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- Convery, RS, et al.
(author)
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Abnormal pain perception is associated with thalamo-cortico-striatal atrophy in C9orf72 expansion carriers in the GENFI cohort
- 2020
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In: Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry. - : BMJ. - 1468-330X .- 0022-3050. ; 91:12, s. 1325-1328
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is typically associated with changes in behaviour, language and movement. However, recent studies have shown that patients can also develop an abnormal response to pain, either heightened or diminished. We aimed to investigate this symptom in mutation carriers within the Genetic FTD Initiative (GENFI).MethodsAbnormal responsiveness to pain was measured in 462 GENFI participants: 281 mutation carriers and 181 mutation-negative controls. Changes in responsiveness to pain were scored as absent (0), questionable or very mild (0.5), mild (1), moderate (2) or severe (3). Mutation carriers were classified into C9orf72 (104), GRN (128) and MAPT (49) groups, and into presymptomatic and symptomatic stages. An ordinal logistic regression model was used to compare groups, adjusting for age and sex. Voxel-based morphometry was performed to identify neuroanatomical correlates of abnormal pain perception.ResultsAltered responsiveness to pain was present to a significantly greater extent in symptomatic C9orf72 expansion carriers than in controls: mean score 0.40 (SD 0.71) vs 0.00 (0.04), reported in 29% vs 1%. No significant differences were seen between the other symptomatic groups and controls, or any of the presymptomatic mutation carriers and controls. Neural correlates of altered pain perception in C9orf72 expansion carriers were the bilateral thalamus and striatum as well as a predominantly right-sided network of regions involving the orbitofrontal cortex, inferomedial temporal lobe and cerebellum.ConclusionChanges in pain perception are a feature of C9orf72 expansion carriers, likely representing a disruption in somatosensory, homeostatic and semantic processing, underpinned by atrophy in a thalamo-cortico-striatal network.
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- Heller, C, et al.
(author)
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Plasma glial fibrillary acidic protein is raised in progranulin-associated frontotemporal dementia
- 2020
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In: Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry. - : BMJ. - 1468-330X .- 0022-3050. ; 91:3, s. 263-270
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- There are few validated fluid biomarkers in frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) is a measure of astrogliosis, a known pathological process of FTD, but has yet to be explored as potential biomarker.MethodsPlasma GFAP and neurofilament light chain (NfL) concentration were measured in 469 individuals enrolled in the Genetic FTD Initiative: 114 C9orf72 expansion carriers (74 presymptomatic, 40 symptomatic), 119 GRN mutation carriers (88 presymptomatic, 31 symptomatic), 53 MAPT mutation carriers (34 presymptomatic, 19 symptomatic) and 183 non-carrier controls. Biomarker measures were compared between groups using linear regression models adjusted for age and sex with family membership included as random effect. Participants underwent standardised clinical assessments including the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration-Clinical Dementia Rating scale and MRI. Spearman’s correlation coefficient was used to investigate the relationship of plasma GFAP to clinical and imaging measures.ResultsPlasma GFAP concentration was significantly increased in symptomatic GRN mutation carriers (adjusted mean difference from controls 192.3 pg/mL, 95% CI 126.5 to 445.6), but not in those with C9orf72 expansions (9.0, –61.3 to 54.6), MAPT mutations (12.7, –33.3 to 90.4) or the presymptomatic groups. GFAP concentration was significantly positively correlated with age in both controls and the majority of the disease groups, as well as with NfL concentration. In the presymptomatic period, higher GFAP concentrations were correlated with a lower cognitive score (MMSE) and lower brain volume, while in the symptomatic period, higher concentrations were associated with faster rates of atrophy in the temporal lobe.ConclusionsRaised GFAP concentrations appear to be unique to GRN-related FTD, with levels potentially increasing just prior to symptom onset, suggesting that GFAP may be an important marker of proximity to onset, and helpful for forthcoming therapeutic prevention trials.
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- Samra, K, et al.
(author)
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Genetic forms of primary progressive aphasia within the GENetic Frontotemporal dementia Initiative (GENFI) cohort: comparison with sporadic primary progressive aphasia
- 2023
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In: Brain communications. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 2632-1297. ; 5:2, s. fcad036-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Primary progressive aphasia is most commonly a sporadic disorder, but in some cases, it can be genetic. This study aimed to understand the clinical, cognitive and imaging phenotype of the genetic forms of primary progressive aphasia in comparison to the canonical nonfluent, semantic and logopenic subtypes seen in sporadic disease. Participants with genetic primary progressive aphasia were recruited from the international multicentre GENetic Frontotemporal dementia Initiative study and compared with healthy controls as well as a cohort of people with sporadic primary progressive aphasia. Symptoms were assessed using the GENetic Frontotemporal dementia Initiative language, behavioural, neuropsychiatric and motor scales. Participants also underwent a cognitive assessment and 3 T volumetric T1-weighted MRI. One C9orf72 (2%), 1 MAPT (6%) and 17 GRN (44%) symptomatic mutation carriers had a diagnosis of primary progressive aphasia. In the GRN cohort, 47% had a diagnosis of nonfluent variant primary progressive aphasia, and 53% had a primary progressive aphasia syndrome that did not fit diagnostic criteria for any of the three subtypes, called primary progressive aphasia-not otherwise specified here. The phenotype of the genetic nonfluent variant primary progressive aphasia group largely overlapped with that of sporadic nonfluent variant primary progressive aphasia, although the presence of an associated atypical parkinsonian syndrome was characteristic of sporadic and not genetic disease. The primary progressive aphasia -not otherwise specified group however was distinct from the sporadic subtypes with impaired grammar/syntax in the presence of relatively intact articulation, alongside other linguistic deficits. The pattern of atrophy seen on MRI in the genetic nonfluent variant primary progressive aphasia group overlapped with that of the sporadic nonfluent variant primary progressive aphasia cohort, although with more posterior cortical involvement, whilst the primary progressive aphasia-not otherwise specified group was strikingly asymmetrical with involvement particularly of the insula and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex but also atrophy of the orbitofrontal cortex and the medial temporal lobes. Whilst there are overlapping symptoms between genetic and sporadic primary progressive aphasia syndromes, there are also distinct features. Future iterations of the primary progressive aphasia consensus criteria should encompass such information with further research needed to understand the earliest features of these disorders, particularly during the prodromal period of genetic disease.
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