Improving prediction of amyloid deposition in Mild Cognitive Impairment with a timed motor task

Abstract

Cortical amyloid deposition is one of the hallmark biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease. However, given how cost- and time-intensive amyloid imaging can be, there is a continued need for a lowcost, non-invasive, and accessible enrichment strategy to pre-screen individuals for their likelihood of amyloid prior to imaging. Previous work supports the use of coordinated limb movement as a potential screening tool, even after controlling for cognitive and daily function. Thirty-six patients diagnosed with amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment over the age of 65 underwent 18F-Flutemetamol amyloid-positron emission tomography imaging, then completed a timed motor task involving upper limb coordination. This task takes ~5 minutes to administer and score. Multivariate linear regression and Receiver Operator Characteristic analyses showed that including motor task performance improved model prediction of amyloid burden. Results support the rationale for including functional upper extremity motor assessment as a cost- and time-effective means to screen participants for amyloid deposition.

Using whole-brain diffusion tensor analysis to evaluate white matter structural correlates of delayed visuospatial memory and one-week motor skill retention in nondemented older adults: A preliminary study

“…Given the prevalence of cognitive impairment even in community-dwelling older adults [ 3 , 74 , 75 ], it is plausible that older adults seeking physical therapy for a variety of reasons could have subtle underlying visuospatial impairments that may impede their responsiveness to therapy, regardless of the etiology (i.e., white matter hyperintensities [ 76 ], stroke, etc.). Third, our results open new avenues of research as we have begun to explore motor learning paradigms to better understand AD progression [ 77 ]. Research has shown that accelerated decline in visuospatial function may be an early biomarker of prodromal AD [ 78 – 80 ].…”