Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

Cortex 2019 Mar 19;117:257-265. Epub 2019 Mar 19.

Neurodegenerative Disease Unit, Department of Clinical Research in Neurology, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", Lecce, Italy; Neurodegenerative Disease Unit, Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience and Sense Organs, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", Bari, Italy. Electronic address:

In amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), memory deficits may be primary or secondary to executive dysfunction. We assessed episodic memory and executive function of nondemented ALS patients, comparing episodic memory profiles and learning rates of ALS patients with those of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) subjects and cognitively healthy controls (HC). In a multidisciplinary tertiary centre for motor neuron disease, 72 nondemented ALS patients, 57 amnestic MCI (aMCI), 89 single non amnestic MCI with compromised executive functions (dysexecutive MCI), and 190 HC were enrolled. Read More

EBioMedicine 2019 Apr 16. Epub 2019 Apr 16.

Department of Nuclear Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea; Department of Nuclear Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea; Department of Molecular Medicine and Biopharmaceutical Sciences, Graduate School of Convergence Science and Technology, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea. Electronic address:

Background: Recent deep learning models have shown remarkable accuracy for the diagnostic classification. However, they have limitations in clinical application due to the gap between the training cohorts and real-world data. We aimed to develop a model trained only by normal brain PET data with an unsupervised manner to identify an abnormality in various disorders as imaging data of the clinical routine. Read More

Psychiatry Res Neuroimaging 2019 Mar 19;287:70-74. Epub 2019 Mar 19.

National Institute of Mental Health, Topolová 748, Klecany 250 67, Czechia; Institute of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Czechia.

Ratios between opposing volumes from brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can provide additional information to volumes in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Brain three-dimensional MPRAGE MRI at 3T were segmented into 44 regions using FreeSurfer v6 in 75 participants. The region's size in absolute volumes and relative proportions to the whole brain volume were compared between 39 AD patients and 36 age-, education- and sex-matched normal controls (NC). Read More

Clin Neuropsychol 2019 Apr 19:1-16. Epub 2019 Apr 19.

a Psychology Service, South Texas Veterans Health Care System, San Antonio, TX, USA.

Objective: The Word Memory Test (WMT) is a memory-based performance validity test (PVT) with adjusted interpretive criteria (Genuine Memory Impairment Profile; GMIP) proposed for those with cognitive impairment (CI). The GMIP has been criticized for poor discriminability; thus, this study sought to validate the GMIP in a mixed clinical sample. Analyses aimed to demonstrate enhanced detection of invalid neuropsychological test performance while minimizing false positives in a sample including patients with mild CI. Read More

Ther Adv Infect Dis 2019 Jan-Dec;6:2049936119838228. Epub 2019 Apr 4.

Red Cross Hospital, Athens, Greece.

Background: The aim of this study was to review the clinical data on the effectiveness of the pharmacotherapy of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HANDs).

Methods: A literature search of was performed (from January 1996 to October 2018) using the terms: 'HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders', 'HIV-associated dementia', 'mild neurocognitive disorder (MND)', 'asymptomatic neurocognitive impairment (ANI)', 'adjuvant therapies', 'antiretroviral treatment (cART)', 'neurotoxicity', 'cART intensification', 'fluid markers', 'cerebrospinal fluid', 'protease inhibitors', 'nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor', 'nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors', and 'integrase strand transfer inhibitors'. Additional references were identified from a review of literature citations. Read More

Arch Gerontol Geriatr 2019 Apr 1;83:114-120. Epub 2019 Apr 1.

Department of Basic Psychology II (Cognitive Processes), Faculty of Psychology, Complutense University of Madrid, Spain.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) affects temporary memory for bound features more remarkably than for individual features. Such selective impairments manifest from presymptomatic through dementia stages via titration procedures. A recent study suggested that without titration and with high memory load the binding selectivity may disappear in people at risk of AD such as those with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). Read More

Australas Emerg Care 2018 Nov 27;21(4):131-136. Epub 2018 Sep 27.

Faculty of Health University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW 2007, Australia; Research and Practice Development Unit, Level 7, Kolling Building, Royal North Shore Hospital, Northern Sydney Local Health District, St Leonards, NSW 2065, Australia.

Background: Pain assessment is challenging in older people with cognitive impairment who present to the emergency department and may result in suboptimal management. Therefore, the usefulness of the Pain Assessment in Advanced Dementia (PAINAD) tool for older people with cognitive impairment presenting with a painful injury was evaluated.

