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Title: Time to Amyloid Positivity and Preclinical Changes in Brain Metabolism, Atrophy, and Cognition: Evidence for Emerging Amyloid Pathology in Alzheimer's Disease

Abstract

Background: Aβ pathology is associated with longitudinal changes of brain metabolism, atrophy, and cognition, in cognitively healthy elders. However, Aβ information is usually measured cross-sectionally and dichotomized to classify subjects as Aβ-positive or Aβ-negative, making it difficult to evaluate when brain and cognitive changes occur with respect to emerging Aβ pathology. In this study, we use longitudinal Aβ information to combine the level and rate of change of Aβ to estimate the time to Aβ-positivity for each subject and test this temporal proximity to significant Aβ pathology for associations with brain structure, metabolism, and cognition. Methods: In 89 cognitively healthy elders with up to 10 years of follow-up, we estimated the points at which rates of fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET, MRI, and cognitive and functional decline begin to accelerate with respect to the time to Aβ-positivity. Points of initial acceleration in rates of decline were estimated using mixed-effects models with penalized regression splines. Results: Acceleration of rates of FDG PET were observed to occur 20+ years before the conventional threshold for Aβ-positivity. Subtle signs of cognitive dysfunction were observed 10+ years before Aβ-positivity. Conclusions: Aβ may have subtle associations with other hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease before Aβ biomarkers reach conventional thresholdsmore » for Aβ-positivity. Therefore, we propose that emerging Aβ pathology occurs many years before cognitively healthy elders reach the current threshold for Aβ positivity (preclinical AD). To allow prevention in the earliest disease stages, AD clinical trials may be designed to also include subjects with Aβ biomarkers in the sub-threshold range.« less

Authors:
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [4];  [5];  [6];  [7]
  1. Lund Univ. (Sweden). Dept. of Clinical Sciences Malmo. Clinical Memory Research Unit; Center for Imaging of Neurodegenerative Diseases, San Francisco, CA (United States). Dept. of Veterans Affairs Medical Center; Univ. of California, San Francisco, CA (United States). Dept. of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging
  2. Vrije Univ., Amsterdam (Netherlands). Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam. Dept. of Neurology and Alzheimercenter
  3. Univ. of Southern California, San Diego, CA (United States). Alzheimer's Therapeutic Research Inst.
  4. Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Helen Wills Neuroscience Inst.; Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Life Sciences Division
  5. Lund Univ. (Sweden). Dept. of Clinical Sciences Malmo. Clinical Memory Research Unit; Skåne University Hospital, Malmö (Sweden). Memory Clinic
  6. Center for Imaging of Neurodegenerative Diseases, San Francisco, CA (United States). Dept. of Veterans Affairs Medical Center; Univ. of California, San Francisco, CA (United States). Dept. of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging
  7. Lund Univ. (Sweden). Dept. of Clinical Sciences Malmo. Clinical Memory Research Unit; Skåne University Hospital, Malmö (Sweden). Memory Clinic; Skåne University Hospital, Malmö (Sweden). Dept. of Neurology
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER). Biological Systems Science Division
OSTI Identifier:
1628204
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC02-05CH11231
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Frontiers in Neuroscience (Online)
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Name: Frontiers in Neuroscience (Online); Journal Volume: 11; Journal ID: ISSN 1662-453X
Publisher:
Frontiers Research Foundation
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES; Neurosciences & Neurology; Alzheimer’s disease; β-amyloid; atrophy; metabolism; cognition; preclinical

Citation Formats

Insel, Philip S., Ossenkoppele, Rik, Gessert, Devon, Jagust, William, Landau, Susan, Hansson, Oskar, Weiner, Michael W., and Mattsson, Niklas. Time to Amyloid Positivity and Preclinical Changes in Brain Metabolism, Atrophy, and Cognition: Evidence for Emerging Amyloid Pathology in Alzheimer's Disease. United States: N. p., 2017. Web. doi:10.3389/fnins.2017.00281.
Insel, Philip S., Ossenkoppele, Rik, Gessert, Devon, Jagust, William, Landau, Susan, Hansson, Oskar, Weiner, Michael W., & Mattsson, Niklas. Time to Amyloid Positivity and Preclinical Changes in Brain Metabolism, Atrophy, and Cognition: Evidence for Emerging Amyloid Pathology in Alzheimer's Disease. United States. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2017.00281
Insel, Philip S., Ossenkoppele, Rik, Gessert, Devon, Jagust, William, Landau, Susan, Hansson, Oskar, Weiner, Michael W., and Mattsson, Niklas. Wed . "Time to Amyloid Positivity and Preclinical Changes in Brain Metabolism, Atrophy, and Cognition: Evidence for Emerging Amyloid Pathology in Alzheimer's Disease". United States. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2017.00281. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1628204.
@article{osti_1628204,
title = {Time to Amyloid Positivity and Preclinical Changes in Brain Metabolism, Atrophy, and Cognition: Evidence for Emerging Amyloid Pathology in Alzheimer's Disease},
author = {Insel, Philip S. and Ossenkoppele, Rik and Gessert, Devon and Jagust, William and Landau, Susan and Hansson, Oskar and Weiner, Michael W. and Mattsson, Niklas},
abstractNote = {Background: Aβ pathology is associated with longitudinal changes of brain metabolism, atrophy, and cognition, in cognitively healthy elders. However, Aβ information is usually measured cross-sectionally and dichotomized to classify subjects as Aβ-positive or Aβ-negative, making it difficult to evaluate when brain and cognitive changes occur with respect to emerging Aβ pathology. In this study, we use longitudinal Aβ information to combine the level and rate of change of Aβ to estimate the time to Aβ-positivity for each subject and test this temporal proximity to significant Aβ pathology for associations with brain structure, metabolism, and cognition. Methods: In 89 cognitively healthy elders with up to 10 years of follow-up, we estimated the points at which rates of fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET, MRI, and cognitive and functional decline begin to accelerate with respect to the time to Aβ-positivity. Points of initial acceleration in rates of decline were estimated using mixed-effects models with penalized regression splines. Results: Acceleration of rates of FDG PET were observed to occur 20+ years before the conventional threshold for Aβ-positivity. Subtle signs of cognitive dysfunction were observed 10+ years before Aβ-positivity. Conclusions: Aβ may have subtle associations with other hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease before Aβ biomarkers reach conventional thresholds for Aβ-positivity. Therefore, we propose that emerging Aβ pathology occurs many years before cognitively healthy elders reach the current threshold for Aβ positivity (preclinical AD). To allow prevention in the earliest disease stages, AD clinical trials may be designed to also include subjects with Aβ biomarkers in the sub-threshold range.},
doi = {10.3389/fnins.2017.00281},
journal = {Frontiers in Neuroscience (Online)},
number = ,
volume = 11,
place = {United States},
year = {Wed May 17 00:00:00 EDT 2017},
month = {Wed May 17 00:00:00 EDT 2017}
}

