Cognitive decline from estimated premorbid status predicts neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease.
This study investigated the relationship between premorbid and current cognitive function with respect to the clinical features of patients with various types of neurodegeneration in the form of Alzheimer's disease (AD), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and subjective cognitive impairment (SCI), as compared with a healthy control group (C). Clinical features (MMSE, cognitive and depressive symptoms), genetics (apolipoprotein E; APOE) and measures of neurodegeneration (Abeta(42), t-tau, and p-tau) were examined, as well as present cognitive function. Various methods of assessing premorbid cognitive function were compared, including a Swedish NART-analogous test (Irregularly Spelled Words; ISW), a Swedish lexical decision test (SLDT), a Hold test (Information in WAIS-R), Best current performance test, and combined demographic characteristics. Results showed that cognitive decline (premorbid minus current cognitive function) based on SLDT and ISW was a significant predictor for MMSE and Abeta(42), whereas corresponding associations for present cognitive function and decline measures based on other methods were less powerful. Results also showed that specific verbal abilities (e.g., SLDT and ISW) were insensitive to AD and that these abilities indicated premorbid cognitive function in retrospect. In conclusion, cognitive decline from premorbid status reflects the disease processes.
Almkvist
Ove
O
Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden. ove.almkvist@ki.se
Tallberg
Ing-Mari
IM
D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000150:complications*; D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D053327:Apolipoprotein E4 / Q000235:genetics; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008609:Mental Status Schedule; D008875:Middle Aged; D019636:Neurodegenerative Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014888:Wechsler Scales
D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides; D053327:Apolipoprotein E4