Methods: In this multi-centre observational sub-study, older people (≥65 years) suspected of a long bone fracture were screened for cognitive impairment using the Six Item Screening (SIS) tool. Read More

IEEE Trans Neural Syst Rehabil Eng 2019 Apr 18. Epub 2019 Apr 18.

Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) is the preliminary stage of dementia, which may lead to Alzheimer's disease (AD) in the elderly people. Therefore, early detection of MCI has the potential to minimize the risk of AD by ensuring the proper mental health care before it is too late. In this study, we demonstrate a single-channel EEG based MCI detection method, which is cost-effective and portable, and thus suitable for regular home-based patient monitoring. Read More

Neurodegener Dis Manag 2019 Apr 18. Epub 2019 Apr 18.

Cognitive Function Clinic, Walton Center for Neurology & Neurosurgery, Liverpool, UK.

To extend use of the recently described 'likelihood to be diagnosed or misdiagnosed' (LDM) metric for test accuracy studies through application to recent meta-analytic data of commonly used cognitive screening instruments. Raw data (true positives and negatives, false positives and negatives) were extracted from meta-analyses (minimum 5 studies or 1000 patients), from which LDM was calculated. LDM values were compared with those previously reported for single test accuracy studies. Read More

Exp Gerontol 2019 Apr 14. Epub 2019 Apr 14.

Department of Health Sciences, Navarrabiomed, IdiSNA, CIBER of Frailty and Healthy Aging (CIBERFES), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Public University of Navarra, Pamplona, Navarra, Spain. Electronic address:

Frailty syndrome encompasses several physical hallmarks such as loss of muscle strength, power output and mass, which leads to poor gait ability, fatigue, falls and overall difficulty to perform activities of daily living. On the other hand, physical exercise interventions induce marked improvements in frailty physical hallmarks (e.g. Read More

Arch Clin Neuropsychol 2019 Apr 17. Epub 2019 Apr 17.

School of Natural Sciences and Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK.

Objectives: Serial position effects have been found to discriminate between normal and pathological aging, and to predict conversion from Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) to Alzheimer's disease (AD). Different scoring methods have been used to estimate the accuracy of these predictions. In the current study, we investigated delayed primacy as predictor of progression to early MCI over established diagnostic memory methods. Read More

Arch Clin Neuropsychol 2019 Apr 17. Epub 2019 Apr 17.

Département de Psychologie, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, Canada H3C 3P8.

Introduction: The Verbal Fluency Test (VF) is commonly used in neuropsychology. Some studies have demonstrated a marked impairment of semantic VF compared to phonemic VF in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Since amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (aMCI) is associated with increased risk of conversion to incident AD, it is relevant to examine whether a similar impairment is observed in this population. Read More

Int J Geriatr Psychiatry 2019 Apr 16. Epub 2019 Apr 16.

Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom.

Background: Inflammation appears to play a role in the progression of neurodegenerative diseases. However, little is known about inflammation during early stages of cognitive decline or whether this differs in different disease groups. We sought to investigate this by assessing the inflammatory profile in patients with Parkinson's disease with the early stages of cognitive impairment (PD-MCI), patients with prodromal Alzheimer's disease (MCI-AD), prodromal Lewy Body disease (MCI-LB) and controls. Read More

Indian J Psychiatry 2019 Mar-Apr;61(2):184-191

Clinical Psychology Centre of University of Calcutta, Kolkata, West Bengal, India.

Context: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is an under-diagnosed health problem in the community. Cognitive screening tools are widely used for MCI detection, but many of them lack sensitivity and specificity in MCI detection. On the basis of literature review, Short test of mental status (STMS) was selected for the present purpose. Read More

J Am Med Dir Assoc 2019 Apr 13. Epub 2019 Apr 13.

Department of Geriatric Psychiatry, Institute of Mental Health, Singapore; Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore, Singapore. Electronic address:

Objectives: Early diagnosis of cognitive impairment is increasingly emphasized in the literature to facilitate timely preventive interventions. Although bedside cognitive tests such as the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) are widely used for such early diagnostic purposes, they may not have comparable performance to a full neuropsychological battery (FNB) in diagnosing early cognitive impairment. This study investigated whether a small subset of neuropsychological tests can be added on to MoCA to match its performance to that of the FNB in discriminating mild cognitive impairment and dementia (MCI/dementia) from normal cognition. Read More

BMC Geriatr 2019 Apr 16;19(1):110. Epub 2019 Apr 16.

