Effect of age at onset on cortical thickness and cognition in posterior cortical atrophy.
Age at onset (AAO) has been shown to influence the phenotype of Alzheimer's disease (AD), but how it affects atypical presentations of AD remains unknown. Posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) is the most common form of atypical AD. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of AAO on cortical thickness and cognitive function in 98 PCA patients. We used Freesurfer (v5.3.0) to compare cortical thickness with AAO both as a continuous variable, and by dichotomizing the groups based on median age (58 years). In both the continuous and dichotomized analyses, we found a pattern suggestive of thinner cortex in precuneus and parietal areas in earlier-onset PCA, and lower cortical thickness in anterior cingulate and prefrontal cortex in later-onset PCA. These cortical thickness differences between PCA subgroups were consistent with earlier-onset PCA patients performing worse on cognitive tests involving parietal functions. Our results provide a suggestion that AAO may not only affect the clinico-anatomical characteristics in AD but may also affect atrophy patterns and cognition within atypical AD phenotypes.
Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK; Department of Neurology, University Hospital Virgen del Rocio, Seville, Spain. Electronic address: aida.gonzalez@ucl.ac.uk.
Aida
A
Suárez-González
Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK; Memory and Aging Center, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA.
Manja
M
Lehmann
Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK.
Timothy J
TJ
Shakespeare
Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK.
Keir X X
KXX
Yong
Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK.
Ross W
RW
Paterson
Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK.
Catherine F
CF
Slattery
Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK.
Alexander J M
AJM
Foulkes
Memory and Aging Center, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA.
Gil D
GD
Rabinovici
Department of Neurology, University Hospital Virgen del Rocio, Seville, Spain.
Eulogio
E
Gil-Néciga
Department of Radiology, University Hospital Virgen del Rocio, Seville, Spain.
Florinda
F
Roldán-Lora
Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK.
Jonathan M
JM
Schott
Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK.
Nick C
NC
Fox
Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK.
Sebastian J
SJ
Crutch
D017668:Age of Onset; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000473:pathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000473:pathology / Q000523:psychology; D001284:Atrophy; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000473:pathology*; D003071:Cognition; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests
Age at onset; Atypical Alzheimer disease; Cortical thickness; Neuroimaging; Posterior cortical atrophy