Alzheimer’s Research & Therapy (Jan 2024)

Diagnostic accuracy of research criteria for prodromal frontotemporal dementia

  • Alberto Benussi,
  • Enrico Premi,
  • Mario Grassi,
  • Antonella Alberici,
  • Valentina Cantoni,
  • Stefano Gazzina,
  • Silvana Archetti,
  • Roberto Gasparotti,
  • Giorgio G. Fumagalli,
  • Arabella Bouzigues,
  • Lucy L. Russell,
  • Kiran Samra,
  • David M. Cash,
  • Martina Bocchetta,
  • Emily G. Todd,
  • Rhian S. Convery,
  • Imogen Swift,
  • Aitana Sogorb-Esteve,
  • Carolin Heller,
  • John C. van Swieten,
  • Lize C. Jiskoot,
  • Harro Seelaar,
  • Raquel Sanchez-Valle,
  • Fermin Moreno,
  • Robert Jr. Laforce,
  • Caroline Graff,
  • Matthis Synofzik,
  • Daniela Galimberti,
  • James B. Rowe,
  • Mario Masellis,
  • Maria Carmela Tartaglia,
  • Elizabeth Finger,
  • Rik Vandenberghe,
  • Alexandre Mendonça,
  • Pietro Tiraboschi,
  • Chris R. Butler,
  • Isabel Santana,
  • Alexander Gerhard,
  • Isabelle Le Ber,
  • Florence Pasquier,
  • Simon Ducharme,
  • Johannes Levin,
  • Sandro Sorbi,
  • Markus Otto,
  • Alessandro Padovani,
  • Jonathan D. Rohrer,
  • Barbara Borroni,
  • Genetic Frontotemporal dementia Initiative (GENFI)

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s13195-024-01383-1
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 16, no. 1
pp. 1 – 12

Abstract

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Abstract Background The Genetic Frontotemporal Initiative Staging Group has proposed clinical criteria for the diagnosis of prodromal frontotemporal dementia (FTD), termed mild cognitive and/or behavioral and/or motor impairment (MCBMI). The objective of the study was to validate the proposed research criteria for MCBMI-FTD in a cohort of genetically confirmed FTD cases against healthy controls. Methods A total of 398 participants were enrolled, 117 of whom were carriers of an FTD pathogenic variant with mild clinical symptoms, while 281 were non-carrier family members (healthy controls (HC)). A subgroup of patients underwent blood neurofilament light (NfL) levels and anterior cingulate atrophy assessment. Results The core clinical criteria correctly classified MCBMI vs HC with an AUC of 0.79 (p < 0.001), while the addition of either blood NfL or anterior cingulate atrophy significantly increased the AUC to 0.84 and 0.82, respectively (p < 0.001). The addition of both markers further increased the AUC to 0.90 (p < 0.001). Conclusions The proposed MCBMI criteria showed very good classification accuracy for identifying the prodromal stage of FTD.

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