showing 6 related works from this author
Monitoring cognitive changes: Psychometric properties of six cognitive tests
2004
Objectives. Repeated neuropsychological assessments are often used to monitor change in cognitive functioning over time. Thus, knowledge about the reliability and stability of neuropsychological tests and the effects of age and IQ is of paramount importance. In this study we document, for six cognitive tests: test-retest reliabilities, practice effects, reliable change (RC) indices corrected for practice, and the impact of premorbid IQ and age. Design. A sample of 188 normal adults (aged 40-70 years) were administered, on two occasions, one or more of the following tests: the Graded Naming Test (GNT), the Silhouettes Test, two tests of verbal fluency, the Modified Wisconsin Card Sorting Tes…
A second family with familial AD and the V717L APP mutation has a later age at onset
2006
Four mutations have been reported at the 717 codon of the amyloid precursor protein (APP), with valine substituted by isoleucine, glycine, phenylalanine, and leucine. While several families with the isoleucine substitution have been described, the other substitutions have been reported in only one family each worldwide. A family with the V717L APP mutation has been previously reported,1 with a mean age at onset of 38 years (range 35 to 39), based on four affected family members, and a mean age at death of 46 years (range 40 to 50). We have identified a second family with a later mean age at onset of 50 years (range 48 to 57) and mean age at death of 61 years (range 57 to 68). Family 171 is …
Mapping the onset and progression of atrophy in familial frontotemporal lobar degeneration
2005
Background: Frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) may be inherited as an autosomal dominant disease. Studying patients "at risk" for developing FTLD can provide insights into the earliest onset and evolution of the disease. Method: We carried out approximately annual clinical, MRI, and neuropsychological assessments on an asymptomatic 51 year old "at risk" family member from a family with FTLD associated with ubiquitin-positive and tau-negative inclusion bodies. We used non-linear (fluid) registration of serial MRI to determine areas undergoing significant regional atrophy at different stages of the disease. Results: Over the first 26 months of the study, the patient remained asymptomati…
MRS SHOWS ABNORMALITIES BEFORE SYMPTOMS IN FAMILIAL ALZHEIMER DISEASE
2006
Background: Pathologic change in Alzheimer disease (AD) begins some years before symptoms. MRS has the potential to detect metabolic abnormalities reflecting this early pathologic change. Presenilin 1 (PS1) and amyloid precursor protein (APP) mutation carriers have a nearly 100% risk of developing AD and may be studied prior to symptom onset. Methods: Short echo time proton MR spectra were acquired from a midline posterior cingulate voxel in presymptomatic carriers of PS1 or APP mutations (“presymptomatic mutation carriers” [PMCs]; n = 7) and age- and sex-matched control subjects (n = 6). Ratios of N-acetyl aspartate (NAA), myo-inositol (MI), and choline-containing compounds (Cho) to creati…
The neuropsychology of variant CJD: a comparative study with inherited and sporadic forms of prion disease.
2005
Objective: To assess cognitive function in variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD). We describe the neuropsychological profiles of 10 cases and compare these data with cross sectional data obtained from patients with histologically confirmed sporadic CJD and cases with inherited prion disease with confirmed mutations in the prion protein gene. Methods: Patients referred to the Specialist Cognitive Disorders Clinic at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery and the National Prion Clinic at St Mary's Hospital, London for further investigation of suspected CJD were recruited into the study. The neuropsychological test battery evaluated general intelligence, visual and verbal memo…
Pure Progressive Amnesia and the APPV717G Mutation
2009
We report an isolated, slowly progressive, pure amnestic phenotype in a 59-year-old member of a family affected by autosomal dominant familial Alzheimer disease. Early-onset Alzheimer disease in this family was associated with a V717G mutation in the amyloid precursor protein gene (APP). Subjective impairment of episodic memory began in our subject at the age of 44 years and subsequent, longitudinal neuropsychologic assessment confirmed progressive, severe, global impairment of memory functions over a period of 14 years with preservation of other cognitive domains. The mean annual hippocampal atrophy rate, determined by volumetric magnetic resonance imaging was intermediate between values p…