| 1. |
- Salvado, G., et al.
(författare)
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The protective gene dose effect of the APOE epsilon 2 allele on gray matter volume in cognitively unimpaired individuals
- 2022
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Ingår i: Alzheimers & Dementia. - : Wiley. - 1552-5260 .- 1552-5279. ; 18:7, s. 1383-1395
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Introduction: Harboring two copies of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) epsilon 2 allele strongly protects against Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the effect of this genotype on gray matter (GM) volume in cognitively unimpaired individuals has not yet been described. Methods: Multicenter brain magnetic resonance images (MRIs) from cognitively unimpaired epsilon 2 homozygotes were matched (1:1) against all other APOE genotypes for relevant confounders (n = 223). GM volumes of epsilon 2 genotypic groups were compared to each other and to the reference group (APOE epsilon 3/epsilon 3). Results: Carrying at least one epsilon 2 allele was associated with larger GM volumes in brain areas typically affected by AD and also in areas associated with cognitive resilience. APOE epsilon 2 homozygotes, but not APOE epsilon 2 heterozygotes, showed larger GM volumes in areas related to successful aging. Discussion: In addition to the known resistance against amyloid-beta deposition, the larger GM volumes in key brain regions may confer APOE epsilon 2 homozygotes additional protection against AD-related cognitive decline.
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| 2. |
- Jakabek, David, et al.
(författare)
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Structural and microstructural thalamocortical network disruption in sporadic behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia
- 2023
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Ingår i: NeuroImage: Clinical. - 2213-1582. ; 39, s. 1-11
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Using multi-block methods we combined multimodal neuroimaging metrics of thalamic morphology, thalamic white matter tract diffusion metrics, and cortical thickness to examine changes in behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia. (bvFTD). Method: Twenty-three patients with sporadic bvFTD and 24 healthy controls underwent structural and diffusion MRI scans. Clinical severity was assessed using the Clinical Dementia Rating scale and behavioural severity using the Frontal Behaviour Inventory by patient caregivers. Thalamic volumes were manually segmented. Anterior and posterior thalamic radiation fractional anisotropy and mean diffusivity were extracted using Tract-Based Spatial Statistics. Finally, cortical thickness was assessed using Freesurfer. We used shape analyses, diffusion measures, and cortical thickness as features in sparse multi-block partial least squares (PLS) discriminatory analyses to classify participants within bvFTD or healthy control groups. Sparsity was tuned with five-fold cross-validation repeated 10 times. Final model fit was assessed using permutation testing. Additionally, sparse multi-block PLS was used to examine associations between imaging features and measures of dementia severity. Results: Bilateral anterior-dorsal thalamic atrophy, reduction in mean diffusivity of thalamic projections, and frontotemporal cortical thinning, were the main features predicting bvFTD group membership. The model had a sensitivity of 96%, specificity of 68%, and was statistically significant using permutation testing (p = 0.012). For measures of dementia severity, we found similar involvement of regional thalamic and cortical areas as in discrimination analyses, although more extensive thalamo-cortical white matter metric changes. Conclusions: Using multimodal neuroimaging, we demonstrate combined structural network dysfunction of anterior cortical regions, cortical-thalamic projections, and anterior thalamic regions in sporadic bvFTD.
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| 3. |
- Cicognola, C., et al.
(författare)
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Associations of CSF PDGFR & beta; With Aging, Blood-Brain Barrier Damage, Neuroinflammation, and Alzheimer Disease Pathologic Changes
- 2023
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Ingår i: NEUROLOGY. - 0028-3878. ; 101:1, s. E30-E39
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background and ObjectivesInjured pericytes in the neurovascular unit release platelet-derived growth factor & beta; (PDGFR & beta;) into the CSF. However, it is not clear how pericyte injury contributes to Alzheimer disease (AD)-related changes and blood-brain barrier (BBB) damage. We aimed to test whether CSF PDGFR & beta; was associated with different AD-associated and age-associated pathologic changes leading to dementia.MethodsPDGFR & beta; was measured in the CSF of 771 participants with cognitively unimpaired (CU, n = 408), mild cognitive impairment (MCI, n = 175), and dementia (n = 188) from the Swedish BioFINDER-2 cohort. We then checked association with & beta;-amyloid (A & beta;)-PET and tau-PET standardized uptake value ratio, APOE & epsilon;4 genotype and MRI measurements of cortical thickness, white matter lesions (WMLs), and cerebral blood flow. We also analyzed the role of CSF PDGFR & beta; in the relationship between aging, BBB dysfunction (measured by CSF/plasma albumin ratio, QAlb), and neuroinflammation (i.e., CSF levels of YKL-40 and glial fibrillary acidic protein [GFAP], preferentially expressed in reactive astrocytes).ResultsThe cohort had a mean age of 67 years (CU = 62.8, MCI = 69.9, dementia = 70.4), and 50.1% were male (CU = 46.6%, MCI = 53.7%, dementia = 54.3%). Higher CSF PDGFR & beta; concentrations were related to higher age (b = 19.1, & beta; = 0.5, 95% CI 16-22.2, p < 0.001), increased CSF neuroinflammatory markers of glial activation YKL-40 (b = 3.4, & beta; = 0.5, 95% CI 2.8-3.9, p < 0.001), GFAP (b = 27.4, & beta; = 0.4, 95% CI 20.9-33.9, p < 0.001), and worse BBB integrity measured by QAlb (b = 37.4, & beta; = 0.2, 95% CI 24.9-49.9, p < 0.001). Age was also associated with worse BBB integrity, and this was partly mediated by PDGFR & beta; and neuroinflammatory markers (16%-33% of total effect). However, PDGFR & beta; showed no associations with APOE & epsilon;4 genotype, PET imaging of A & beta; and tau pathology, or MRI measures of brain atrophy and WMLs (p > 0.05).DiscussionIn summary, pericyte damage, reflected by CSF PDGFR & beta;, may be involved in age-related BBB disruption together with neuroinflammation, but is not related to Alzheimer-related pathologic changes.
