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Illán-Gala I, Lorca-Puls DL, Tee BL, Ezzes Z, de Leon J, Miller ZA, Rubio-Guerra S, Santos-Santos M, Gómez-Andrés D, Grinberg LT, Spina S, Kramer JH, Wauters LD, Henry ML, Boxer AL, Rosen HJ, Miller BL, Seeley WW, Mandelli ML, Gorno-Tempini ML. Clinical dimensions along the non-fluent variant primary progressive aphasia spectrum. Brain 2024; 147:1511-1525. [PMID: 37988272 PMCID: PMC10994525 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awad396] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2023] [Revised: 10/21/2023] [Accepted: 11/05/2023] [Indexed: 11/23/2023] Open
Abstract
It is debated whether primary progressive apraxia of speech (PPAOS) and progressive agrammatic aphasia (PAA) belong to the same clinical spectrum, traditionally termed non-fluent/agrammatic variant primary progressive aphasia (nfvPPA), or exist as two completely distinct syndromic entities with specific pathologic/prognostic correlates. We analysed speech, language and disease severity features in a comprehensive cohort of patients with progressive motor speech impairment and/or agrammatism to ascertain evidence of naturally occurring, clinically meaningful non-overlapping syndromic entities (e.g. PPAOS and PAA) in our data. We also assessed if data-driven latent clinical dimensions with aetiologic/prognostic value could be identified. We included 98 participants, 43 of whom had an autopsy-confirmed neuropathological diagnosis. Speech pathologists assessed motor speech features indicative of dysarthria and apraxia of speech (AOS). Quantitative expressive/receptive agrammatism measures were obtained and compared with healthy controls. Baseline and longitudinal disease severity was evaluated using the Clinical Dementia Rating Sum of Boxes (CDR-SB). We investigated the data's clustering tendency and cluster stability to form robust symptom clusters and employed principal component analysis to extract data-driven latent clinical dimensions (LCD). The longitudinal CDR-SB change was estimated using linear mixed-effects models. Of the participants included in this study, 93 conformed to previously reported clinical profiles (75 with AOS and agrammatism, 12 PPAOS and six PAA). The remaining five participants were characterized by non-fluent speech, executive dysfunction and dysarthria without apraxia of speech or frank agrammatism. No baseline clinical features differentiated between frontotemporal lobar degeneration neuropathological subgroups. The Hopkins statistic demonstrated a low cluster tendency in the entire sample (0.45 with values near 0.5 indicating random data). Cluster stability analyses showed that only two robust subgroups (differing in agrammatism, executive dysfunction and overall disease severity) could be identified. Three data-driven components accounted for 71% of the variance [(i) severity-agrammatism; (ii) prominent AOS; and (iii) prominent dysarthria]. None of these data-driven LCDs allowed an accurate prediction of neuropathology. The severity-agrammatism component was an independent predictor of a faster CDR-SB increase in all the participants. Higher dysarthria severity, reduced words per minute and expressive and receptive agrammatism severity at baseline independently predicted accelerated disease progression. Our findings indicate that PPAOS and PAA, rather than exist as completely distinct syndromic entities, constitute a clinical continuum. In our cohort, splitting the nfvPPA spectrum into separate clinical phenotypes did not improve clinical-pathological correlations, stressing the need for new biological markers and consensus regarding updated terminology and clinical classification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ignacio Illán-Gala
- Sant Pau Memory Unit, Department of Neurology, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Biomedical Research Institute Sant Pau, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08025, Barcelona, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Madrid, 28029, Spain
- Global Brain Health Institute, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Diego L Lorca-Puls
- Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
- Sección de Neurología, Departamento de Especialidades, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, 4070001, Chile
| | - Boon Lead Tee
- Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Zoe Ezzes
- Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Jessica de Leon
- Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Zachary A Miller
- Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Sara Rubio-Guerra
- Sant Pau Memory Unit, Department of Neurology, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Biomedical Research Institute Sant Pau, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08025, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Miguel Santos-Santos
- Sant Pau Memory Unit, Department of Neurology, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Biomedical Research Institute Sant Pau, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08025, Barcelona, Spain
| | - David Gómez-Andrés
- Vall d'Hebron Institut de Recerca (VHIR), Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, 08035, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Lea T Grinberg
- Global Brain Health Institute, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
- Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
- Department of Pathology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Salvatore Spina
- Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Joel H Kramer
- Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Lisa D Wauters
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712-0114, USA
| | - Maya L Henry
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712-0114, USA
| | - Adam L Boxer
- Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Howard J Rosen
- Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Bruce L Miller
- Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - William W Seeley
- Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Maria Luisa Mandelli
- Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Maria Luisa Gorno-Tempini
- Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
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Tseng YT, Chang YL, Chiu YS. Assessment of Language Function in Older Mandarin-Speaking Adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment using Multifaceted Language Tests. J Alzheimers Dis 2024; 97:1189-1209. [PMID: 38217600 PMCID: PMC10836557 DOI: 10.3233/jad-230871] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/15/2023] [Indexed: 01/15/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Individuals with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), especially for those with multidomain cognitive deficits, should be clinically examined for determining risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. English-speakers with aMCI exhibit language impairments mostly at the lexical-semantic level. Given that the language processing of Mandarin Chinese is different from that of alphabetic languages, whether previous findings for English-speakers with aMCI can be generalized to Mandarin Chinese speakers with aMCI remains unclear. OBJECTIVE This study examined the multifaceted language functions of Mandarin Chinese speakers with aMCI and compared them with those without cognitive impairment by using a newly developed language test battery. METHODS Twenty-three individuals with aMCI and 29 individuals without cognitive impairment were recruited. The new language test battery comprises five language domains (oral production, auditory and reading comprehension, reading aloud, repetition, and writing). RESULTS Compared with the controls, the individuals with aMCI exhibited poorer performance in the oral production and auditory and reading comprehension domains, especially on tests involving effortful lexical and semantic processing. Moreover, the aMCI group made more semantic naming errors compared with their counterparts and tended to experience difficulty in processing items belonging to the categories of living objects. CONCLUSIONS The pattern identified in the present study is similar to that of English-speaking individuals with aMCI across multiple language domains. Incorporating language tests involving lexical and semantic processing into clinical practice is essential and can help identify early language dysfunction in Mandarin Chinese speakers with aMCI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yun-Ting Tseng
- Department of Psychology, College of Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Chi Mei Medical Center, Tainan, Taiwan
| | - Yu-Ling Chang
- Department of Psychology, College of Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Department of Neurology, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Neurobiology and Cognitive Science Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Center for Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Robotics, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yen-Shiang Chiu
- Department of Psychology, College of Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
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Gan S, Sun Y, Liu K, Jia X, Li X, Zhang M, Bai L. APOE ε4 allele status modulates the spatial patterns of progressive atrophy in the temporal lobes after mild traumatic brain injury. ALZHEIMER'S & DEMENTIA (AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS) 2024; 16:e12550. [PMID: 38371357 PMCID: PMC10870335 DOI: 10.1002/dad2.12550] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2023] [Revised: 01/12/2024] [Accepted: 01/18/2024] [Indexed: 02/20/2024]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION We evaluated how the apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 allele modulated the spatial patterns of longitudinal atrophy in the Alzheimer's disease-vulnerable brain areas of patients with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) from the acute to chronic phase post injury. METHODS Fifty-nine adult patients with acute mTBI and 48 healthy controls with APOE ε4 allele testing underwent T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging and neuropsychological assessments with 6 to 12 months of follow-up. Progressive brain volume loss was compared voxel-wise in the temporal lobes. RESULTS Patients with the APOE ε4 allele presented significant longitudinal atrophy in the left superior and middle temporal gyri, where the progressive gray matter volume loss predicted longitudinal impairment in language fluency, whereas mTBI APOE ε4 allele noncarriers showed mainly