Núria Guillén Soley

• PhD Student at Hospital Clínic de Barcelona

Objectives Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) usually shows more asymmetric atrophy patterns than Alzheimer’s disease (AD). We aim to quantify this asymmetry to differentiate FTD, AD, and FTD subtypes. Methods We studied T1-MRI scans, including FTD (different phenotypes), AD, and healthy controls (CTR). We defined the Cortical Asymmetry Index (CAI) usi...

Plasma tau phosphorylated at threonine 181 (p-tau181) and 217 (p-tau217) have demonstrated high accuracy for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) diagnosis, defined by CSF/PET amyloid beta (Aβ) positivity, but most studies have been performed in research cohorts, limiting their generalizability. We studied plasma p-tau217 and p-tau181 for CSF Aβ status discrim...

Background Although Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a common cause of dementia, whether patients and caregivers have notions of its risk factors, behavioral aspects or care considerations is unclear. Therefore, our study aims to evaluate caregiver’s knowledge of AD by using the Alzheimer’s Disease Knowledge Scale (ADKS). Method The ADKS is a comprehen...

Background Alzheimer's disease (AD) features a complex interplay of factors influencing cognitive decline. While CSF and plasma biomarkers have widely demonstrated their diagnostic utility, whether they may add prognostic value remains unrevealed. With this longitudinal study we aim to address this knowledge gap by evaluating the predictive value o...

Background Practice effects are a well‐known cognitive phenomenon that is reduced in patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). We aimed to investigate whether cognitively unimpaired (CU) individuals within the Alzheimer’s continuum (i.e., positive amyloid‐β biomarker) display decreased practice effects on serial neuropsychological testing. Methods W...

INTRODUCTION Early‐onset Alzheimer's disease (EOAD) shows a higher burden of neuropsychiatric symptoms than late‐onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD). We aim to determine the differences in the severity of neuropsychiatric symptoms and locus coeruleus (LC) integrity between EOAD and LOAD accounting for disease stage. METHODS One hundred four subjects...

We aimed to characterize the cognitive profile of post-acute COVID-19 syndrome (PACS) patients with cognitive complaints, exploring the influence of biological and psychological factors. Participants with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and cognitive complaints ≥ 8 weeks post-acute phase were included. A comprehensive neuropsychological battery (NPS...

Background: Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) patients usually show more asymmetric atrophy patterns than Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) patients. Here, we define the individual Cortical Asymmetry Index (CAI) and explore its diagnostic utility. Methods: We collected structural T1-MRI scans from 554 participants, including FTD (different phenotypes), AD, and...

Plasma biomarkers have emerged as promising tools for identifying amyloid beta (Aβ) pathology. Before implementation in routine clinical practice, confounding factors modifying their concentration beyond neurodegenerative diseases should be identified. We studied the association of a comprehensive list of demographics, comorbidities, medication and...

Background The Catalan Early Onset Neurodegenerative Dementia Network is a multicenter project launched in 2020 with the aim of understanding the epidemiology and clinical care of people with early‐onset neurodegenerative dementia and their caregivers. Methods Neurologists and geriatricians visiting patients with cognitive impairment in Catalonia...

Background Despite previous studies establishing cognitive impairment as a major complaint in post‐acute COVID‐19 syndrome (PACS), a deeper understanding of the neuropsychological features and underlying causes is needed. We aimed to characterize the cognitive profile of patients affected with cognitive PACS and the influence of biological and psyc...

Background Little is known about the influence of age at onset (AAO) on plasma biomarkers and their use as prognostic biomarkers in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Method We selected patients with AD diagnosis with available neuropsychological testing (NPS) at time of diagnosis and two years later, and plasma biomarkers at baseline. NPS battery included...

Background Neuropsychiatric symptoms, including sleep‐wake disturbances, are more common in Early‐onset Alzheimer’s disease (EOAD) than in Late‐onset AD (LOAD)( Falgàs, EurJNeurol2022 ). The pattern of tau‐related degeneration of wake and sleep‐promoting neurons determine sleep‐wake profiles in neurodegenerative disorders ( Oh, JAMANeurol2022 ). We...

Background Plasma Neurofilament light chain (pNfL) is a promising biomarker to discriminate Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) from other diagnoses such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) or psychiatric disorders. Currently, the diagnostic criteria for FTD syndromes are structured hierarchically into “Possible”, “Probable” and “Definite” levels depending on th...

Background The diagnosis of early‐onset neurodegenerative dementias (<65 years) can represent a challenge due to their lower frequency respect to late‐onset dementias and atypical forms of presentation. Cognitive impairment has emerged as a frequent complaint after COVID‐19 infection. Method We retrospectively reviewed (2016‐2021) the demographic...

Background The application of blood‐based biomarkers for the identification of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and the development of novel digital technologies as cognitive screening tests are critical to moving toward a reliable, more accessible early diagnosis. Our aim was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of a machine learning‐based cognitive ass...

Background Post‐acute Covid‐19 syndrome (PACS) frequently refers to cognitive complaints. It is not yet clear whether there is an association between cognitive symptoms with brain changes or neuropsychiatric symptoms. Our aims are 1) to study cross‐sectional and longitudinal MRI brain measures in a cohort of PACS and 2) their association with cogni...

