In low- and middle-income countries, Alzheimer’s disease (AD) constitutes a growing public health burden. However, AD biomarkers research remains underrepresented in African populations. This study assesses core biomarkers of AD and their relevance in the African context as potential aid in clinical diagnosis. Nigerian older adults from VALIANT cohort (n = 967) underwent biomarker quantification in plasma (p-tau217, GFAP, NfL, Aβ42 and Aβ40) employing both the Single Molecule Assay (Simoa, Quanterix) and Nucleic acid-Linked Immuno-Sandwich Assay (NULISA, Alamar). Biomarkers were associated with disease severity in clinical-diagnostic and clinical-biological groups, with stepwise increases of p-tau217, NfL and GFAP from cognitively unimpaired to dementia (p < 0.05). Results were consistent across platforms. Comparison between sexes showed higher biomarker levels in male participants across diagnostic groups. A significant effect of apoE-E4 proteotype on p-tau217 levels, after adjusting for age and sex was identified. These findings support the application of plasma AD biomarkers in the African context and the relevance of further AD biomarker research in diverse populations.
T. Akinyemi, I. Pola, K. Tan et al.· npj Dementia· 0 citations
Picture naming tests are critical tools for assessing language and semantic memory deficits in dementia, but must be adapted to local cultural context. This study aimed to develop and validate a Quebec French version of the Multilingual Naming Test (MINT), including determining norms and assessing diagnostic accuracy of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia. Quebec French-speaking participants (n = 224) were drawn from the TRIAD Montreal cohort and the DEVOCS study and stratified into three subgroups using a double-threshold of quantitative (Montreal Cognitive Assessment) and qualitative (consensus diagnosis) assessments. Linear models were used to create norms and compare diagnostic groups; correspondence with the Boston Naming Test (BNT) used the equipercentile method. Item-specific analysis revealed that naming of three items was sex-dependent. We found significant effects of sex and education, and an interaction trend, on uncued MINT scores. The MINT showed high comparability to the BNT, and Receiver Operating Characteristic curves corroborated their similar diagnostic ability. The MINT performed better at discriminating dementia from cognitively unimpaired participants than at identifying MCI. Correcting for education and sex was necessary to obtain accurate scores. Our results show that the MINT is adequately valid and effective to replace the BNT in neuropsychological assessment in the Quebec French population.
Felix-Etienne Colpron-Larin, É. Aumont, Samantha Schwartz et al.· Applied neuropsychology. Adu...· 0 citations