Clinical Research Group for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Consorci Sanitari de Terrassa, Carretera Torrebonica, S/N, 08227, Terrassa, Spain.

Background: The main objective of this research was to evaluate the acceptance of technology based on a wearable lifelogging camera in a sample of older adults diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

Methods: A mixed-method design was used, consisting of a self-report questionnaire, numerous images taken by users, and a series of focus group discussions. The patients were involved in an individualized training programme. Read More

Brain Sci 2019 Apr 15;9(4). Epub 2019 Apr 15.

Department of Old Age Psychiatry, Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust, London UB8 3NN, UK.

Background: Cognitive disorders are reported to be common in patients with primary Sjogren's syndrome (pSS). In some cases, they are the first clinical manifestation, preceding the diagnosis of pSS by two years on average.

Aim: A systematic review was conducted to explore cognitive impairment in pSS, with reference to diagnostic methods and their relationship with laboratory data and clinical manifestations. Read More

Neuroimage Clin 2019 Mar 27;22:101800. Epub 2019 Mar 27.

Florida ADRC, USA; University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL, USA.

The threshold for amyloid positivity by visual assessment on PET has been validated by comparison to amyloid load measured histopathologically and biochemically at post mortem. As such, it is now feasible to use qualitative visual assessment of amyloid positivity as an in-vivo gold standard to determine those factors which can modify the quantitative threshold for amyloid positivity. We calculated quantitative amyloid load, measured as Standardized Uptake Value Ratios (SUVRs) using [18-F]florbetaben PET scans, for 159 Hispanic and non-Hispanic participants, who had been classified clinically as Cognitively Normal (CN), Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) or Dementia (DEM). Read More

Neuroimage Clin 2019 Mar 28;22:101795. Epub 2019 Mar 28.

The Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, United States; Department of Nuclear Medicine, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, China; Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, United States. Electronic address:

While the ApoE ε4 allele is a known risk factor for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease, brain region specific effects remain elusive. In this study, we investigate whether the ApoE ε4 allele exhibits brain region specific effects in longitudinal glucose uptake among patients with MCI from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI). Preprocessed FDG PET images, MRIs, and demographic information were downloaded from the ADNI database. Read More

Int J Geriatr Psychiatry 2019 Apr 16. Epub 2019 Apr 16.

Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Hospital Psiquiatric Universitari Institut Pere Mata, IISPV, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Reus, Tarragona, Spain.

Objective: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia (DEM) are prevalent in skilled nursing facilities (SNF), confounding delirium detection. We report characteristics of delirium in a SNF to ascertain distinguishing features for delirium diagnosis, despite challenges of comorbidity with MCI and DEM.

Methods: Cross-sectional study of 200 consecutive patients from a SNF in Catalunya, Spain; assessed within the first 24-48 admission hours by independent experts with: Spanish-Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly (for MCI-DEM), DSM-5 delirium criteria, and Delirium Rating Scale Revised-98 (DRS-R98) for delirium phenomenology. Read More

Zhongguo Zhong Yao Za Zhi 2019 Feb;44(3):582-588

Capital Medical University Beijing 100069, China Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine Affiliated to Capital Medical University Beijing 100010, China Beijing Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine Beijing 100010, China Beijing Key Laboratory of Infectious Diseases Treated by Traditional Chinese Medicine Beijing 100010, China.

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of huperzine in treating patients with mild cognitive impairment. The randomized controlled trials(RCT) were retrieved from EMbase, Cochrane Library, PubMed, CNKI, Wanfang and VIP. The methodology quality of the included studies was evaluated, and a Meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5. Read More

J Neurol 2019 Apr 15. Epub 2019 Apr 15.

Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry, Neuroscience Section, Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (CEMAND), University of Salerno, 84131, Baronissi (Salerno), Italy.

Introduction: Movement Disorder Society (MDS) new diagnostic criteria for Progressive Supranuclear palsy (PSP) identifying different disease phenotypes were recently released. The aim of the present study is to report on the cognitive and behavioral features of the different phenotypes diagnosed according to the MDS criteria.

Methods: Forty-nine PSP patients underwent an extensive battery of clinical assessments. Read More

Age Ageing 2019 Apr 15. Epub 2019 Apr 15.

School of Nursing, College of Nursing, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.

Background: memory training is a potential intervention for retaining memory and reducing dementia risk in older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

Objective: this study examined the effect of virtual interactive working memory training (VIMT) in older adults with MCI.