significant longitudinal atrophy in the medial temporal lobes, without significant neuropsychological relevance. DISCUSSION The atrophy progression observed in mTBI patients with the APOE ε4 allele may increase the possibility of developing a specific phenotype of Alzheimer's disease with language dysfunction. Highlights The apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 allele and mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) are risk factors for Alzheimer's disease (AD) progression.It is unclear how the interaction of mTBI with the APOE ε4 allele impacts the progressive atrophy topography in AD-vulnerable brain regions.In this study, patients with the APOE ε4 allele showed progressive atrophy patterns similar to the early stage of logopenic variant of primary progressive aphasia (lvPPA) phenotype of AD. APOE ε4 allele carriers with mTBI history may be at the risk of developing a given AD phenotype with language dysfunction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuoqiu Gan
- The Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering, Ministry of Education, Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Life Science and TechnologyXi'an Jiaotong UniversityXi'anChina
- Institute of Artificial IntelligenceHefei Comprehensive National Science CenterHefeiChina
- Division of Life Sciences and MedicineUniversity of Science and Technology of ChinaHefeiChina
- Department of Medical Imagingthe First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong UniversityXi'anChina
| | - Yingxiang Sun
- Department of Medical Imagingthe First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong UniversityXi'anChina
| | - Kejia Liu
- The Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering, Ministry of Education, Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Life Science and TechnologyXi'an Jiaotong UniversityXi'anChina
| | - Xiaoyan Jia
- The Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering, Ministry of Education, Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Life Science and TechnologyXi'an Jiaotong UniversityXi'anChina
| | - Xuan Li
- The Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering, Ministry of Education, Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Life Science and TechnologyXi'an Jiaotong UniversityXi'anChina
| | - Ming Zhang
- Department of Medical Imagingthe First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong UniversityXi'anChina
| | - Lijun Bai
- The Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering, Ministry of Education, Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Life Science and TechnologyXi'an Jiaotong UniversityXi'anChina
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Robin J, Xu M, Kaufman LD, Simpson W, McCaughey S, Tatton N, Wolfus C, Ward M. Development of a Speech-based Composite Score for Remotely Quantifying Language Changes in Frontotemporal Dementia. Cogn Behav Neurol 2023; 36:237-248. [PMID: 37878468 PMCID: PMC10683975 DOI: 10.1097/wnn.0000000000000356] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2022] [Accepted: 04/07/2023] [Indexed: 10/27/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Changes to speech and language are common symptoms across different subtypes of frontotemporal dementia (FTD). These changes affect the ability to communicate, impacting everyday functions. Accurately assessing these changes may help clinicians to track disease progression and detect response to treatment. OBJECTIVE To determine which aspects of speech show significant change over time and to develop a novel composite score for tracking speech and language decline in individuals with FTD. METHOD We recruited individuals with FTD to complete remote digital speech assessments based on a picture description task. Speech samples were analyzed to derive acoustic and linguistic measures of speech and language, which were tested for longitudinal change over the course of the study and were used to compute a novel composite score. RESULTS Thirty-six (16 F, 20 M; M age = 61.3 years) individuals were enrolled in the study, with 27 completing a follow-up assessment 12 months later. We identified eight variables reflecting different aspects of language that showed longitudinal decline in the FTD clinical syndrome subtypes and developed a novel composite score based on these variables. The resulting composite score demonstrated a significant effect of change over time, high test-retest reliability, and a correlation with standard scores on various other speech tasks. CONCLUSION Remote digital speech assessments have the potential to characterize speech and language abilities in individuals with FTD, reducing the burden of clinical assessments while providing a novel measure of speech and language abilities that is sensitive to disease and relevant to everyday function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica Robin
- Winterlight Labs, Incorporated, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Mengdan Xu
- Winterlight Labs, Incorporated, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | | | - William Simpson
- Winterlight Labs, Incorporated, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neuroscience, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | | | | | | | - Michael Ward
- Alector, Incorporated, San Francisco, California
