vi oppsummerer systematiske oversikter som undersøker samsvar mellom ulike PD-L1 tester og testmetoder uavhengig av krefttype. Vi inkluderte to systematiske oversikter som vurderte samsvar mellom ulike PD-L1 tester og testmetoder. • Ingen av de inkluderte systematiske oversiktene var begrenset til PD-L1 testing av urotelialt karsinom. • Studier gjort på PD-L1 testing av ikke-småcellet lungekreft viser stor grad av samsvar mellom testresultater fra 22C3, 28-8 og SP263. SP142 viste noe lavere samsvar sammenlignet med de andre testene. • Det var stor grad av samsvar mellom hvordan PD-L1 uttrykk ble vurdert av patologer og i ulike laboratorier. Denne metodevurderingen oppsummerer grad av samsvar mellom kommersielt tilgjengelig PD-L1 tester. Metodevurderingen gir ingen konklusjoner om effekt av ulike legemidler i behandlingen av urotelialt karsinom hos voksne

Frontotemporal dementia - a clinically complex diagnosis

Objective To compare the time taken to establish a clinical diagnosis of Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) relative to a diagnosis of early onset Alzheimer's dementia (AD). Methods The data came from 89 patients under the age of 65 years, 52 of whom met the Manchester-Lund criteria for Frontotemporal dementia; 20 of these came from Lund University Hospital in Sweden. The other 32 patients with FTD along with 37 subjects who fulfilled the ICD-10 criteria for early onset Alzheimer's disease were recruited from four memory clinics and two neurology departments in Norway. Results For FTD patients in Norway it took 59.2 months (SD 36.1) from the onset of illness until a clinical FTD diagnosis was made. The corresponding time period for FTD patients in Sweden is 49.5 months (SD 24.5) and for AD patients in Norway 39.1 months (SD 19.9). The time from the first visit to a medical doctor until a diagnosis was made for the FTD patients in Norway was 34.5 months (SD 22.6), for the Swedish FTD patients 23.1 months (SD 22.4) and for the AD patients 25.9 months (SD 13.1). In all, 71% of FTD patients and 30% of AD patients initially received a non-dementia diagnosis. Conclusion More knowledge about early presenting cognitive and behavioural signs of FTD is needed in both primary and secondary health care to reduce the time period needed to establish a clinical diagnosis of FTD. Copyright (C) 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Persontilpasset medisin og folkehelse: kartlegging av oppsummert forskning

Hovedbudskap: Denne kartleggingen av oppsummert forskning innen persontilpasset medisin og folkehelse er gjort som internt oppdrag på folkehelseinstituttet. Kartleggingen skal inngå i en strategisk diskusjon om persontilpasset medisin, folkehelse og Folkehelseinstituttets fremtidige rolle på dette feltet. Bakgrunnen for oppdraget er dels at Bestillerforum for nye metoder har gitt Folkehelseinstituttet i oppdrag å gjennomføre metodevurderinger knyttet til kreftlegemidler med tilhørende diagnostiske tester. Kreft er en viktig folkesykdom, men på langt nær den eneste. Denne oversikten søker å undersøke de overlappende flatene mellom persontilpasset medisin og folkehelse. For å danne oss et bilde av eksisterende oppsummert forskning, har vi kartlagt systematiske oversikter om persontilpasset medisin og folkehelse. Vi søkte systematisk etter litteratur i forskningsdatabaser og brukte forhåndsbestemte inklusjonskriterier for å vurdere hvilke systematiske oversikter som skulle inkluderes. Vi inkluderte fire systematiske oversikter som handlet om persontilpasset medisin og folkehelse. Begrepet folkehelse åpner for inklusjon av flere typer av sykdommer, men de inkluderte sykdomsspesifikke oversiktene omhandlet prostatakreft og bukspyttkjertelkreft. To oversikter vurderte ny teknologi og innovasjon ved å oppsummere studier om genomvide assosiasjonsstudier (GWAS) og kunstig intellingens