Design: single-blind, two-arm parallel-group, randomised controlled design. Read More

Alzheimers Res Ther 2019 Apr 16;11(1):33. Epub 2019 Apr 16.

Alzheimer Center Amsterdam, Department of Neurology, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Background: Biomarkers such as cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have predictive value for progression to dementia in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). The pre-dementia stage takes far longer, and the interpretation of biomarker findings is particular relevant for individuals who present at a memory clinic, but are deemed cognitively normal. The objective of the current study is to construct biomarker-based prognostic models for personalized risk of clinical progression in cognitively normal individuals presenting at a memory clinic. Read More

J Geriatr Psychiatry Neurol 2019 Apr 15:891988719841726. Epub 2019 Apr 15.

1 Department of Neurology, Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences & Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, Chengdu, China.

Background/aims: There are limited cognitive screening tests for the Chinese-speaking population. This study aimed to validate the Chinese version of the Mini-Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination (M-ACE) for detecting mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and mild dementia. Its diagnostic accuracy was compared with that of Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Read More

Ann Intern Med 2019 Apr 16. Epub 2019 Apr 16.

Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois (P.A.B., L.Y., J.A.S., R.S.W., D.A.B.).

Background: Decreased scam awareness may be an early indicator of impending Alzheimer dementia and its precursor, mild cognitive impairment, but prior studies have not systematically examined the associations between scam awareness and adverse cognitive outcomes.

Objective: To test the hypothesis that low scam awareness is associated with increased risk for incident Alzheimer dementia, mild cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer disease pathology in the brain.

Design: Prospective cohort study of aging. Read More

Neuroepidemiology 2019 Apr 15:1-8. Epub 2019 Apr 15.

Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA.

Background/aims: Mobility disability and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are common in aging and both are associated with risk of death. This study tested the hypothesis that risk of death differs by the order in which mobility disability and MCI occurred.

Methods: One thousand two hundred and sixty-two community-dwelling older adults were unimpaired at baseline and followed annually. Read More

Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2019 Apr 12. Epub 2019 Apr 12.

Department of Physical Education, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, 200000, China.

Objective: To objectively evaluate the most common forms of mind body exercise (MBE) (Tai Chi, Yoga, and Qigong) on cognitive function among people with MCI.

Data Sources: We searched six electronic databases (Scopus, PubMed, PsycINFO, WanFang, Web of Science, and CNKI) from inception until September, 2018.

Study Selection: Nine randomized controlled trials and three non-randomized controlled trials were included for meta-analysis. Read More

Riv Psichiatr 2019 Mar-Apr;54(2):59-66

Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Section of Psychiatry, University of Pisa, Italy - Institute of Behavioural Science "G. De Lisio", Pisa, Italy.

Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) are common in the prodromal stage of dementia and can precede the onset of cognitive impairment. The presence of NPS in cognitively normal patients or in patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) is associated with an increased risk of progression along the neurodegenerative process. The need to identify, in the early stages of the disease, the population at risk of cognitive decline has led to the formulation of the concept of Mild Behavioral Impairment (MBI). Read More

Neuropsychology 2019 Apr 15. Epub 2019 Apr 15.

Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra.

Objective: This study aimed to understand the relationship between the Clock Drawing Test (CDT) and decreased blood flow in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) patients, using single-photon emission computed tomography.

Method: We characterized regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) and the correlation with clinical variables and future conversion to dementia in 94 amnestic MCI patients. Blood perfusion data was correlated with the CDT (quantitative and qualitative scores) in order to evaluate their relationship and usefulness in predicting conversion to dementia. Read More

Zdr Varst 2019 Mar 26;58(2):54-61. Epub 2019 Mar 26.

University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Neurology, Hajduk Veljkova 3, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia.

Introduction: Multiple sclerosis (MS) results in a wide range of disabilities. The effects of cognitive and motor dysfunctions are significant and affect level of functioning in people with MS.

Objective: The aim of the research was to determine the common contribution of neurological, motor and cognitive status to the overall functioning of MS patients. Read More

Front Neuroinform 2019 22;13:13. Epub 2019 Mar 22.

Department of Neurology, Xuanwu Hospital of Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.

Background: The hippocampus and hippocampal subfields have been found to be diversely affected in Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and early stages of Alzheimer's disease by neuroimaging studies. However, our knowledge is still lacking about the trajectories of the hippocampus and hippocampal subfields atrophy with the progression of Alzheimer's disease.