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Asken BM, Ljubenkov PA, Staffaroni AM, Casaletto KB, Vandevrede L, Cobigo Y, Rojas-Rodriguez JC, Rankin KP, Kornak J, Heuer H, Shigenaga J, Appleby BS, Bozoki AC, Domoto-Reilly K, Ghoshal N, Huey E, Litvan I, Masdeu JC, Mendez MF, Pascual B, Pressman P, Tartaglia MC, Kremers W, Forsberg LK, Boeve BF, Boxer AL, Rosen HJ, Kramer JH. Plasma inflammation for predicting phenotypic conversion and clinical progression of autosomal dominant frontotemporal lobar degeneration. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2023; 94:541-549. [PMID: 36977552 PMCID: PMC10313977 DOI: 10.1136/jnnp-2022-330866] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2022] [Accepted: 02/28/2023] [Indexed: 03/30/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Measuring systemic inflammatory markers may improve clinical prognosis and help identify targetable pathways for treatment in patients with autosomal dominant forms of frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD). METHODS We measured plasma concentrations of IL-6, TNFα and YKL-40 in pathogenic variant carriers (MAPT, C9orf72, GRN) and non-carrier family members enrolled in the ARTFL-LEFFTDS Longitudinal Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration consortium. We evaluated associations between baseline plasma inflammation and rate of clinical and neuroimaging changes (linear mixed effects models with standardised (z) outcomes). We compared inflammation between asymptomatic carriers who remained clinically normal ('asymptomatic non-converters') and those who became symptomatic ('asymptomatic converters') using area under the curve analyses. Discrimination accuracy was compared with that of plasma neurofilament light chain (NfL). RESULTS We studied 394 participants (non-carriers=143, C9orf72=117, GRN=62, MAPT=72). In MAPT, higher TNFα was associated with faster functional decline (B=0.12 (0.02, 0.22), p=0.02) and temporal lobe atrophy. In C9orf72, higher TNFα was associated with faster functional decline (B=0.09 (0.03, 0.16), p=0.006) and cognitive decline (B=-0.16 (-0.22, -0.10), p<0.001), while higher IL-6 was associated with faster functional decline (B=0.12 (0.03, 0.21), p=0.01). TNFα was higher in asymptomatic converters than non-converters (β=0.29 (0.09, 0.48), p=0.004) and improved discriminability compared with plasma NfL alone (ΔR2=0.16, p=0.007; NfL: OR=1.4 (1.03, 1.9), p=0.03; TNFα: OR=7.7 (1.7, 31.7), p=0.007). CONCLUSIONS Systemic proinflammatory protein measurement, particularly TNFα, may improve clinical prognosis in autosomal dominant FTLD pathogenic variant carriers who are not yet exhibiting severe impairment. Integrating TNFα with markers of neuronal dysfunction like NfL could optimise detection of impending symptom conversion in asymptomatic pathogenic variant carriers and may help personalise therapeutic approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Breton M Asken
- Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, 1Florida Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Fixel Institute for Neurological Diseases, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
- Department of Neurology, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Peter A Ljubenkov
- Department of Neurology, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Adam M Staffaroni
- Department of Neurology, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Kaitlin B Casaletto
- Department of Neurology, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Lawren Vandevrede
- Department of Neurology, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Yann Cobigo
- Department of Neurology, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Julio C Rojas-Rodriguez
- Department of Neurology, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Katherine P Rankin
- Department of Neurology, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - John Kornak
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Hilary Heuer
- Department of Neurology, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Judy Shigenaga
- Department of Medicine, Veterans Affairs Health Care System, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Brian S Appleby
- Departments of Neurology, Psychiatry, and Pathology, Case Western Reserve, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Andrea C Bozoki
- Department of Neurology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Kimiko Domoto-Reilly
- Department of Neurology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Nupur Ghoshal
- Department of Neurology, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Edward Huey
- Departments of Psychiatry and Neurology, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA
| | - Irene Litvan
- Department of Neurology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - Joseph C Masdeu
- Department of Neurology, Nantz National Alzheimer Center, Houston Methodist, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Mario F Mendez
- Department of Neurology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Belen Pascual
- Department of Neurology, Nantz National Alzheimer Center, Houston Methodist, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Peter Pressman
- Department of Neurology, University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado, USA
| | - Maria Carmela Tartaglia
- Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Disease, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Canadian Sports Concussion Project, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Walter Kremers
- Department of Quantitative Health Sciences, Division of Clinical Trials and Biostatistics, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA
| | - Leah K Forsberg
- Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA
| | - Brad F Boeve
- Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA
| | - Adam L Boxer
- Department of Neurology, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Howie J Rosen
- Department of Neurology, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Joel H Kramer
- Department of Neurology, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
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Taylor JC, Heuer HW, Clark AL, Wise AB, Manoochehri M, Forsberg L, Mester C, Rao M, Brushaber D, Kramer J, Welch AE, Kornak J, Kremers W, Appleby B, Dickerson BC, Domoto‐Reilly K, Fields JA, Ghoshal N, Graff‐Radford N, Grossman M, Hall MGH, Huey ED, Irwin D, Lapid MI, Litvan I, Mackenzie IR, Masdeu JC, Mendez MF, Nevler N, Onyike CU, Pascual B, Pressman P, Rankin KP, Ratnasiri B, Rojas JC, Tartaglia MC, Wong B, Gorno‐Tempini ML, Boeve BF, Rosen HJ, Boxer AL, Staffaroni AM. Feasibility and acceptability of remote smartphone cognitive testing in frontotemporal dementia research. ALZHEIMER'S & DEMENTIA (AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS) 2023; 15:e12423. [PMID: 37180971 PMCID: PMC10170087 DOI: 10.1002/dad2.12423] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2022] [Revised: 12/27/2022] [Accepted: 03/01/2023] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
Introduction Remote smartphone assessments of cognition, speech/language, and motor functioning in frontotemporal dementia (FTD) could enable decentralized clinical trials and improve access to research. We studied the feasibility and acceptability of remote smartphone data collection in FTD research using the ALLFTD Mobile App (ALLFTD-mApp). Methods A diagnostically mixed sample of 214 participants with FTD or from familial FTD kindreds (asymptomatic: CDR®+NACC-FTLD = 0 [N = 101]; prodromal: 0.5 [N = 49]; symptomatic ≥1 [N = 51]; not measured [N = 13]) were asked to complete ALLFTD-mApp tests on their smartphone three times within 12 days. They completed smartphone familiarity and participation experience surveys. Results It was feasible for participants to complete the ALLFTD-mApp on their own smartphones. Participants reported high smartphone familiarity, completed ∼ 70% of tasks, and considered the time commitment acceptable (98% of respondents). Greater disease severity was associated with poorer performance across several tests. Discussion These findings suggest that the ALLFTD-mApp study protocol is feasible and acceptable for remote FTD research. HIGHLIGHTS The ALLFTD Mobile App is a smartphone-based platform for remote, self-administered data collection.The ALLFTD Mobile App consists of a comprehensive battery of surveys and tests of executive functioning, memory, speech and language, and motor abilities.Remote digital data collection using the ALLFTD Mobile App was feasible in a multicenter research consortium that studies FTD. Data was collected in healthy controls and participants with a range of diagnoses, particularly FTD spectrum disorders.Remote digital data collection was well accepted by participants with a variety of diagnoses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jack Carson Taylor
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San FranciscoWeill Institute for NeurosciencesSan FranciscoCaliforniaUSA
| | - Hilary W. Heuer
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San FranciscoWeill Institute for NeurosciencesSan FranciscoCaliforniaUSA
| | - Annie L. Clark
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San FranciscoWeill Institute for NeurosciencesSan FranciscoCaliforniaUSA
| | - Amy B. Wise
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San FranciscoWeill Institute for NeurosciencesSan FranciscoCaliforniaUSA
| | | | - Leah Forsberg
- Department of NeurologyMayo ClinicRochesterMinnesotaUSA
| | - Carly Mester
- Department of Quantitative Health SciencesDivision of Biomedical Statistics and InformaticsMayo ClinicRochesterMinnesotaUSA
| | - Meghana Rao
- Department of NeurologyMayo ClinicRochesterMinnesotaUSA
| | - Daniell Brushaber
- Department of Quantitative Health SciencesDivision of Biomedical Statistics and InformaticsMayo ClinicRochesterMinnesotaUSA
| | - Joel Kramer
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San FranciscoWeill Institute for NeurosciencesSan FranciscoCaliforniaUSA
| | - Ariane E. Welch
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San FranciscoWeill Institute for NeurosciencesSan FranciscoCaliforniaUSA
| | - John Kornak
- Department of Epidemiology and BiostatisticsUniversity of CaliforniaSan FranciscoCaliforniaUSA
| | - Walter Kremers
- Department of Quantitative Health SciencesDivision of Biomedical Statistics and InformaticsMayo ClinicRochesterMinnesotaUSA
| | - Brian Appleby
- Department of NeurologyCase Western Reserve UniversityClevelandOhioUSA
| | - Bradford C. Dickerson
- Department of NeurologyMassachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical SchoolBostonMassachusettsUSA