Background Blood‐based biomarkers have recently emerged as minimally‐invasive, accessible and relatively inexpensive diagnostic and prognostic tools for people with cognitive impairment. Before being routinely implemented in clinical practice, the diagnostic performance of distinct commercially available assays should be studied in real‐world cohor...

Background Lewy Body Dementia (LBD) is the second most common neurodegenerative dementia. To date, no validated biochemical marker is available to support clinical diagnosis. The development of the Real‐Time Quaking‐Induced Conversion (RT‐QuIC) assay for detecting alpha‐synuclein (aSyn) seeds in biological samples can be a sensitive biomarker speci...

We aimed to characterize the cognitive profile of post-acute COVID-19 syndrome (PACS) patients with cognitive complaints, exploring the influence of biological and psychological factors. Participants with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and cognitive complaints ≥ eight weeks post-acute phase were included. A comprehensive neuropsychological battery...

Core Alzheimer’s disease (AD) cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers have shown incomplete agreement with amyloid-positron emission tomography (PET). Our goal was to analyze the agreement between AD CSF biomarkers and amyloid-PET in a multicenter study. Retrospective multicenter study (5 centers). Participants who underwent both CSF biomarkers and am...

Background In healthy ageing, there is evidence of sex differences in vulnerability of hippocampal subfields to volume loss. However, this has not been investigated in early‐onset Alzheimer’s disease (<65 years; EOAD). Method We included 106 subjects: 62 EOAD (A+T+N+, MMSE>15) and 44 healthy controls (HC; A‐T‐N‐) that underwent lumbar puncture for...

Background Currently used biomarkers for the differential diagnosis of cognitive impairment are expensive and/or relatively invasive, limiting their availability to the general population. Blood protein biomarkers have showed promising results for screening, differential diagnosis, and prognosis. We aimed to study the diagnostic performance of plas...

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia worldwide. Increasing evidence points to the thalamus as an important hub in the clinical symptomatology of the disease, with the ‘limbic thalamus’ been described as especially vulnerable. In this work, we examined thalamic atrophy in early-onset AD (EOAD) and late-onset AD (LOAD) compar...

Early‐onset Alzheimer’s Disease presentations (EOAD, under 65) frequently present with atypical phenotypes and a more aggressive disease course with a higher burden of neuropsychiatric symptoms than late‐onset AD (LOAD). Current treatments for sleep and behavioral disturbances are still non‐specific, causing side effects (e.g., sedation, falls). Id...

Objective: This research aims to study structural brain changes in patients with persistent olfactory dysfunctions after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Methods: COVID-19 patients were evaluated using T1-weighted and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) on a 3T MRI scanner, 9.94 ± 3.83 months after COVID-19 diagnosis. Gray matter (GM) voxel-based...

Background: Assess how APOE genotype can differentially affect cortical and subcortical memory structures in biomarker-confirmed early and late-onset Alzheimer's Disease (EOAD-LOAD). Methods: Eighty-seven CSF biomarker-confirmed AD patients were classified according to their APOE genotype and age at onset. 28 were EOAD APOE4 carriers (+EOAD), 21...

Background and Objectives Blood-based biomarkers have emerged as minimally-invasive options for evaluating cognitive impairment. Most studies to date have assessed them in research cohorts, limiting their generalization to everyday clinical practice. We evaluated their diagnostic performance and clinical applicability in a prospective, real-world,...

Objectives: Early- and late-onset Alzheimer's disease (EOAD and LOAD) share the same neuropathological traits but show distinct cognitive features. We aimed to explore baseline and longitudinal outcomes of global and domain-specific cognitive function in a well characterized cohort of patients with a biomarker-based diagnosis. Methods: In this r...

Introduction: Sex is believed to drive heterogeneity in Alzheimer's disease (AD), although evidence in early-onset AD (<65 years, EOAD) is scarce. Methods: We included 62 EOAD patients and 44 healthy controls (HC) with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) AD's core biomarkers and neurofilament light chain levels, neuropsychological assessment, and 3T-MRI....

BackgroundMRI atrophy predicts cognitive status in AD. However, this relationship has not been investigated in early-onset AD (EOAD, < 65 years) patients with a biomarker-based diagnosis.Methods Forty eight EOAD (MMSE ≥ 15; A + T + N +) and forty two age-matched healthy controls (HC; A − T − N −) from a prospective cohort underwent full neuropsycho...

Background The amyloid deposition (A) in the 2018 ATN classification of Alzheimer disease can be assessed by CSF Aβ 1‐42 or amyloid PET. Although the agreement between them is high, it is not exact. Method We selected patients from the Alzheimer’s disease and other cognitive disorders Unit at Hospital Clínic of Barcelona with available amyloid PET...

Background: The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and related care policies have affected dementia patients. The characteristics of early-onset dementia (EOD, <65 years) patients in 2020 may provide insights on how to rearrange the provision of care. Method: We retrospectively reviewed, from 2016 to 2020, the demographic and clinical data of the new ref...