Objective: To identify which subfields of the hippocampus differ in the trajectories of Alzheimer's disease by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and to determine whether individual differences on memory could be explained by structural volumes of hippocampal subfields. Read More

Psychogeriatrics 2019 Apr 14. Epub 2019 Apr 14.

Ningbo Key Lab of Behavior Neuroscience, Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Pathophysiology, School of Medicine, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China.

Background: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a high-risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD). In the present study, we investigated the association of genetic polymorphisms of five genes (8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylase 1 (OGG1), bridging integrator 1 (BIN1), sortilin-related receptor 1 (SORL1), presenilin 2 (PSEN2) and nerve growth factor (NGF)) with MCI risk in a Xinjiang Uygur population. We also tested the relationship between the promoter methylation of genes OGG1 and dihydrolipoamide S-succinyltransferase (DLST) with MCI. Read More

Altern Ther Health Med 2019 Jan;25(1):20-26

Context: Vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) or vascular dementia is widely considered to be the second-most-common cause of dementia after Alzheimer's disease, accounting for 20% of cases. Little is known about the effectiveness of breath qigong for seniors suffering from VCI or dementia.

Objectives: For seniors with VCI, the study aimed to compare the benefits of qigong practice, cognitive training, and qigong practice + cognitive training in improving cognitive function, memory, executive function, and daily problem-solving ability. Read More

J Geriatr Oncol 2019 Apr 11. Epub 2019 Apr 11.

Central Texas Veterans Healthcare System, United States. Electronic address:

Background: >60% of patients with cancer are 65 years of age and older, and malnutrition is commonly encountered in older adults.

Objective: To assess the prevalence and factors associated with malnutrition in older patients with cancer.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, patients with cancer underwent a comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA). Read More

Am J Geriatr Psychiatry 2019 Feb 21. Epub 2019 Feb 21.

Behavioral Sciences (RSW, PAB).

Objective: To test the hypothesis that late-life risk aversion is partly a prodromal sign of dementia.

Methods: The authors' design was a longitudinal clinical-pathologic cohort study. The setting included participants' residences in the Chicago area, and a total of 874 older persons without dementia were enrolled. Read More

Neuroinformatics 2019 Apr 13. Epub 2019 Apr 13.

Department of Radiology and BRIC, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA.

Functional connectivity networks, derived from resting-state fMRI data, have been found as effective biomarkers for identifying mild cognitive impairment (MCI) from healthy elderly. However, the traditional functional connectivity network is essentially a low-order network with the assumption that the brain activity is static over the entire scanning period, ignoring temporal variations among the correlations derived from brain region pairs. To overcome this limitation, we proposed a new type of sparse functional connectivity network to precisely describe the relationship of temporal correlations among brain regions. Read More

Neuroscience 2019 Apr 11. Epub 2019 Apr 11.

Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, Institute of Medical Sciences, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China. Electronic address:

M1 muscarinic receptors have long been identified as a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of cognitive impairment in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Our previous study has shown that M1 receptors promote membrane insertion and synaptic delivery of AMPA receptor GluA1 subunit. In this study, we sought to determine whether activation of M1 receptor would rescue the cognitive impairment in AD model mice through modulation of GluA1 subunit. Read More

Parkinsonism Relat Disord 2019 Apr 3. Epub 2019 Apr 3.

Department "G.F. Ingrassia", Section of Neurosciences, University of Catania, Via S. Sofia 78, 95123, Catania, Italy. Electronic address:

Introduction: Parkinson's Disease (PD) is frequently associated with cognitive dysfunction ranging from Mild Cognitive Impairment (PD-MCI) to dementia. Few electrophysiological studies are available evaluating potential pathogenetic mechanisms linked to cognitive impairment in PD since its initial phases. The objective of the study is to analyze electrocortical networks related with cognitive decline in PD-MCI for identifying possible early electrophysiological markers of cognitive impairment in PD. Read More

J Neurol Sci 2019 May 5;400:188-193. Epub 2019 Apr 5.

Department of Neurology, Stroke Center, Buffalo Medical Center, Buffalo, NY, USA.

Background/aims: Prostate specific antigen (PSA) is regulated by steroid hormones, such as testosterone, the serum levels of which are altered in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD).This pilot study compared serum levels of the free (f) PSA between AD, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and control subjects, and evaluated the relationship between fPSA serum levels and cognitive assessment tests and neuroimaging data. In addition, in a subgroup of AD patients, we correlated fPSA serum levels with the existing data on serum levels of amyloid-beta (Aβ), and iron-related proteins, including hepcidin and ferritin. Read More

Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging 2019 Apr 12. Epub 2019 Apr 12.

