Longitudinal executive function and episodic memory profiles in behavioral-variant frontotemporal dementia and Alzheimer’s disease

Ramanan, Siddharth, Bertoux, Maxime, Flanagan, Emma, Irish, Muireann, Piguet, Olivier, Hodges, John R. and Hornberger, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2214-3788 (2017) Longitudinal executive function and episodic memory profiles in behavioral-variant frontotemporal dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 23 (1). pp. 34-43. ISSN 1355-6177

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Abstract

Objectives: With comparable baseline performance on executive functions (EF) and memory between Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and behavioral-variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD), it is currently unclear if both diseases can be distinguished longitudinally on these measures reliably. Methods: A total of 111 participants (33 AD, 31 bvFTD, and 47 controls) were followed-up annually over a 4-year period and tested on measures of EF, memory, and orientation. Linear mixed-effect models were constructed using disease severity as a nuisance variable to examine profiles of neuropsychological performance decline. Results: At baseline, overlap in terms of cognitive impairment between bvFTD and AD on multiple EF, memory, and orientation measures was present. Longitudinally, only disinhibition (Hayling total errors) appeared sensitive to discriminating AD from bvFTD; however, only after the first annual follow-up. Subgroup analyses on smaller samples revealed comparable profiles on EF tasks at baseline and over time between bvFTD and AD who presented with impaired EF at presentation, and on memory and orientation tasks between AD and bvFTD who presented with severe amnesia. Conclusions: Our results replicate previous findings showing only moderate discriminability between AD and bvFTD at clinical presentation on EF and memory measures. More importantly, we also show that longitudinal trajectories strongly overlap for both dementias on these measures. Disinhibition emerged as the sole measure that in the long run was significantly more impaired in bvFTD. Future studies should use tests designed to target cortical regions that are specifically impaired in bvFTD, such as the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, to improve the accurate discrimination of these diseases.

Item Type:	Article
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Norwich Medical School
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Mental Health Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Centres > Lifespan Health Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Norwich Clinical Trials Unit Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Centres > Population Health
Depositing User:	Pure Connector
Date Deposited:	01 Nov 2016 12:00
Last Modified:	06 Jun 2024 14:56
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/61192
DOI:	10.1017/S1355617716000837

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