Cross-validation of brain structural biomarkers and cognitive aging in a community-based study

ABSTRACTBackground: Population-based studies face challenges in measuring brain structure relative to cognitive aging. We examined the feasibility of acquiring state-of-the-art brain MRI images at a community hospital, and attempted to cross-validate two independent approaches to image analysis.Methods: Participants were 49 older adults (29 cognitively normal and 20 with mild cognitive impairment (MCI)) drawn from an ongoing cohort study, with annual clinical assessments within one month of scan, without overt cerebrovascular disease, and without dementia (Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) < 1). Brain MRI images, acquired at the local hospital using the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative protocol, were analyzed using (1) a visual atrophy rating scale and (2) a semi-automated voxel-level morphometric method. Atrophy and volume measures were examined in relation to cognitive classification (any MCI and amnestic MCI vs. normal cognition), CDR (0.5 vs. 0), and presumed etiology.Results: Measures indicating greater atrophy or lesser volume of the hippocampal formation, the medial temporal lobe, and the dilation of the ventricular space were significantly associated with cognitive classification, CDR = 0.5, and presumed neurodegenerative etiology, independent of the image analytic method. Statistically significant correlations were also found between the visual ratings of medial temporal lobe atrophy and the semi-automated ratings of brain structural integrity.Conclusions: High quality MRI data can be acquired and analyzed from older adults in population studies, enhancing their capacity to examine imaging biomarkers in relation to cognitive aging and dementia.

Download Full-text

Neural and behavioral correlates of episodic memory are associated with temporal discounting in older adults

10.1101/720250 ◽

2019 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Karolina M. Lempert ◽

Dawn J. Mechanic-Hamilton ◽

Long Xie ◽

Laura E.M. Wisse ◽

Robin de Flores ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Individual Differences ◽

Episodic Memory ◽

Temporal Lobe ◽

Cortical Thickness ◽

Medial Temporal Lobe ◽

Structural Integrity ◽

Temporal Discounting ◽

Risk Tolerance ◽

Trade Offs

AbstractWhen facing decisions involving trade-offs between smaller, sooner and larger, delayed rewards, people tend to discount the value of future rewards. There are substantial individual differences in this tendency toward temporal discounting, however. One neurocognitive system that may underlie these individual differences is episodic memory, given the overlap in the neural circuitry involved in imagining the future and remembering the past. Here we tested this hypothesis in older adults, including both those that were cognitively normal and those with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI). We found that performance on neuropsychological measures of episodic memory retrieval was associated with temporal discounting, such that people with better memory discounted delayed rewards less. This relationship was specific to episodic memory and temporal discounting, since executive function (another cognitive ability) was unrelated to temporal discounting, and episodic memory was unrelated to risk tolerance (another decision-making preference). We also examined cortical thickness and volume in medial temporal lobe regions critical for episodic memory. Entorhinal cortical thickness was associated with reduced temporal discounting, with episodic memory performance partially mediating this association. The inclusion of MCI participants was critical to revealing these associations between episodic memory and entorhinal cortical thickness and temporal discounting. These effects were larger in the MCI group, reduced after controlling for MCI status, and statistically significant only when including MCI participants in analyses. Overall, these findings suggest that individual differences in temporal discounting are driven by episodic memory function, and that a decline in medial temporal lobe structural integrity may impact temporal discounting.

Download Full-text

Sedentary behavior associated with reduced medial temporal lobe thickness in middle-aged and older adults

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0195549 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 13 (4) ◽

pp. e0195549 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Prabha Siddarth ◽

Alison C. Burggren ◽

Harris A. Eyre ◽

Gary W. Small ◽

David A. Merrill

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Sedentary Behavior ◽

Temporal Lobe ◽

Medial Temporal Lobe ◽

Middle Aged

Download Full-text

Atrophy and cognitive profiles in older adults with temporal lobe epilepsy are similar to mild cognitive impairment

Brain ◽

10.1093/brain/awaa397 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Erik Kaestner ◽

Anny Reyes ◽

Austin Chen ◽

Jun Rao ◽

Anna Christina Macari ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Alzheimer’S Disease ◽