Department of Neurology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, 50 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, 30722, South Korea.

Purpose: Little is known regarding the clinical relevance or neurobiology of subtle motor disturbance in Alzheimer's disease (AD). This study aims to investigate the patterns of striatal F-FP-CIT uptake in patients with AD-related cognitive impairment (ADCI) with mild parkinsonism.

Methods: We recruited 29 consecutive patients with ADCI with mild parkinsonism. Read More

Clin Neurophysiol 2019 Apr 9. Epub 2019 Apr 9.

Institute for Research and Medical Care, IRCCS San Raffaele Pisana, Rome, Italy.

J Proteomics 2019 Apr 9;200:144-152. Epub 2019 Apr 9.

Neonatal Research Unit, Health Research Institute La Fe, Valencia, Spain. Electronic address:

An untargeted metabolomics study has been carried out using plasma samples from patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment due to Alzheimer's disease patients (MCI-AD, n = 29) and healthy people (n = 29)). They have been classified following the National Institute on Aging and Alzheimer's Association (NIA-AA) recommendations and cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers. The analytical method was based on liquid chromatography coupled to high resolution mass spectrometry. Read More

Behav Brain Res 2019 Apr 9. Epub 2019 Apr 9.

Medical University of Warsaw, Department of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology, Banacha 1B, 02-097, Warsaw, Poland. Electronic address:

Protocatechuic acid (PCA) is a phenolic compound believed to have neuroprotective and procognitive activity. D-Galactose (D-Gal) is a sugar, which administered to mammals can induce cognitive deficits. The first aim of this study was to confirm the effectiveness of D-Gal administered orally in inducing cognitive impairment in rats and describe how it affects the concentration of neurotransmitters in rats' brain. Read More

J Korean Med Sci 2019 Apr 15;34(14):e111. Epub 2019 Apr 15.

Department of Neurology, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.

Background: Korea has a periodic general health check-up program that uses the Korean Dementia Screening Questionnaire-Cognition (KDSQ-C) as a cognitive dysfunction screening tool. The Alzheimer Disease 8 (AD8) and Subjective Memory Complaints Questionnaire (SMCQ) are also used in clinical practice. We compared the diagnostic ability of these screening questionnaires for cognitive impairment when completed by participants and their caregivers. Read More

Alzheimers Dement (Amst) 2019 Dec 27;11:281-285. Epub 2019 Mar 27.

German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Magdeburg, Germany.

Introduction: This study aimed to assess how interindividual differences in locus coeruleus (LC) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast relate to cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Methods: LC MRI contrast was quantified in 73 individuals from the DZNE Longitudinal Cognitive Impairment and Dementia Study (DELCODE) study comprising 25 healthy elderly adults and 21 individuals with subjective cognitive decline, 16 with mild cognitive impairment, and 11 participants with AD dementia using 3D T-weighted fast low-angle shot (FLASH) imaging (0.75 mm isotropic resolution). Read More

Neurobiol Aging 2019 Mar 15. Epub 2019 Mar 15.

Department of Biology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, USA. Electronic address:

3-Hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase is associated with monitoring cholesterol levels. The presence of the single-nucleotide polymorphism rs3846662 introduces alternative splicing at exon 13; the exclusion of this exon leads to a reduction in total cholesterol levels. Lower cholesterol levels are linked to a reduction in Alzheimer's disease (AD) risk. Read More

Epilepsy Behav 2019 Apr 8;94:209-215. Epub 2019 Apr 8.

Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, UMC Utrecht Brain Center, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands. Electronic address:

Mild malformation of cortical development (mMCD) and focal cortical dysplasia (FCD) subtypes combined are by far the most common histological diagnoses in children who undergo surgery as treatment for refractory epilepsy. In patients with refractory epilepsy, a substantial burden of disease is due to cognitive impairment. We studied intelligence quotient (IQ) or developmental quotient (DQ) values and their change after epilepsy surgery in a consecutive series of 42 children (median age at surgery: 4. Read More

Ann Neurol 2019 Apr 11. Epub 2019 Apr 11.

Department of Neurology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA.

Objective: Common variants near TMEM106B associate with risk of developing frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Emerging evidence suggests a role for TMEM106B in neurodegenerative processes beyond FTD. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of TMEM106B genotype on cognitive decline across multiple neurogenerative diseases. Read More