| | | | - Julie A. Fields
- Department of Psychiatry and PsychologyMayo ClinicRochesterMinnesotaUSA
| | - Nupur Ghoshal
- Center for Advanced Medicine Memory Diagnostic CenterWashington UniversitySaint LouisMissouriUSA
| | | | - Murray Grossman
- Department of NeurologyUniversity of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphiaPennsylvaniaUSA
| | - Matthew GH Hall
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San FranciscoWeill Institute for NeurosciencesSan FranciscoCaliforniaUSA
| | - Edward D. Huey
- Department of NeurologyColumbia UniversityNew YorkNew YorkUSA
| | - David Irwin
- Department of NeurologyUniversity of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphiaPennsylvaniaUSA
| | - Maria I. Lapid
- Department of Psychiatry and PsychologyMayo ClinicRochesterMinnesotaUSA
| | - Irene Litvan
- Department of NeurosciencesUniversity of CaliforniaSan DiegoCaliforniaUSA
| | - Ian R. Mackenzie
- Department of PathologyUniversity of British ColumbiaVancouverBritish ColumbiaCanada
| | | | - Mario F. Mendez
- Department of NeurologyUniversity of CaliforniaLos AngelesCaliforniaUSA
| | - Naomi Nevler
- Department of NeurologyUniversity of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphiaPennsylvaniaUSA
| | - Chiadi U. Onyike
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral SciencesJohns Hopkins UniversityBaltimoreMarylandUSA
| | - Belen Pascual
- Department of NeurologyHouston MethodistHoustonTexasUSA
| | - Peter Pressman
- Department of NeurologyUniversity of ColoradoAuroraColoradoUSA
| | - Katherine P. Rankin
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San FranciscoWeill Institute for NeurosciencesSan FranciscoCaliforniaUSA
| | - Buddhika Ratnasiri
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San FranciscoWeill Institute for NeurosciencesSan FranciscoCaliforniaUSA
| | - Julio C. Rojas
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San FranciscoWeill Institute for NeurosciencesSan FranciscoCaliforniaUSA
| | - Maria Carmela Tartaglia
- Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, Division of NeurologyUniversity of TorontoTorontoOntarioCanada
| | - Bonnie Wong
- Department of NeurologyMassachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical SchoolBostonMassachusettsUSA
| | - Maria Luisa Gorno‐Tempini
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San FranciscoWeill Institute for NeurosciencesSan FranciscoCaliforniaUSA
| | | | - Howard J. Rosen
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San FranciscoWeill Institute for NeurosciencesSan FranciscoCaliforniaUSA
| | - Adam L. Boxer
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San FranciscoWeill Institute for NeurosciencesSan FranciscoCaliforniaUSA
| | - Adam M. Staffaroni
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San FranciscoWeill Institute for NeurosciencesSan FranciscoCaliforniaUSA
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Lukic S, Licata AE, Weis E, Bogley R, Ratnasiri B, Welch AE, Hinkley LBN, Miller Z, Garcia AM, Houde JF, Nagarajan SS, Gorno-Tempini ML, Borghesani V. Auditory Verb Generation Performance Patterns Dissociate Variants of Primary Progressive Aphasia. Front Psychol 2022; 13:887591. [PMID: 35814055 PMCID: PMC9267767 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.887591] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2022] [Accepted: 05/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Primary progressive aphasia (PPA) is a clinical syndrome in which patients progressively lose speech and language abilities. Three variants are recognized: logopenic (lvPPA), associated with phonology and/or short-term verbal memory deficits accompanied by left temporo-parietal atrophy; semantic (svPPA), associated with semantic deficits and anterior temporal lobe (ATL) atrophy; non-fluent (nfvPPA) associated with grammar and/or speech-motor deficits and inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) atrophy. Here, we set out to investigate whether the three variants of PPA can be dissociated based on error patterns in a single language task. We recruited 21 lvPPA, 28 svPPA, and 24 nfvPPA patients, together with 31 healthy controls, and analyzed their performance on an auditory noun-to-verb generation task, which requires auditory analysis of the input, access to and selection of relevant lexical and semantic knowledge, as well as preparation and execution of speech. Task accuracy differed across the three variants and controls, with lvPPA and nfvPPA having the lowest and highest accuracy, respectively. Critically, machine learning analysis of the different error types yielded above-chance classification of patients into their corresponding group. An analysis of the error types revealed clear variant-specific effects: lvPPA patients produced the highest percentage of "not-a-verb" responses and the highest number of semantically related nouns (production of baseball instead of throw to noun ball); in contrast, svPPA patients produced the highest percentage of "unrelated verb" responses and the highest number of light verbs (production of take instead of throw to noun ball). Taken together, our findings indicate that error patterns in an auditory verb generation task are associated with the breakdown of different neurocognitive mechanisms across PPA variants. Specifically, they corroborate the link between temporo-parietal regions with lexical processing, as well as ATL with semantic processes. These findings illustrate how the analysis of pattern of responses can help PPA phenotyping and heighten diagnostic sensitivity, while providing insights on the neural correlates of different components of language.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sladjana Lukic
