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Objective Hearing loss is increasingly recognized as a chronic disease state with important health sequelae. Although considered a central component of routine audiometric testing, the degree to which various patient factors influence speech discrimination is poorly characterized to date. The primary objective of the current work was to describe associations of cognitive performance, sociodemographic factors, and pure-tone audiometry with speech discrimination in older adults. Study Design Prospective study. Setting Olmsted County, Minnesota. Patients There were 1,061 study participants 50 years or older at enrollment in the population-based Mayo Clinic Study of Aging between November 2004 and December 2019 who underwent formal audiometric and cognitive testing included in the current investigation. Main Outcome Measures The primary outcome measure was word recognition scores (WRSs; measured as <100% vs 100% as well as continuous), with pure-tone averages (PTAs; 0.5, 1, 2, and 3 kHz), age, sex, years of education, state area deprivation index (ADI) quintiles, and global cognition z scores as explanatory features. Results The mean (SD) age among the 1,061 participants was 76 (9) years with 528 (50%) males. Participant age [OR (95% CI) for a 10-year increase of 1.8 (1.4–2.3), p < 0.001], male sex [OR = 2.6 (1.9–3.7), p < 0.001], and PTA [OR for a 10-dB hearing loss increase of 2.4 (2.1–2.8), p < 0.001] were all significantly associated with <100% WRSs, with the greatest explanatory ability attributable to the PTA. Years of education (p = 0.9), state ADI quintile (p = 0.6), and global cognitive performance (p = 0.2) were not associated with WRS. The multivariable model demonstrated strong predictive ability for less than perfect WRSs, with a c index of 0.854. Similar results were seen for WRSs analyzed as continuous, with the multivariable model resulting in an R 2 value of 0.433. Conclusions Although PTA exhibited the greatest influence on speech discrimination, advancing age and male sex both independently increased the likelihood of having worse speech discrimination among older adults, even after accounting for years of education, neighborhood-level socioeconomic disadvantage, and cognitive function. These findings help identify patient factors that can be instrumental when designing screening programs for adult-onset hearing loss.

AbstractINTRODUCTIONAtypical variants of Alzheimer's disease (AD) include the visual variant, known as posterior cortical atrophy (PCA), and the language variant, known as logopenic progressive aphasia (LPA). Clinically, rates of disease progression differ between them.METHODSWe evaluated 34 PCA and 29 LPA participants. Structural magnetic resonance imaging and 18F‐flortaucipir positron emission tomography were performed at baseline and at 1‐year follow‐up. Rates of change in tau uptake and grey matter volumes were compared between PCA and LPA with linear mixed‐effects models and voxel‐based analyses.RESULTSPCA had faster rates of occipital atrophy. LPA had faster rates of left temporal atrophy and faster rates of tau accumulation in the parietal, right temporal, and occipital lobes. Age was negatively associated with rates of atrophy and tau accumulation.DISCUSSIONLongitudinal patterns of neuroimaging abnormalities differed between PCA and LPA, although with divergent results for tau accumulation and atrophy.HIGHLIGHTS The language variant of Alzheimer's disease accumulates tau faster than the visual variant. Each variant shows faster rates of atrophy than the other in its signature regions. Age negatively influences rates of atrophy and tau accumulation in both variants.

Total joint arthroplasty (TJA) implants are composed of metals, ceramics, and/or polyethylene. Studies suggest that the debris released from metal implants may possess neurotoxic properties with reports of neuropsychiatric symptoms and memory deficits, which could be relevant to Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. This exploratory study examined the cross-sectional correlation of blood metal concentrations with cognitive performance and neuroimaging findings in a convenience sample of 113 TJA patients with history of elevated blood metal concentrations of either titanium, cobalt and/or chromium. Associations with neuroimaging measures were observed but not with cognitive scores. Larger studies with longitudinal follow-up are warranted.

