It is unclear if latent cognitive profiles can distinguish between dementia with subcortical vascular lesions and Alzheimer's disease (AD) at the incipient stage, and if they differ in performance from the Petersen subtypes. To identify latent cognitive profiles in a naturalistic population of patients from a memory clinic sample, and investigate the derived classes not only in terms of conversion to AD, but also in terms of conversion to dementia with subcortical vascular lesions. Another objective was to compare the derived classes to the Petersen subtypes. We performed a latent profile analysis (LPA) on standardized neuropsychological test scores from 476 memory clinic patients (age 64±8) without dementia, and analyzed progression to dementia after 2 years. The LPA resulted in two classes with impaired cognition (Amnestic and Slow/Dysexecutive) and two classes with normal cognition (Normal-Low and Normal-High cognition). Belonging to the Amnestic class predicted progression to all-cause dementia and to AD; belonging to the Slow/Dysexecutive class predicted progression to all-cause dementia, AD, and dementia with subcortical vascular lesions. Of the Petersen MCI subtypes, only amnestic multi-domain MCI predicted progression to all-cause dementia, AD, and dementia with subcortical vascular lesions. Latent cognitive profiles separated between AD and dementia with subcortical vascular lesions, while the Petersen subtypes did not. However, similar to the Petersen subtypes, LPA classes work better for ruling out progression to dementia than for case finding.
Objective: To examine the independent contributions and combined interactions of medial temporal lobe atrophy (MTA), cortical and subcortical atrophy, and white matter lesion (WML) volume in longitudinal cognitive performance. Methods: A total of 477 subjects with age-related WML were evaluated with brain MRI and annual neuropsychological examinations in 3-year follow-up. Baseline MRI determinants of cognitive decline were analyzed with linear mixed models controlling for multiple confounders. Results: MTA and subcortical atrophy predicted significantly steeper rate of decline in global cognitive measures as well as compound scores for psychomotor speed, executive functions, and memory after adjusting for age, gender, education, lacunes/infarcts, and WML volume. Cortical atrophy independently predicted decline in psychomotor speed. WML volume remained significantly associated with cognitive decline even after controlling for the atrophy scores. Moreover, significant synergistic interactions were found between WML and atrophy measures in overall cognitive performance across time and the rate of cognitive decline. Synergistic effects were also observed between baseline lacunar infarcts and all atrophy measures on change in psychomotor speed. The main results remained robust after exclusion of subjects with clinical stroke or incident dementia, and after additional adjustments for progression of WML and lacunes. Conclusions: Brain atrophy and WML are independently related to longitudinal cognitive decline in small vessel disease. MTA, subcortical, and cortical atrophy seem to potentiate the effect of WML and lacunes on cognitive decline. AD= : Alzheimer disease; DSM-IV = : Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition; FLAIR= : fluid-attenuated inversion recovery; LADIS= : Leukoaraiosis and Disability; MMSE= : Mini-Mental State Examination; MPRAGE= : magnetization-prepared rapid gradient echo; MTA= : medial temporal lobe atrophy; SVD= : small vessel disease; VADAS= : Vascular Dementia Assessment Scale; WML= : white matter lesion
The objective was to study the 2-year outcome of subjects diagnosed as having mild cognitive impairment (MCI).
Methods
Two hundred and nine subjects diagnosed as having MCI were examined with a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery and followed up after 2 years.
Results
After 2 years, 34 subjects (16%) were lost for follow-up. Those subjects did not differ significantly in terms of MCI subclassification, MMSE score or age and education. Of the 175 subjects followed up, eight (4.5%) had improved to normal, two with amnestic MCI, one from multiple domains MCI, three with single domain MCI and two without any significant impairment at baseline. Forty-four subjects (25%) had progressed to dementia. Of these, 35 were from the multidomain amnestic group and nine from the multidomain non-amnestic group. The combination of Alzheimer-typical biomarkers (total-τ and amyloid beta) and multidomain amnestic MCI was the strongest predictor of progression to Alzheimer9s disease, while vascular disease and multidomain amnestic MCI preceded mixed and vascular dementia.
