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The association of Aβ amyloid and composite cognitive measures in healthy older adults and MCI

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2013

Karra D. Harrington*
Affiliation:
Mental Health Research Institute, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia School of Psychology, RMIT University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia
Yen Ying Lim
Affiliation:
Mental Health Research Institute, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
Kathryn A. Ellis
Affiliation:
Mental Health Research Institute, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia Academic Unit for Psychiatry of Old Age, Department of Psychiatry, St George's Hospital, The University of Melbourne, Kew, Victoria, Australia
Carly Copolov
Affiliation:
Mental Health Research Institute, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
David Darby
Affiliation:
Mental Health Research Institute, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
Michael Weinborn
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
David Ames
Affiliation:
Academic Unit for Psychiatry of Old Age, Department of Psychiatry, St George's Hospital, The University of Melbourne, Kew, Victoria, Australia National Ageing Research Institute, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
Ralph N. Martins
Affiliation:
Centre of Excellence for Alzheimer's Disease Research and Care, School of Exercise, Biomedical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Greg Savage
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology and ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and Its Disorders, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Cassandra Szoeke
Affiliation:
Mental Health Research Institute, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia National Ageing Research Institute, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
Christopher Rowe
Affiliation:
Department of Nuclear Medicine and Centre for PET, Austin Health, Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia Department of Medicine, Austin Health, The University of Melbourne, Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia
Victor L. Villemagne
Affiliation:
Mental Health Research Institute, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia Department of Nuclear Medicine and Centre for PET, Austin Health, Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia Department of Medicine, Austin Health, The University of Melbourne, Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia
Colin L. Masters
Affiliation:
Mental Health Research Institute, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
Paul Maruff
Affiliation:
Mental Health Research Institute, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia CogState Ltd., Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Karra Danyelle Harrington, Mental Health Research Institute, The University of Melbourne, 155 Oak St, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia. Phone: +61-3-9389-2932; Fax: +61-3-9388-1698. Email: karra.harrington@florey.edu.au.

Abstract

Background:

To date evidence of the relationship between cognition and Aβ amyloid during the early stages of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) has been inconsistent. This study aimed to describe the nature and magnitude of the relationship between Aβ amyloid and cognitive performance of individuals without dementia.

Methods:

Composite cognitive measures were developed from the Australian Imaging Biomarkers and Lifestyle study neuropsychological test battery using data from 768 healthy older adults and 133 adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). A subgroup of this sample (174 healthy, 53 MCI) underwent neuroimaging for Aβ amyloid.

Results:

Within the MCI group individuals with high Aβ amyloid showed selective impairment for memory compared with those with low Aβ amyloid; however, this difference was not evident in the healthy group.

Conclusions:

The current findings provide further evidence of the relationship between Aβ amyloid and cognition, with memory impairment being the primary symptom of the underlying disease during the prodromal phases of AD.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © International Psychogeriatric Association 2013 

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