title: The midlife cognitive profiles of adults at high risk of late-onset Alzheimer's disease: The PREVENT study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Although biomarker studies of late-onset Alzheimer's disease suggest pathology to be present decades before diagnosis, little is known about cognitive performance at this stage.
  
  
  METHODS
  A sample of 210 adults (aged 40-59) of whom 103 have a parent diagnosed with dementia (family history subgroup) underwent computerized cognitive testing. Apolipoprotein E (apoE) status was determined, and 193 subjects had magnetic resonance imaging. Distance from dementia onset was estimated in relation to age of parental diagnosis, and Cardiovascular Risk Factors, Aging, and Incidence of Dementia Risk Scores were calculated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Lower hippocampal volumes (P = .04) were associated with poorer spatial location recall and higher Dementia Risk Scores with poorer visual recognition (P = .0005), and lower brain and hippocampal volume (P < .0001, P = .04, respectively). Family history subgroup participants closer to dementia onset had lower scores on visual working memory (P = .05), whereas those with an APOE ε4 allele performed better on form perception (P = .005).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Middle-aged adults at risk of dementia show evidence of poorer cognitive performance, principally in visuospatial functions.
authors.affiliation: Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, U1061 Neuropsychiatrie, Montpellier, France; Faculty of Medicine, University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France; Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. Electronic address: karen.ritchie@inserm.fr.
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ritchie
authors.affiliation: Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, U1061 Neuropsychiatrie, Montpellier, France; Faculty of Medicine, University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France.
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Carrière
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, School of Clinical Medicine, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Su
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, School of Clinical Medicine, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: John T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: O'Brien
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lovestone
authors.affiliation: The Centre for Mental Health, Imperial College, London, UK.
authors.forename: Katie
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wells
authors.affiliation: Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK; The Centre for Mental Health, Imperial College, London, UK.
authors.forename: Craig W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Ritchie
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics; D053327:Apolipoprotein E4 / Q000235:genetics; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D016015:Logistic Models; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
chemical_list: D053327:Apolipoprotein E4
keywords: Alzheimer's disease; Cognition; Diagnosis; MRI; Neuropsychology; Preclinical; Prognosis