Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment (Sep 2016)

Predicting episodic memory performance using different biomarkers: results from Argentina-Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative

  • Russo MJ,
  • Cohen G,
  • Chrem Mendez P,
  • Campos J,
  • Nahas FE,
  • Surace EI,
  • Vazquez S,
  • Gustafson D,
  • Guinjoan S,
  • Allegri RF,
  • Sevlever G

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 12
pp. 2199 – 2206

Abstract

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María Julieta Russo,1 Gabriela Cohen,1 Patricio Chrem Mendez,1 Jorge Campos,1 Federico E Nahas,1 Ezequiel I Surace,1 Silvia Vazquez,1 Deborah Gustafson,2,3 Salvador Guinjoan,1 Ricardo F Allegri,1 Gustavo Sevlever1 On behalf of the Argentina-Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroim­aging Initiative group 1Center of Aging and Memory of Neurological Research Institute (FLENI), Buenos Aires, Argentina; 2Department of Neurology, State University of New York-Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY, USA; 3Neuropsychiatric Epidemiology Unit, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, SwedenPurpose: Argentina-Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (Arg-ADNI) is the first ADNI study to be performed in Latin America at a medical center with the appropriate infrastructure. Our objective was to describe baseline characteristics and to examine whether biomarkers related to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) physiopathology were associated with worse memory performance.Patients and methods: Fifteen controls and 28 mild cognitive impairment and 13 AD dementia subjects were included. For Arg-ADNI, all biomarker parameters and neuropsychological tests of ADNI-II were adopted. Results of positron emission tomography (PET) with fluorodeoxyglucose and 11C-Pittsburgh compound-B (PIB-PET) were available from all participants. Cerebrospinal fluid biomarker results were available from 39 subjects.Results: A total of 56 participants were included and underwent baseline evaluation. The three groups were similar with respect to years of education and sex, and they differed in age (F=5.10, P=0.01). Mean scores for the baseline measurements of the neuropsychological evaluation differed significantly among the three groups at P<0.001, showing a continuum in their neuropsychological performance. No significant correlations were found between the principal measures (long-delay recall, C-Pittsburgh compound-B scan, left hippocampal volume, and APOEε4) and either age, sex, or education (P>0.1). Baseline amyloid deposition and left hippocampal volume separated the three diagnostic groups and correlated with the memory performance (P<0.001).Conclusion: Cross-sectional analysis of baseline data revealed links between cognition, structural changes, and biomarkers. Follow-up of a larger and more representative cohort, particularly analyzing cerebrospinal fluid and brain biomarkers, will allow better characterization of AD in our country.Keywords: aging, Alzheimer’s disease, amyloid imaging, biomarkers, mild cognitive impairment

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