title: Self-reported memory impairment and brain PET of amyloid and tau in middle-aged and older adults without dementia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Whether perceived changes in memory parallel changes in brain pathology is uncertain. Positron emission tomography (PET) scans using 2-(1-{6-[(2-[F-18]fluoroethyl)(methyl)amino]-2-naphthyl}ethylidene)malononitrile (FDDNP) can measure levels of amyloid plaques and tau neurofibrillary tangles in vivo. Here we investigate whether degree of self-reported memory impairment is associated with FDDNP-PET binding levels in persons without dementia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-seven middle-aged and older adults without dementia (mean age ±standard deviation = 66.3 ± 10.6 years), including 25 with normal aging and 32 with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), were assessed. The outcome measures were the four factor scores of the Memory Functioning Questionnaire (MFQ) (frequency of forgetting, seriousness of forgetting, retrospective functioning, and mnemonics use) and FDDNP-PET binding levels in medial temporal, lateral temporal, posterior cingulate, parietal, frontal, and global (overall average) regions of interest.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After controlling for age, higher reported frequency of forgetting was associated with greater medial temporal (r = -0.29, p = 0.05), parietal (r = -0.30, p = 0.03), frontal (r = -0.35, p = 0.01), and global FDDNP-PET binding levels (r = -0.33, p = 0.02). The remaining MFQ factor scores were not significantly associated with FDDNP-PET binding levels, and no significant differences were found between normal aging and MCI subjects. Item analysis of the frequency of forgetting factor revealed five questions that yielded similar results as the full 32-question scale (r = -0.52, p = 0.0002).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings suggest that some forms of memory self-awareness, in particular the reported frequency of forgetting, may reflect the extent of cerebral amyloid and tau brain pathology.
authors.affiliation: Division of Geriatric Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience & Human Behavior, David Geffen School of Medicine, and Longevity Center, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA. dmerrill@mednet.ucla.edu
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Merrill
authors.forename: Prabha
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Siddarth
authors.forename: Nathan Y
authors.initials: NY
authors.lastname: Saito
authors.forename: Linda M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Ercoli
authors.forename: Alison C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Burggren
authors.forename: Vladimir
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kepe
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lavretsky
authors.forename: Karen J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: Jeanne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Susan Y
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Bookheimer
authors.forename: Jorge R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Barrio
authors.forename: Gary W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Small
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D060825:Cognitive Dysfunction / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D005462:Fluorine Radioisotopes; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000473:pathology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D059906:Neuroimaging; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D009570:Nitriles; D058225:Plaque, Amyloid / Q000473:pathology*; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D016875:tau Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: C444520:2-(1-(6-((2-fluoroethyl)(methyl)amino)-2-naphthyl)ethylidene)malononitrile; D005462:Fluorine Radioisotopes; D009570:Nitriles; D016875:tau Proteins