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
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
Plasma glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), a marker of astrocyte reactivity, is elevated across multiple neurodegenerative conditions, including Alzheimer disease. However, its role in neurodegeneration and cognitive decline driven by cerebrovascular pathology, independent of β-amyloid (Aβ) copathology, remains poorly characterized. We investigated whether plasma GFAP is associated with medial temporal atrophy and cognition across a spectrum of cerebrovascular burden in Aβ-negative cognitively impaired individuals.
METHODS
In this cross-sectional multicenter study, Aβ PET-negative cognitively impaired participants were recruited from South Korean memory clinics. Plasma GFAP was measured using ultrasensitive Simoa assays. White matter hyperintensity burden was graded using the Fazekas scale and stratified into low (LVP: Fazekas 1) and high (HVP: Fazekas 2-3) cerebrovascular burden groups. Medial temporal gray matter density was assessed using voxel-based morphometry, and hippocampal and amygdalar volumes were derived from T1-weighted MRI adjusted for intracranial volume. Linear regression, interaction, and bootstrap mediation models were used to assess associations among GFAP, brain structure, and cognition.
RESULTS
A total of 324 participants were included (LVP n = 203; HVP n = 121; median age 73 years [interquartile range 66-78]; 67.9% female). Compared with LVP, HVP participants were older (75 vs 71 years; p < 0.0001), had lower Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores (22.7 vs 24.5; p = 0.005), and higher plasma GFAP (136.7 vs 112.1 pg/mL; p = 0.001). Higher GFAP was associated with lower medial temporal gray matter density in HVP (β = -0.311; p = 0.001) but not LVP (β = -0.012; p = 0.858), with a significant GFAP-vascular burden interaction (β = -0.309; p = 0.008). In HVP, higher GFAP was associated with smaller hippocampal (β = -0.179; p = 0.044) and amygdalar volumes (β = -0.169; p = 0.049) and lower MMSE (β = -0.194; p = 0.039). Medial temporal atrophy statistically explained the GFAP-MMSE association (indirect β = -0.071, 95% CI -0.140 to -0.010; p = 0.016). Vascular comorbidities (diabetes, dyslipidemia, hypertension) did not modify the GFAP-cognition association.
DISCUSSION
In Aβ-negative cognitively impaired individuals with high cerebrovascular burden, elevated plasma GFAP is associated with medial temporal atrophy and cognitive decline, suggesting GFAP may capture astrocyte-reactivity relevant to vascular cognitive impairment beyond amyloid pathology. These cross-sectional findings require confirmation in longitudinal and ethnically diverse cohorts.
M. S. Oliveira-Junior, M. Rodrigues, Livia Amaral et al.· Neurology· 0 citations