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| 4. |
- Harper, Luke, et al.
(författare)
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Prenatal Gyrification Pattern Affects Age at Onset in Frontotemporal Dementia
- 2022
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Ingår i: Cerebral Cortex. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1460-2199 .- 1047-3211. ; 32:18, s. 3937-3944
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The paracingulate sulcus is a tertiary sulcus formed during the third trimester. In healthy individuals paracingulate sulcation is more prevalent in the left hemisphere. The anterior cingulate and paracingulate gyri are focal points of neurodegeneration in behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD). This study aims to determine the prevalence and impact of paracingulate sulcation in bvFTD. Structural magnetic resonance images of individuals with bvFTD (n = 105, mean age 66.9 years), Alzheimer's disease (n = 92, 73.3), and healthy controls (n = 110, 62.4) were evaluated using standard protocol for hemispheric paracingulate sulcal presence. No difference in left hemisphere paracingulate sulcal frequency was observed between groups; 0.72, 0.79, and 0.70, respectively, in the bvFTD, Alzheimer's disease, and healthy control groups, (P = 0.3). A significant impact of right (but not left) hemispheric paracingulate sulcation on age at disease onset was identified in bvFTD (mean 60.4 years where absent vs. 63.8 where present [P = 0.04, Cohen's d = 0.42]). This relationship was not observed in Alzheimer's disease. These findings demonstrate a relationship between prenatal neuronal development and the expression of a neurodegenerative disease providing a gross morphological example of brain reserve.
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Ossenkoppele, Rik, et al.
(författare)
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Distinct tau PET patterns in atrophy-defined subtypes of Alzheimer's disease
- 2020
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Ingår i: Alzheimer's and Dementia. - : Wiley. - 1552-5260 .- 1552-5279. ; 16:2, s. 335-344
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Introduction: Differential patterns of brain atrophy on structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed four reproducible subtypes of Alzheimer's disease (AD): (1) “typical”, (2) “limbic-predominant”, (3) “hippocampal-sparing”, and (4) “mild atrophy”. We examined the neurobiological characteristics and clinical progression of these atrophy-defined subtypes. Methods: The four subtypes were replicated using a clustering method on MRI data in 260 amyloid-β–positive patients with mild cognitive impairment or AD dementia, and we subsequently tested whether the subtypes differed on [18F]flortaucipir (tau) positron emission tomography, white matter hyperintensity burden, and rate of global cognitive decline. Results: Voxel-wise and region-of-interest analyses revealed the greatest neocortical tau load in hippocampal-sparing (frontoparietal-predominant) and typical (temporal-predominant) patients, while limbic-predominant patients showed particularly high entorhinal tau. Typical patients with AD had the most pronounced white matter hyperintensity load, and hippocampal-sparing patients showed the most rapid global cognitive decline. Discussion: Our data suggest that structural MRI can be used to identify biologically and clinically meaningful subtypes of AD.
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| 7. |
- Owens-Walton, Conor, et al.
