title: Semantic Verbal Fluency Pattern, Dementia Rating Scores and Adaptive Behavior Correlate With Plasma Aβ42 Concentrations in Down Syndrome Young Adults.
abstract: Down syndrome (DS) is an intellectual disability (ID) disorder in which language and specifically, verbal fluency are strongly impaired domains; nearly all adults show neuropathology of Alzheimer's disease (AD), including amyloid deposition by their fifth decade of life. In the general population, verbal fluency deficits are considered a strong AD predictor being the semantic verbal fluency task (SVFT) a useful tool for enhancing early diagnostic. However, there is a lack of information about the association between the semantic verbal fluency pattern (SVFP) and the biological amyloidosis markers in DS. In the current study, we used the SVFT in young adults with DS to characterize their SVFP, assessing total generated words, clustering, and switching. We then explored its association with early indicators of dementia, adaptive behavior and amyloidosis biomarkers, using the Dementia Questionnaire for Persons with Intellectual Disability (DMR), the Adaptive Behavior Assessment System-Second Edition (ABAS-II), and plasma levels of Aβ peptides (Aβ40 and Aβ42), as a potent biomarker of AD. In DS, worse performance in SVFT and poorer communication skills were associated with higher plasma Aβ42 concentrations, a higher DMR score and impaired communication skills (ABAS-II). The total word production and switching ability in SVFT were good indicators of plasma Aβ42 concentration. In conclusion, we propose the SVFT as a good screening test for early detection of dementia and amyloidosis in young adults with DS.
authors.affiliation: Neurosciences Research Program, Integrative Pharmacology and Systems Neuroscience Research Group, IMIM-Institut de Hospital del Mar d'Investigacions Mèdiques Barcelona, Spain ; Departamento de farmacología, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Laura Del
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Hoyo
authors.affiliation: Neurosciences Research Program, Integrative Pharmacology and Systems Neuroscience Research Group, IMIM-Institut de Hospital del Mar d'Investigacions Mèdiques Barcelona, Spain ; Systems Biology Program, Cellular and Systems Neurobiology, Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology Barcelona, Spain ; Department of Experimental and Health Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xicota
authors.affiliation: Neurosciences Research Program, Integrative Pharmacology and Systems Neuroscience Research Group, IMIM-Institut de Hospital del Mar d'Investigacions Mèdiques Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Gonzalo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sánchez-Benavides
authors.affiliation: Neurosciences Research Program, Integrative Pharmacology and Systems Neuroscience Research Group, IMIM-Institut de Hospital del Mar d'Investigacions Mèdiques Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Aida
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cuenca-Royo
authors.affiliation: Neurosciences Research Program, Integrative Pharmacology and Systems Neuroscience Research Group, IMIM-Institut de Hospital del Mar d'Investigacions Mèdiques Barcelona, Spain ; Systems Biology Program, Cellular and Systems Neurobiology, Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Susana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: de Sola
authors.affiliation: Neurosciences Research Program, Integrative Pharmacology and Systems Neuroscience Research Group, IMIM-Institut de Hospital del Mar d'Investigacions Mèdiques Barcelona, Spain ; Department of Statistics and Operations Research, Universitat Politècnica de Barcelona/BarcelonaTech Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Langohr
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital of Bellvitge-IDIBELL Barcelona, Spain ; CIBER Fisiopatología Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBERObn), Instituto Salud Carlos III Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Ana B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Fagundo
authors.affiliation: Neurosciences Research Program, Integrative Pharmacology and Systems Neuroscience Research Group, IMIM-Institut de Hospital del Mar d'Investigacions Mèdiques Barcelona, Spain ; Departamento de farmacología, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Magí
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Farré
authors.affiliation: Systems Biology Program, Cellular and Systems Neurobiology, Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology Barcelona, Spain ; Department of Experimental and Health Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra Barcelona, Spain ; CIBER de Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER), Instituto Salud Carlos III Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Mara
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dierssen
authors.affiliation: Neurosciences Research Program, Integrative Pharmacology and Systems Neuroscience Research Group, IMIM-Institut de Hospital del Mar d'Investigacions Mèdiques Barcelona, Spain ; Department of Experimental and Health Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra Barcelona, Spain ; CIBER Fisiopatología Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBERObn), Instituto Salud Carlos III Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Rafael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: de la Torre
keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; Aβ; DMR; Down syndrome; amyloid precursor protein; communication skills; semantic verbal fluency; switching