Older Adults ◽

Alzheimer's Disease ◽

Cognitive Impairment ◽

Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽

Temporal Lobe Epilepsy ◽

Temporal Lobe ◽

Medial Temporal Lobe ◽

Late Onset ◽

Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment

Abstract Epilepsy incidence and prevalence peaks in older adults yet systematic studies of brain ageing and cognition in older adults with epilepsy remain limited. Here, we characterize patterns of cortical atrophy and cognitive impairment in 73 older adults with temporal lobe epilepsy (>55 years) and compare these patterns to those observed in 70 healthy controls and 79 patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment, the prodromal stage of Alzheimer’s disease. Patients with temporal lobe epilepsy were recruited from four tertiary epilepsy surgical centres; amnestic mild cognitive impairment and control subjects were obtained from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative database. Whole brain and region of interest analyses were conducted between patient groups and controls, as well as between temporal lobe epilepsy patients with early-onset (age of onset <50 years) and late-onset (>50 years) seizures. Older adults with temporal lobe epilepsy demonstrated a similar pattern and magnitude of medial temporal lobe atrophy to amnestic mild cognitive impairment. Region of interest analyses revealed pronounced medial temporal lobe thinning in both patient groups in bilateral entorhinal, temporal pole, and fusiform regions (all P < 0.05). Patients with temporal lobe epilepsy demonstrated thinner left entorhinal cortex compared to amnestic mild cognitive impairment (P = 0.02). Patients with late-onset temporal lobe epilepsy had a more consistent pattern of cortical thinning than patients with early-onset epilepsy, demonstrating decreased cortical thickness extending into the bilateral fusiform (both P < 0.01). Both temporal lobe epilepsy and amnestic mild cognitive impairment groups showed significant memory and language impairment relative to healthy control subjects. However, despite similar performances in language and memory encoding, patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment demonstrated poorer delayed memory performances relative to both early and late-onset temporal lobe epilepsy. Medial temporal lobe atrophy and cognitive impairment overlap between older adults with temporal lobe epilepsy and amnestic mild cognitive impairment highlights the risks of growing old with epilepsy. Concerns regarding accelerated ageing and Alzheimer’s disease co-morbidity in older adults with temporal lobe epilepsy suggests an urgent need for translational research aimed at identifying common mechanisms and/or targeting symptoms shared across a broad neurological disease spectrum.

Download Full-text

Plasma carotenoids and medial temporal lobe atrophy in older adults

Clinical Nutrition ◽

10.1016/j.clnu.2020.09.056 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Aline Thomas ◽

Cécile Proust-Lima ◽

Marion Baillet ◽

Catherine Helmer ◽

Cécile Delcourt ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Temporal Lobe ◽

Medial Temporal Lobe ◽

Medial Temporal Lobe Atrophy ◽

Lobe Atrophy

Download Full-text

P3-373: STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY OF THE MEDIAL TEMPORAL LOBE AND RECOGNITION MEMORY FOLLOWING NATURAL AND SURGICAL MENOPAUSE

Alzheimer s & Dementia ◽

10.1016/j.jalz.2018.06.1735 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 14 (7S_Part_23) ◽

pp. P1234-P1234

Author(s):

Nicole J. Gervais ◽

Elizabeth Baker-Sullivan ◽

Cheryl Grady ◽

Rosanna Olsen ◽

Laura Gravelsins ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Recognition Memory ◽

Temporal Lobe ◽

Medial Temporal Lobe ◽

Structural Integrity ◽

Surgical Menopause

Download Full-text

Relating Medial Temporal Lobe Volume to Frontal fMRI Activation for Memory Encoding in Older Adults

Cortex ◽

10.1016/s0010-9452(08)70199-0 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 41 (4) ◽

pp. 595-602 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

A ROSEN ◽

J GABRIELI ◽

T STOUB ◽

M PRULL ◽

R OHARA ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Temporal Lobe ◽

Medial Temporal Lobe ◽

Memory Encoding

Download Full-text

C-24 Longitudinal Trajectories of Working Memory Performance in Typically Aging Older Adults

Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology ◽

10.1093/arclin/acz034.186 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 34 (6) ◽

pp. 1053-1053

Author(s):

M Gonzalez Catalan ◽

C Lindbergh ◽

A Staffaroni ◽

S Walters ◽

K Casaletto ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Working Memory ◽

Cognitive Aging ◽

Memory Performance ◽

Clinical Dementia Rating ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Time Interaction ◽

Age Related ◽

Random Slopes ◽

Aging Adults

Abstract Objective Cross-sectional studies have shown age-related differences in working memory (WM), but the trajectory is unclear due to the scarcity of longitudinal studies. Additional research is needed to better characterize the course of age-related changes in WM in older adults. The present study sought to address this gap in the literature by conducting serial assessments of WM in a longitudinally followed cohort of typically aging adults. We hypothesized a significant age × time interaction, such that WM would show pronounced declines with advancing age. Methods 640 functionally intact participants in an aging cohort (clinical dementia rating = 0; age range 52-99, mean age = 75) completed a computerized WM measure, Running Letter Memory (RLM), every ~15 months for up to 8.5 years (mean follow-up = 1.9 years). Longitudinal changes in RLM scores were analyzed using linear mixed effects models, allowing for random slopes and intercepts. All models were adjusted for sex and education. Results RLM performance did not significantly decline over time (b = -.14, p = .43). As hypothesized, there was a significant age × time interaction predicting RLM scores (b = -.08, p = .006). Specifically, RLM performance remained relatively stable (or slightly improved) until around age 75, beyond which increasingly precipitous declines were observed with advancing age. Conclusion The present results suggest that WM performance does not evidence declines until the mid-70s in typically aging adults, at which point increasingly steep decline trajectories are observed with advancing age. These findings highlight that cognitive aging does not occur at a constant rate in late life.

Download Full-text

Predictors of rapid cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease: results from the Australian Imaging, Biomarkers and Lifestyle (AIBL) study of ageing

International Psychogeriatrics ◽

10.1017/s1041610211001335 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 24 (2) ◽

pp. 197-204 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

Alessandro Sona ◽

Ping Zhang ◽

David Ames ◽

Ashley I. Bush ◽

Nicola T. Lautenschlager ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Alzheimer’S Disease ◽

Alzheimer's Disease ◽

Cognitive Decline ◽

Rating Scale ◽

Cognitive Status ◽

Imaging Biomarkers ◽

Clinical Dementia Rating ◽

Factors Associated ◽

Biological Variables ◽

Rapid Cognitive Decline

ABSTRACTBackground: The AIBL study, which commenced in November 2006, is a two-center prospective study of a cohort of 1112 volunteers aged 60+. The cohort includes 211 patients meeting NINCDS-ADRDA criteria for Alzheimer's disease (AD) (180 probable and 31 possible). We aimed to identify factors associated with rapid cognitive decline over 18 months in this cohort of AD patients.Methods: We defined rapid cognitive decline as a drop of 6 points or more on the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) between baseline and 18-month follow-up. Analyses were also conducted with a threshold of 4, 5, 7 and 8 points, as well as with and without subjects who had died or were too severely affected to be interviewed at 18 months and after, both including and excluding subjects whose AD diagnosis was “possible” AD. We sought correlations between rapid cognitive decline and demographic, clinical and biological variables.Results: Of the 211 AD patients recruited at baseline, we had available data for 156 (73.9%) patients at 18 months. Fifty-one patients were considered rapid cognitive decliners (32.7%). A higher Clinical Dementia Rating scale (CDR) and higher CDR “sum of boxes” score at baseline were the major predictors of rapid cognitive decline in this population. Furthermore, using logistic regression model analysis, patients treated with a cholinesterase inhibitor (CheI) had a higher risk of being rapid cognitive decliners, as did males and those of younger age.Conclusions: Almost one third of patients satisfying established research criteria for AD experienced rapid cognitive decline. Worse baseline functional and cognitive status and treatment with a CheI were the major factors associated with rapid cognitive decline over 18 months in this population.

Download Full-text