AbstractBackgroundHigher brain amyloid PET is associated with slower gait speed and has been hypothesized to play a role in age‐related mobility decline. With the development of blood‐based biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease pathology, we examined whether plasma levels of amyloid‐beta (Aβ)40, Aβ42, the Aβ42/Aβ40 ratio, phosphorylated tau 181 (p‐tau181) and 217 (p‐tau217), total tau, and neurofilament light chain (NfL) were associated with gait speed.MethodThis study included 779 cognitively unimpaired participants (median age 75, 54.8% male, median follow‐up 6.8 years) in the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging with concurrent measurement of plasma biomarkers and gait speed. Individuals with chronic kidney disease or a history of stroke were excluded. The plasma markers (pg/mL) were measured on the Quanterix Simoa® HD‐1 analyzer (total tau, Aβ42, Aβ40, NfL) and the Meso Scale Discovery platform (p‐tau181, p‐tau217). Gait speed (m/s) was obtained by timing a self‐paced walk across 25 ft using a stopwatch. Linear mixed effects models, with subject‐specific intercepts and slopes for time since baseline, with z‐scored baseline plasma markers were used to predict cross‐sectional and longitudinal gait speed. All models adjusted for baseline age and sex.ResultAt baseline, higher Aβ42 [Beta = ‐0.019; 95%CI = (‐0.035, ‐0.004)], total‐tau [‐0.026; (‐0.041, ‐0.011)], and p‐tau181 [‐0.021; (‐0.036, ‐0.006)] were associated with slower gait speed. Gait speed decreased, on average, by about 0.015 m/s annually for those in this study. Each one standard deviation (SD) increase in baseline level of plasma Aβ40 [‐0.005; (‐0.007, ‐0.002)], NfL [‐0.006; (‐0.009, ‐0.004)], and p‐tau217 [‐0.004; (‐0.007, ‐0.001)] accelerated this decline over time. In contrast, each one SD increase in Aβ42/Aβ40 ratio [0.003; (0.001, 0.006)] mitigated decline. Additional analyses adjusting for Charlson comorbidity index, Beck Depression Inventory, body mass index, and APOE E4 allele status gave similar results.ConclusionBoth cross‐sectional and longitudinal associations of plasma markers of amyloid and tau pathology and neurodegeneration with gait speed among cognitively unimpaired individuals were present. Therefore, not only are these markers of cognitive changes, they are also related to motor changes such as those affecting gait speed.

AbstractBackgroundTwo pathways that help explain cognitive health are 1) brain maintenance – referring to the relative absence of brain changes over time; 2) cognitive reserve – a property of the brain that allows for sustained cognitive ability in the presence of brain pathology. Both pathways influence cognitive aging and are best understood using longitudinal data. Our goal was to assess the effect of modifiable vascular/metabolic and lifestyle enrichment factors on these pathways using longitudinal brain changes measured on structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and longitudinal cognitive decline. Lastly, we combined these pathways and their relationships in the same model.MethodWe identified 1250 participants from a well‐characterized sample of older adults from the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging with both longitudinal MRI and cognitive data. Linear mixed models were performed to assess the impact of modifiable factors on brain maintenance and cognitive reserve. Latent growth curve models (SEM) were used to assess the impact of brain structure and cognitive reserve on longitudinal cognition.ResultThe mean age of our sample was 78.8 years, with 45.4% female, and 27.1% APOE4 carriers. Mean follow‐up time was 4.0 years with a mean of 3.2 MRI scans per participant. Linear mixed models showed that poorer vascular/metabolic health (presence of vascular/metabolic conditions) was associated with lower cross‐sectional temporal region cortical thickness (‐0.014 (0.003), p<0.001) and lower global cognition (‐0.042 (0.018), p = 0.024). Higher estimated cognitive reserve at baseline as assessed by education/occupation composite (0.103 (0.01), p<0.001) was associated with higher global cognition. Unexpectedly, late‐life physical activities were related to lower global cognition (‐0.05 (0.007), p = 0.004). Our final latent growth curve SEM fit the data well showing temporal associations between unmodifiable characteristics, cognitive reserve, and brain structural pathways, as well as the influence of modifiable vascular/metabolic factors.ConclusionWe found that brain maintenance and cognitive reserve pathways were related to better cognition over time. We further showed that vascular/metabolic health impacts long‐term cognitive outcomes (i.e. cognitive aging) primarily through the brain maintenance pathway. These data provide a modeling scheme for future studies and can aid in assessing the pathways by which individual factors may influence cognitive aging.