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Ruth S. Ammon College of Education and Health Sciences, Adelphi University, Garden City, NY, United States
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Abigail E. Licata
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
- Department of Neurology, Dyslexia Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Elizabeth Weis
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Rian Bogley
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
- Department of Neurology, Dyslexia Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Buddhika Ratnasiri
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Ariane E. Welch
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Leighton B. N. Hinkley
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Z. Miller
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
- Department of Neurology, Dyslexia Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Adolfo M. Garcia
- Cognitive Neuroscience Center, Universidad de San Andrés, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Global Brain Health Institute, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
- National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Departamento de Lingüística y Literatura, Facultad de Humanidades, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - John F. Houde
- Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Srikantan S. Nagarajan
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Maria Luisa Gorno-Tempini
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
- Department of Neurology, Dyslexia Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Valentina Borghesani
- Department of Psychology, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada
- Centre de Recherche de l’Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada
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Roberts AC, Rademaker AW, Salley EA, Mooney A, Morhardt D, Fried-Oken M, Weintraub S, Mesulam M, Rogalski E. Communication Bridge™-2 (CB2): an NIH Stage 2 randomized control trial of a speech-language intervention for communication impairments in individuals with mild to moderate primary progressive aphasia. Trials 2022; 23:487. [PMID: 35698099 PMCID: PMC9190461 DOI: 10.1186/s13063-022-06162-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2021] [Accepted: 03/07/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Primary progressive aphasia (PPA) is a clinical dementia syndrome. Impairments in language (speaking, reading, writing, and understanding) are the primary and persistent symptoms. These impairments progress insidiously and devastate communication confidence, participation, and quality of life for persons living with PPA. Currently, there are no effective disease modifying treatments for PPA. Speech-language interventions hold promise for mitigating communication challenges and language symptoms. However, evidence regarding their efficacy in PPA is of low quality and there are currently no rigorous randomized trials. METHOD Communication Bridge™-2 (CB2) is a Stage 2, superiority, single-blind, randomized, parallel group, active-control, behavioral clinical trial delivered virtually within a telehealth service delivery model to individuals with PPA. Ninety carefully characterized participants with clinically confirmed PPA will be randomized to one of two speech-language intervention arms: (1) Communication Bridge™ a dyadic intervention based in communication participation therapy models that incorporates salient training stimuli or (2) the control intervention a non-dyadic intervention based in impairment therapy models addressing word retrieval and language production that incorporates fixed stimuli. The superiority of Communication Bridge™ over the Control arm will be evaluated using primary outcomes of communication confidence and participation. Other outcomes include accuracy for trained words and scripts. Participants complete two therapy blocks over a 12-month period. Outcomes will be measured at baseline, at each therapy block, and at 12 months post enrollment. DISCUSSION The CB2 trial will supply Level 2 evidence regarding the efficacy of the Communication Bridge™ intervention delivered in a telehealth service delivery model for individuals with mild to moderate PPA. An important by-product of the CB2 trial is that these data can be used to evaluate the efficacy of speech-language interventions delivered in both trial arms for persons with PPA. The impact of these data should not be overlooked as they will yield important insights examining why interventions work and for whom, which will advance effectiveness trials for speech-language interventions in PPA. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03371706 . Registered prospectively on December 13, 2017.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angela C Roberts
- Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, USA.
