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Spatial Navigation and Its Association with Biomarkers and Future Dementia in Memory Clinic Patients Without Dementia

Tangen, Gro Gujord ; Nilsson, Maria H. LU orcid ; Stomrud, Erik LU orcid ; Palmqvist, Sebastian LU orcid and Hansson, Oskar LU orcid (2022) In Neurology 99(19). p.2081-2091
Abstract

Background and ObjectivesImpaired spatial navigation is considered an early sign in many neurodegenerative diseases. We aimed to determine whether spatial navigation was associated with future dementia in patients with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) or mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and to explore associations between spatial navigation and biomarkers of Alzheimer disease (AD) and neurodegeneration.MethodsThis study included memory clinic patients without dementia in the longitudinal BioFINDER cohort. The Floor Maze Test (FMT) was used to assess spatial navigation at baseline. Conversion to dementia was evaluated at 2-year and 4-year follow-ups. At baseline, amyloid-β 42/40 ratio, phosphorylated-tau (P-tau), and neurofilament light... (More)

Background and ObjectivesImpaired spatial navigation is considered an early sign in many neurodegenerative diseases. We aimed to determine whether spatial navigation was associated with future dementia in patients with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) or mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and to explore associations between spatial navigation and biomarkers of Alzheimer disease (AD) and neurodegeneration.MethodsThis study included memory clinic patients without dementia in the longitudinal BioFINDER cohort. The Floor Maze Test (FMT) was used to assess spatial navigation at baseline. Conversion to dementia was evaluated at 2-year and 4-year follow-ups. At baseline, amyloid-β 42/40 ratio, phosphorylated-tau (P-tau), and neurofilament light (NfL) were analyzed in CSF. Cortical thickness and volume of regions relevant for navigation and white matter lesion volume were quantified from MRI. The predictive role of the FMT for conversion to all-cause dementia was analyzed using logistic regression analyses in 2 models: (1) controlled for age, sex, and education and (2) adding baseline cognitive status and MMSE. Associations between FMT and biomarkers were adjusted for age, sex, and cognitive status (SCD or MCI).ResultsOne hundred fifty-six patients with SCD and 176 patients with MCI were included. FMT total time was associated with progression to all-cause dementia in model 2 at 2-year (OR 1.10, 95% CI 1.04-1.16) and at 4-year follow-up (OR 1.10, 95% CI 1.04-1.16), i.e., a 10% increase in odds of developing dementia per every 10 seconds increase in FMT. In the adjusted analyses, P-tau and NfL were associated with FMT total time, as well as hippocampal volume, parahippocampal, and inferior parietal cortical thickness. Amyloid-β 42/40 ratio was not associated with FMT total time.DiscussionImpaired spatial navigation was associated with conversion to dementia within 2 and 4 years and with key CSF and MRI biomarkers for AD and neurodegeneration in patients with SCD and MCI. This supports its use in early cognitive assessments, but the predictive accuracy should be validated in other cohorts.Classification of EvidenceThis is a Class I prospective cohort study demonstrating association of baseline markers of spatial recognition with development of dementia in patients with SCD or MCI at baseline.

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author
; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Neurology
volume
99
issue
19
pages
2081 - 2091
publisher
Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
external identifiers
  • pmid:36028328
  • scopus:85141891627
ISSN
0028-3878
DOI
10.1212/WNL.0000000000201106
project
Motor-ACT: Motor aspects and activities in relation to cognitive decline
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
f977785b-91e8-40d3-a128-41e8e57d44aa
date added to LUP
2023-01-16 14:27:04
date last changed
2024-04-17 20:34:53
@article{f977785b-91e8-40d3-a128-41e8e57d44aa,
  abstract     = {{<p>Background and ObjectivesImpaired spatial navigation is considered an early sign in many neurodegenerative diseases. We aimed to determine whether spatial navigation was associated with future dementia in patients with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) or mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and to explore associations between spatial navigation and biomarkers of Alzheimer disease (AD) and neurodegeneration.MethodsThis study included memory clinic patients without dementia in the longitudinal BioFINDER cohort. The Floor Maze Test (FMT) was used to assess spatial navigation at baseline. Conversion to dementia was evaluated at 2-year and 4-year follow-ups. At baseline, amyloid-β 42/40 ratio, phosphorylated-tau (P-tau), and neurofilament light (NfL) were analyzed in CSF. Cortical thickness and volume of regions relevant for navigation and white matter lesion volume were quantified from MRI. The predictive role of the FMT for conversion to all-cause dementia was analyzed using logistic regression analyses in 2 models: (1) controlled for age, sex, and education and (2) adding baseline cognitive status and MMSE. Associations between FMT and biomarkers were adjusted for age, sex, and cognitive status (SCD or MCI).ResultsOne hundred fifty-six patients with SCD and 176 patients with MCI were included. FMT total time was associated with progression to all-cause dementia in model 2 at 2-year (OR 1.10, 95% CI 1.04-1.16) and at 4-year follow-up (OR 1.10, 95% CI 1.04-1.16), i.e., a 10% increase in odds of developing dementia per every 10 seconds increase in FMT. In the adjusted analyses, P-tau and NfL were associated with FMT total time, as well as hippocampal volume, parahippocampal, and inferior parietal cortical thickness. Amyloid-β 42/40 ratio was not associated with FMT total time.DiscussionImpaired spatial navigation was associated with conversion to dementia within 2 and 4 years and with key CSF and MRI biomarkers for AD and neurodegeneration in patients with SCD and MCI. This supports its use in early cognitive assessments, but the predictive accuracy should be validated in other cohorts.Classification of EvidenceThis is a Class I prospective cohort study demonstrating association of baseline markers of spatial recognition with development of dementia in patients with SCD or MCI at baseline.</p>}},
  author       = {{Tangen, Gro Gujord and Nilsson, Maria H. and Stomrud, Erik and Palmqvist, Sebastian and Hansson, Oskar}},
  issn         = {{0028-3878}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{11}},
  number       = {{19}},
  pages        = {{2081--2091}},
  publisher    = {{Lippincott Williams & Wilkins}},
  series       = {{Neurology}},
  title        = {{Spatial Navigation and Its Association with Biomarkers and Future Dementia in Memory Clinic Patients Without Dementia}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000201106}},
  doi          = {{10.1212/WNL.0000000000201106}},
  volume       = {{99}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}