Pérez-Lao, Ámbar

AbstractBackgroundThe use of videoconference platforms for neuropsychological assessment was not as common among mental health practitioners before the COVID‐19 pandemic. However, due to lockdowns and quarantines worldwide, mental health professionals had to find a feasible alternative and shift to virtual evaluations. This increased the use of teleneuropsychology in both at a clinical and research level. Studies conducted during the pandemic provided evidence of the feasibility of virtual assessments, but data from low‐and middle‐income countries is scarce and conclusions from studies in other regions cannot be generalized. The objective of this study is to develop and apply a teleneuropsychological assessment battery on a group of elderly adults in Panama and Hispanics living in the United States.MethodThis is a multicenter study that will gather data from a Panamanian Cohort parallel to the current Florida‐based study Development and Validation of TeleNeuropsychology Normative Data for Older Adults (FLOAT). So far 80 participants over 50 years old have been assessed in Panama and Florida. Inclusion criteria includes passing a screening with TICS‐M for low risk of developing dementia and having basic knowledge and accessibility of electronic devices. Researchers contact potential participants through calls and WhatsApp chats to explain the study and obtain informed consent. Participants are then screened to see if they are eligible to be assessed through the video conference platform. Participants must complete the teleneuropsychological assessment battery from the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center (NACC), and different questionnaires to provide socio‐demographic and functional data. All information is gathered with the REDCap platform.ResultOne hundred participants will be assessed with a teleneuropsychology protocol in each cohort. Once all data is collected, it will be analyzed with multivariate statistics methods. We expect to describe the protocol’s feasibility assessing older adults in both locations.ConclusionTo our knowledge this is the first study of its kind in Panama and one of the only ones in the region. The study seeks to generate data that could be shared and applied for future research or clinical practice regarding teleneuropsychological assessments with older adults with similar cohorts.

AbstractBackgroundEvidence suggests that select hippocampal subfields are implicated in the initial stages of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and are selectively involved in objective memory. Less is known whether subfields are associated with informant-reported memory difficulties of individuals with a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment (MCI).MethodData from 56 participants with a diagnosis of amnestic MCI were included in the present study. To test whether FreeSurfer derived hippocampal subfields (CA1–4, subiculum, presubiculum, and dentate gyrus) were associated with objective (learning and delayed recall) and informant-reports of memory difficulties, we used multiple linear regression analysis. Subfields were adjusted for total intracranial volume, and age, sex, and years of education were included as covariates in all models.ResultsLarger presubiculum, subiculum, and CA4/dentate gyrus volumes were associated with higher delayed recall scores, and larger subiculum and CA4/dentate gyrus volumes were associated with fewer informant-reports of memory difficulties. There were no statistically significant associations between subfields and learning scores.DiscussionFindings from the present study support the idea that difficulties with memory-dependent everyday tasks in older adults with MCI may signal a neurodegenerative process while increasing understanding of subfields correlates of these memory-specific functional difficulties. Continued investigations into identifying patterns of subfield atrophy in AD may aid early identification of those at higher risk of dementia conversion while advancing precision medicine.