Electroencephalography Is a Good Complement to Currently Established Dementia Biomarkers.
Dementia biomarkers that are accessible and easily applicable in nonspecialized clinical settings are urgently needed. Quantitative electroencephalography (qEEG) is a good candidate, and the statistical pattern recognition (SPR) method has recently provided promising results. We tested the diagnostic value of qEEG-SPR in comparison to cognition, structural imaging, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers.



A total of 511 individuals were recruited from the multicenter NORD EEG study [141 healthy controls, 64 subjective cognitive decline, 124 mild cognitive impairment, 135 Alzheimer's disease (AD), 15 dementia with Lewy bodies/Parkinson's disease with dementia (DLB/PDD), 32 other dementias]. The EEG data were recorded in a standardized way. Structural imaging data were visually rated using scales of atrophy in the medial temporal, frontal, and posterior cortex.



qEEG-SPR outperformed structural imaging, cognition, and CSF biomarkers in DLB/PDD diagnosis, outperformed structural imaging in AD diagnosis, and improved the differential diagnosis of AD. In addition, qEEG-SPR allowed differentiation of two clinically different AD subtypes.



Adding qEEG to the diagnostic workup substantially increases the detection of AD pathology even in pre-dementia stages and improves differential diagnosis. EEG could serve as a good complement to currently established dementia biomarkers since it is cheap, noninvasive, and extensively applied outside academic centers.
Division of Clinical Geriatrics, Center for Alzheimer Research, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Daniel
D
Ferreira
Vesna
V
Jelic
Lena
L
Cavallin
Anne-Rita
AR
Oeksengaard
Jon
J
Snaedal
Peter
P
Høgh
Birgitte Bo
BB
Andersen
Mala
M
Naik
Knut
K
Engedal
Eric
E
Westman
Lars-Olof
LO
Wahlund
D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D001284:Atrophy; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D000073216:Mental Status and Dementia Tests; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013548:Sweden
D015415:Biomarkers