Preclinical phase of Alzheimer's disease: Guideline for recognition and study of patients with mild cognitive impairment

MRI activity and neutralising antibody as predictors of response to interferon beta treatment in multiple sclerosis

Objective: To prospectively validate MRI activity and neutralising anti-interferon antibody (NAb) during the first 6 months of interferon β treatment as response indicators in multiple sclerosis (MS). Methods: Patients with relapsing–remitting MS were followed during the first 2 years of treatment. Neurological assessments were performed every 3 months or when a relapse was suspected. MRI scans performed at baseline and at 3, 4, 5 and 6 months after the start of treatment were assessed centrally for disease activity: new T2 or gadolinium enhancing T1 lesions. NAb were assessed using the MxA protein assay; positivity was defined as two consecutive titres ⩾20 NU/ml. We evaluated the predictiv…

Preclinical dementia: an Italian multicentre study on amnestic mild cognitive impairment

<i>Background:</i> Different rates and cognitive predictors of conversion to dementia have been reported in subjects with different kinds of mild cognitive impairment (MCI). <i>Methods:</i> A prospective, 24-month follow-up study, involving 269 subjects who strictly fulfilled criteria for the amnestic MCI. <i>Results:</i> Conversion rate to dementia was 21.4% per year. Seventy-nine out of the 83 individuals who developed dementia were affected by probable Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Among others, at the 24-month follow-up 24.1% were still affected by amnestic MCI, 13.3% had changed their neuropsychological profile of impairment and 17.2% were cognitively no…

THE OPTIMIZATION OF INTERFERON FOR MS STUDY: 375 MICROG INTERFERON BETA-1B IN SUBOPTIMAL RESPONDERS.

We aimed to evaluate the safety and MRI efficacy of interferon beta-1b (IFNbeta-1b) 375 microg (subcutaneously [sc] every other day [eod]) in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients with a suboptimal response to IFNbeta-1b 250 microg, i.e., with MRI activity or relapses. The OPTimization of Interferon for MS (OPTIMS) study was a prospective multicenter randomized phase 2 trial comprising a 6-month run-in phase (to identify suboptimal responders) and a 6-month randomized phase of open-label clinical and blinded MRI follow-up. During run-in all patients were treated with IFNbeta-1b 250 microg sc eod; during the study phase suboptimal treatment responders were randomized either …