Conclusion
The results suggest that memory impairment alone, or impairment in any one cognitive domain alone, is a rather benign condition. Impairment in several cognitive domains is associated with a more severe outcome over 2 years. Also, 20% of the subjects who progressed to dementia, including Alzheimer9s disease, did not show memory impairment at baseline, which suggests that memory impairment is not always the first symptom of even the most common dementia disorders.
Abstract Introduction Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) and biomarker‐based “at‐risk” concepts such as “preclinical” Alzheimer's disease (AD) have been developed to predict AD dementia before objective cognitive impairment is detectable. We longitudinally evaluated cognitive outcome when using these classifications. Methods Memory clinic patients ( n = 235) were classified as SCD ( n = 122): subtle cognitive decline ( n = 36) and mild cognitive impairment ( n = 77) and subsequently subclassified into SCDplus and National Institute on Aging–Alzheimer's Association (NIA‐AA) stages 0 to 3. Mean (standard deviation) follow‐up time was 48 (35) months. Proportion declining cognitively and prognostic accuracy for cognitive decline was calculated for all classifications. Results Among SCDplus patients, 43% to 48% declined cognitively. Among NIA‐AA stage 1 to 3 patients, 50% to 100% declined cognitively. The highest positive likelihood ratios (+LRs) for subsequent cognitive decline (+LR 6.3), dementia (+LR 3.4), and AD dementia (+LR 6.5) were found for NIA‐AA stage 2. Discussion In a memory clinic setting, NIA‐AA stage 2 seems to be the most successful classification in predicting objective cognitive decline, dementia, and AD dementia.
Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) measurements of amyloid-β42 (Aβ42 ), total-tau (T-tau), and phosphorylated tau (P-tau) may be used to predict future Alzheimer's disease (AD) dementia in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). The precise temporal de
The ability to discriminate between Alzheimer’s disease (AD), subcortical vascular disease, and other cognitive disorders is crucial for diagnostic purposes and clinical trial outcomes. Patients with primarily subcortical vascular disease are unlikely to benefit from treatments targeting the AD pathogenic mechanisms and vice versa. The Gothenburg mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia studies are prospective, observational, single-center cohort studies suitable for both cross-sectional and longitudinal analysis that outline the cognitive profiles and biomarker characteristics of patients with AD, subcortical vascular disease, and other cognitive disorders. The studies, the first of which started in 1987, comprise inpatients with manifest dementia and patients seeking care for cognitive disorders at an outpatient memory clinic. This article gives an overview of the major published papers (neuropsychological, imaging/physiology, and neurochemical) of the studies including the ongoing Gothenburg MCI study. The main findings suggest that subcortical vascular disease with or without dementia exhibit a characteristic neuropsychological pattern of mental slowness and executive dysfunction and neurochemical deviations typical of white matter changes and disturbed blood–brain barrier function. Our findings may contribute to better healthcare for this underrecognized group of patients. The Gothenburg MCI study has also published papers on multimodal prediction of dementia, and cognitive reserve.
The prognostic accuracy of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in clinical settings is debated, variable across criteria, cut-offs, subtypes, and follow-up time. We aimed to estimate the prognostic accuracy of MCI and the MCI subtypes for dementia using three different cut-off levels.Memory clinic patients were followed for 2 (n = 317, age 63.7 ± 7.8) and 4-6 (n = 168, age 62.6 ± 7.4) years. We used 2.0, 1.5, and 1.0 standard deviations (SD) below the mean of normal controls (n = 120, age 64.1 ± 6.6) to categorize MCI and the MCI subtypes. Prognostic accuracy for dementia syndrome at follow-up was estimated.Amnestic multi-domain MCI (aMCI-md) significantly predicted dementia under all conditions, most markedly when speed/attention, language, or executive function was impaired alongside memory. For aMCI-md, sensitivity increased and specificity decreased when the cut-off was lowered from 2.0 to 1.5 and 1.0 SD. Non-subtyped MCI had a high sensitivity and a low specificity.Our results suggest that aMCI-md is the only viable subtype for predicting dementia for both follow-up times. Lowering the cut-off decreases the positive predictive value and increases the negative predictive value of aMCI-md. The results are important for understanding the clinical prognostic utility of MCI, and MCI as a non-progressive disorder.