AbstractBackgroundPreclinical Alzheimer’s cognitive composites (PACC) are designed to detect subtle cognitive changes in clinical trials. PACCs often include measures of memory, attention, and semantic fluency, with variations based on available measures. We created a Mayo Clinic PACC (Mayo‐PACC) to address limitations of existing PACCs by prioritizing parsimony, non‐proprietary measures, clinical applicability, and psychometric properties. We developed a Mayo‐PACC and examined sensitivity to detecting longitudinal cognitive change in amyloid positive (A+) older adults relative to the Preclinical Alzheimer’s Cognitive Composite‐Revised (PACC‐R). Exploratory analyses included comparison to other composites.MethodParticipants included 614 individuals in the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging (428 A‐ and 186 A+) age 65‐85 who were cognitively unimpaired at baseline with 7 years mean follow‐up. A+ was defined as PiB‐PET meta‐ROI SUVR ≥ 1.48 (centiloid 22). The Mayo‐PACC included the AVLT sum of trials (trials 1‐5, short delay, long delay), Trails B and Animal fluency. Measures included in the PACC‐R and other comparison composites are listed in Table 1. We calculated study‐specific z‐scores and examined psychometric properties of component measures including test‐retest reliability, practice effects, and distributional properties (ceiling/floor effects, skew, kurtosis). We examined sensitivity to preclinical cognitive change using slope estimates (difference in annualized change across A+ and A‐ groups) from linear mixed models (LMMs) for each composite. A jackknife procedure was used to calculate the standard error and subsequent confidence intervals of differences in rates of change (A+>A‐ indicating more significant decline in A+). Significance was determined based on whether the 95% Confidence Interval (CI) contained 0 (alpha = .05).ResultAll composites showed sensitivity to amyloid‐related longitudinal cognitive decline (A+>A‐ annualized change p<.05; see Table 2). Jack‐knife comparisons revealed comparable utility of Mayo‐PACC and PACC‐R (CI contained 0, see Table 3). Exploratory analyses revealed Mayo‐PACC performed similarly to an adaptation of the ADCS‐PACC, Global‐z, Memory‐z and Attention‐z. The Mayo‐PACC performed better than a 2‐measure Mayo‐PACC‐remote and a single memory measure.ConclusionThe Mayo‐PACC provides a parsimonious composite score that has comparable utility for detecting A+>A‐ cognitive decline compared to the PACC‐R and other composites and can be widely used in both research and clinical settings.

Abstract Posterior cortical atrophy and logopenic progressive aphasia are atypical clinical presentations of Alzheimer’s disease. Resting-state functional connectivity studies have shown functional network disruptions in both phenotypes, particularly involving the language network in logopenic progressive aphasia and the visual network in posterior cortical atrophy. However, little is known about how connectivity differs both within and between brain networks in these atypical Alzheimer’s disease phenotypes. A cohort of 144 patients was recruited by the Neurodegenerative Research Group at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA, and underwent structural and resting-state functional MRI. Spatially preprocessed data were analysed to explore the default mode network and the salience, sensorimotor, language, visual and memory networks. The data were analysed at the voxel and network levels. Bayesian hierarchical linear models adjusted for age and sex were used to analyse within- and between-network connectivity. Reduced within-network connectivity was observed in the language network in both phenotypes, with stronger evidence of reductions in logopenic progressive aphasia compared to controls. Only posterior cortical atrophy showed reduced within-network connectivity in the visual network compared to controls. Both phenotypes showed reduced within-network connectivity in the default mode and sensorimotor networks. No significant change was noted in the memory network, but a slight increase in the salience within-network connectivity was seen in both phenotypes compared to controls. Between-network analysis in posterior cortical atrophy showed evidence of reduced visual-to-language network connectivity, with reduced visual-to-salience network connectivity, compared to controls. An increase in visual-to-default mode network connectivity was noted in posterior cortical atrophy compared to controls. Between-network analysis in logopenic progressive aphasia showed evidence of reduced language-to-visual network connectivity and an increase in language-to-salience network connectivity compared to controls. Findings from the voxel-level and network-level analysis were in line with the Bayesian hierarchical linear model analysis, showing reduced connectivity in the dominant network based on diagnosis and more crosstalk between networks in general compared to controls. The atypical Alzheimer’s disease phenotypes were associated with disruptions in connectivity, both within and between brain networks. Phenotype-specific differences in connectivity patterns were noted in the visual network for posterior cortical atrophy and the language network for logopenic progressive aphasia.

Background: Posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) and logopenic progressive aphasia (LPA) are associated with characteristic patterns of structural network degeneration. Little is known about longitudinal patterns of white matter tract degeneration in these phenotypes. Objective: To assess longitudinal patterns of white matter degeneration and identify phenotype specific cross-sectional and longitudinal diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) biomarkers in PCA and LPA. Methods: Twenty-five PCA, 22 LPA and 25 cognitively unimpaired (CU) individuals were recruited and underwent structural MRI that included a DTI sequence with a follow-up one year later. Cross-sectional and longitudinal mixed effects models were fit to assess the effects of diagnosis on baseline and annualized change in regional DTI metrics. Discriminatory power was investigated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUROC). Results: PCA and LPA showed overlapping white matter degeneration profiles predominantly in the left occipital and temporal lobes, the posterior thalamic radiation and sagittal stratum at baseline, as well as the parietal lobe longitudinally. PCA showed degeneration in the occipital and parietal white matter, cross-sectionally and longitudinally, compared to CU, while LPA showed greater degeneration in the temporal and inferior parietal white matter and the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus cross-sectionally, and in parietal white matter longitudinally compared to CU. Cross-sectionally, integrity of the inferior occipital white matter was best able to differentiate PCA from LPA, with an AUROC of 0.82. Conclusion: These findings contribute to our understanding of white matter degeneration and support usage of DTI as a useful additional diagnostic biomarker for PCA and LPA.