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Relationship between atrophy and β-amyloid deposition in Alzheimer's disease
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Amyloid deposition, hypometabolism, and longitudinal cognitive decline
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  • Landau, Susan M.; Mintun, Mark A.; Joshi, Abhinay D.
  • Annals of Neurology, Vol. 72, Issue 4
  • DOI: 10.1002/ana.23650

Tau positron emission tomographic imaging in aging and early Alzheimer disease: Tau PET in Aging and Early AD
journal, December 2015

  • Johnson, Keith A.; Schultz, Aaron; Betensky, Rebecca A.
  • Annals of Neurology, Vol. 79, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1002/ana.24546

The Alzheimer's disease neuroimaging initiative (ADNI): MRI methods
journal, January 2008

  • Jack, Clifford R.; Bernstein, Matt A.; Fox, Nick C.
  • Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Vol. 27, Issue 4
  • DOI: 10.1002/jmri.21049

Longitudinal change in CSF Tau and Aβ biomarkers for up to 48 months in ADNI
journal, June 2013

  • Toledo, Jon B.; Xie, Sharon X.; Trojanowski, John Q.
  • Acta Neuropathologica, Vol. 126, Issue 5
  • DOI: 10.1007/s00401-013-1151-4

Boston naming test in Alzheimer's disease
journal, January 1989


Assessing risk for preclinical β‐amyloid pathology with APOE , cognitive, and demographic information
journal, January 2016

  • Insel, Philip S.; Palmqvist, Sebastian; Mackin, R. Scott
  • Alzheimer's & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring, Vol. 4, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.dadm.2016.07.002

The Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative positron emission tomography core
journal, May 2010


The transitional association between β-amyloid pathology and regional brain atrophy
journal, December 2014

  • Insel, Philip S.; Mattsson, Niklas; Donohue, Michael C.
  • Alzheimer's & Dementia, Vol. 11, Issue 10
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.jalz.2014.11.002

Associations between cognitive, functional, and FDG-PET measures of decline in AD and MCI
journal, July 2011


PET Imaging of Tau Deposition in the Aging Human Brain
journal, March 2016


Quantifying an amyloid β model for Alzheimer's disease
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  • DOI: 10.1038/nature08538

Independent information from cerebrospinal fluid amyloid-β and florbetapir imaging in Alzheimer's disease
journal, December 2014

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  • Brain, Vol. 138, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.1093/brain/awu367

Cerebrospinal fluid analysis detects cerebral amyloid-β accumulation earlier than positron emission tomography
journal, March 2016

  • Palmqvist, Sebastian; Mattsson, Niklas; Hansson, Oskar
  • Brain, Vol. 139, Issue 4
  • DOI: 10.1093/brain/aww015

Measurement of Functional Activities in Older Adults in the Community
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  • DOI: 10.1093/geronj/37.3.323

The A4 Study: Stopping AD Before Symptoms Begin?
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Monotonic Smoothing Splines Fitted by Cross Validation
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  • DOI: 10.1137/0915069

Amyloid-first and neurodegeneration-first profiles characterize incident amyloid PET positivity
journal, October 2013


Accelerating rates of cognitive decline and imaging markers associated with β-amyloid pathology
journal, April 2016


Simultaneous Measurement of β-Amyloid(1–42), Total Tau, and Phosphorylated Tau (Thr181) in Cerebrospinal Fluid by the xMAP Technology
journal, February 2005


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Amyloid duration is associated with preclinical cognitive decline and tau PET
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Amyloid duration is associated with preclinical cognitive decline and tau PET
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Imaging Aβ and tau in early stage Alzheimer’s disease with [18F]AV45 and [18F]AV1451
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Cerebrospinal fluid and plasma biomarker trajectories with increasing amyloid deposition in Alzheimer's disease
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