(författare)
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Structural and functional neuroimaging changes associated with cognitive impairment and dementia in Parkinson's disease
- 2021
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Ingår i: Psychiatry Research - Neuroimaging. - : Elsevier BV. - 0925-4927. ; 312
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study seeks a better understanding of possible pathophysiological mechanisms associated with cognitive impairment and dementia in Parkinson's disease using structural and functional MRI. We investigated resting-state functional connectivity of important subdivisions of the caudate nucleus, putamen and thalamus, and also how the morphology of these structures are impacted in the disorder. We found cognitively unimpaired Parkinson's disease subjects (n = 33), compared to controls (n = 26), display increased functional connectivity of the dorsal caudate, anterior putamen and mediodorsal thalamic subdivisions with areas across the frontal lobe, as well as reduced functional connectivity of the dorsal caudate with posterior cortical and cerebellar regions. Compared to cognitively unimpaired subjects, those with mild cognitive impairment (n = 22) demonstrated reduced functional connectivity of the mediodorsal thalamus with the paracingulate cortex, while also demonstrating increased functional connectivity of the mediodorsal thalamus with the posterior cingulate cortex, compared to subjects with dementia (n = 17). Extensive volumetric and surface-based deflation was found in subjects with dementia compared to cognitively unimpaired Parkinson's disease participants and controls. Our research suggests that structures within basal ganglia-thalamocortical circuits are implicated in cognitive impairment and dementia in Parkinson's disease, with cognitive impairment and dementia associated with a breakdown in functional connectivity of the mediodorsal thalamus with para- and posterior cingulate regions of the brain respectively.
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| 8. |
- Spotorno, Nicola, et al.
(författare)
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Astrocytic function is associated with both amyloid-β and tau pathology in non-demented APOE 4 carriers
- 2022
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Ingår i: Brain Communications. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 2632-1297. ; 4:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A growing body of evidence suggests that astrocytes play a major role in the pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease. Given that APOE is primarily expressed in astrocytes, these cells might be an important link between the APOE ϵ4 allele and the development of Alzheimer's disease pathology. Here, we investigate this hypothesis in vivo by measuring myo-inositol, a metabolite involved in astrocytic functions, with magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Currently, there is conflicting evidence regarding the relationship between APOE ϵ4 and myo-inositol concentration. Furthermore, data supporting a relationship between APOE ϵ4, myo-inositol and Alzheimer's disease pathology (amyloid-beta and tau proteins) in the preclinical stage of Alzheimer's disease are limited. A previous study revealed differences in myo-inositol levels between APOE ϵ4 carriers and non-carriers already in preclinical Alzheimer's disease participants. However, other reports showed no impact of APOE genotype on the association between myo-inositol and the rate of amyloid-beta accumulation. In the present study, we determined the effect of APOE genotype on the association between myo-inositol and both amyloid-β and tau deposition quantified by PET in 428 cognitively unimpaired elderly and patients with mild cognitive impairment from the Swedish BioFINDER-2 cohort. APOE genotype impacted the associations between myo-inositol and amyloid-β pathology as revealed by an interaction effect between APOE genotype and levels of myo-inositol (P < 0.001) such that higher myo-inositol concentration was related to more amyloid-beta pathology in APOE ϵ4 carriers only. A similar interaction effect was also found when investigating the effect of APOE on the association between myo-inositol and tau pathology (P < 0.01). Focusing on the APOE ϵ4 subsample, myo-inositol partially (17%) mediated the association between amyloid-beta and tau pathology (P < 0.05). Furthermore, in a subgroup of participants with available plasma levels of glial fibrillary acidic protein, a marker of astroglial activation and astrocytosis, we found that glial fibrillary acidic protein correlated with myo-inositol only in APOE e4 carriers (APOE ϵ4 carriers: P < 0.01; APOE ϵ4 non-carriers: P > 0.8), suggesting that myo-inositol might reflect an aspect of the astrocytic involvement in Alzheimer's pathology which is specific to the impact of APOE ϵ4. Therefore, we suggest that myo-inositol is a candidate in vivo marker to study the impact of APOE ϵ4 on the interplay between astrocytes and the pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease.
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| 9. |
- Westen, K. H., et al.
(författare)
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The flexible assertive community treatment fidelity scale : description of the development in the Netherlands and adaptation in Denmark and Sweden
- 2023
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Ingår i: Nordic Social Work Research. - 2156-857X. ; 13:2, s. 259-266
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) is the most common ambulatory service delivery model for people with severe mental illness worldwide. Flexible ACT, a Dutch modification of ACT, provides comprehensive care for the entire population of people with severe mental illness (SMI). FACT combines the principles of individual case management with ACT services. Researchers found an association between model fidelity and treatment outcome. Consequently, scholars formulated fidelity scales based on previous research and expert opinion (operationalizations of multiple criteria of team structure, organization and treatment processes). The first FACT model fidelity scale from 2008 facilitated the dissemination of FACT and prevented programme drift. Ten years later, an update was necessary to address relevant local variations in implementation, due to specific population profiles and available regional network services, and to improve recovery-oriented and evidence-based practices. Authors and stakeholders tested and updated a new FACT-model fidelity scale in the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden. The resulting scale assesses 16 quantitative items and 8 qualitative, descriptive topics on 5-point Likert scales. The scale includes FACT-criteria that evidently work and still allow a team to diversify. The FACTs 2017 is a new standard to assess FACT-team model fidelity for the care of people with severe mental illness in The Netherlands and Scandinavia.
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