- University of Western Ontario, School of Communication Sciences and Disorders and Department of Computer Science, Ontario, Canada.
| | - Alfred W Rademaker
- Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease, Northwestern University, Chicago, USA
| | - Elizabeth Ann Salley
- Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease, Northwestern University, Chicago, USA
| | - Aimee Mooney
- Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, USA
| | - Darby Morhardt
- Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease, Northwestern University, Chicago, USA
| | - Melanie Fried-Oken
- Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease, Northwestern University, Chicago, USA
| | - Sandra Weintraub
- Mesulam Center for Alzheimer's Disease and Cognitive Neurology and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Northwestern University, Chicago, USA
| | - Marsel Mesulam
- Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease, Northwestern University, Chicago, USA
| | - Emily Rogalski
- Mesulam Center for Alzheimer's Disease and Cognitive Neurology and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Northwestern University, Chicago, USA
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Lavoie M, Black SE, Tang-Wai DF, Graham NL, Stewart S, Leonard C, Rochon E. Description of connected speech across different elicitation tasks in the logopenic variant of primary progressive aphasia. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LANGUAGE & COMMUNICATION DISORDERS 2021; 56:1074-1085. [PMID: 34383346 DOI: 10.1111/1460-6984.12660] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2020] [Revised: 05/06/2021] [Accepted: 06/27/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Despite its importance, in-depth analysis of connected speech is often neglected in the diagnosis of primary progressive aphasia (PPA) - especially for the logopenic variant (lvPPA) for which unreliable differential diagnosis has been documented. Only a few studies have been conducted on this topic in lvPPA. AIMS The aim of this study was to describe and compare lexico-semantic and morphosyntactic features of connected speech in participants with lvPPA, in comparison with healthy controls, using three different elicitation tasks (i.e., picture description, story narration and semi-structured interviews). In addition to a number of discourse features, we were particularly interested in the presence or absence of syntactic deficits in this PPA variant in line with recent findings. METHODS & PROCEDURES A prospective group study was conducted to compare lvPPA participants (n = 13) to age- and education-matched healthy controls (n = 13). For each individual, connected speech was obtained using three tasks: (1) The Cookie Theft picture description; (2) Cinderella Story; (3) Topic-directed interview. Production on each task was recorded, transcribed and analysed according to the Quantitative Production Analysis (QPA) protocol, a tool developed by Berndt et al. (2000) for the analysis of sentence production in aphasia. Differences between lvPPA and healthy controls and among elicitation tasks were analysed using repeated measures multilevel mixed-effects regression, separately for each outcome. OUTCOMES & RESULTS Four measures were significantly different between lvPPA participants and healthy controls across all elicitation tasks. Specifically, lvPPA participants produced a reduced proportion of open-class words, a higher proportion of verbs, a higher proportion of pronouns and fewer well-formed sentences. For these measures, the difference between lvPPA and healthy controls was consistent among elicitation tasks, except for the proportion of well-formed sentences, where the difference between the two groups was significantly greater in the story narration task than in the other tasks. CONCLUSIONS & IMPLICATIONS Across elicitation tasks that used the same analysis protocol (i.e., QPA), a similar pattern of deficits in connected speech emerged in lvPPA patients. Importantly, the findings replicate previous studies, which used different elicitation tasks and analysis protocols. Especially in relation to the documented syntactic deficits, these findings provide implications for differential diagnosis in PPA. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS What is already known on the subject Connected speech analysis can provide an important contribution to the language assessment for the logopenic variant of primary progressive aphasia (lvPPA). However, only a few studies have been conducted with this population. What this paper adds to existing knowledge This study highlights differences between patients with lvPPA and healthy controls regarding the proportion of open-class words, nouns, verbs and well-formed sentences. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? Importantly, our results highlight syntactic deficits in the same group of individuals with lvPPA, using the same analysis protocol and across various elicitation tasks, which has implications for differential diagnosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monica Lavoie
- Department of Speech-Language Pathology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- KITE, Toronto Rehab, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Sandra E Black
- Department of Medicine (Neurology), Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Medicine (Neurology), University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Hurvitz Brain Sciences Research Program, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - David F Tang-Wai
- Department of Medicine (Neurology), University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- University Health Network Memory Clinic, Toronto Western Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Naida L Graham
- Department of Speech-Language Pathology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- KITE, Toronto Rehab, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Steven Stewart
- KITE, Toronto Rehab, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Carol Leonard
- Department of Speech-Language Pathology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Program, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Elizabeth Rochon
- Department of Speech-Language Pathology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- KITE, Toronto Rehab, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Rehabilitation Sciences Institute, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
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