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Brain and cognitive correlates of subjective cognitive decline-plus features in a population-based cohort

Abstracto

Background: Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) consists of self-perceived decline in cognition over time. The occurrence of specific additional features in SCD (so-called SCDplus) confers a higher risk of future cognitive decline. However, it is not known whether SCDplus patients have a distinct cognitive and neuroimaging profile. Therefore, we aimed to study the associations between SCDplus features and cognitive and neuroimaging profiles in a population-based cohort. Methods: A total of 2670 individuals from the ALFA cohort underwent clinical, cognitive, and MRI (n = 532) explorations. Subjects were classified as self-reporting cognitive decline (SCD) or not self-reporting cognitive decline (non-SCD). Within the SCD group, participants were also classified according to the number of SCDplus features they met (SCD+, > 3; SCD-, ≤ 3). Results: The prevalence of SCD in the cohort was 21.4% (55.8% SCD-, 44.2% SCD+). SCD+ subjects performed worse than non-SCD and SCD- subjects in memory and executive function. Among the SCDplus features, confirmation of decline by an informant was the best predictor of worse cognitive performance and lower gray matter volumes. Conclusions: Our findings show that individuals with SCDplus features have a distinct cognitive and brain volumetric profile similar to that found in Alzheimer's disease and therefore support the use of the SCDplus concept as an enrichment criterion in population-based cohorts.
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Reference

Sánchez-Benavides G, Grau-Rivera O, Suárez-Calvet M, Minguillon C, Cacciaglia R,Gramunt N, Falcon C, Gispert JD, Molinuevo JL. Brain and cognitive correlates of subjective cognitive decline-plus features in a population-based cohort. Alzheimers Res Ther. 2018 Dec 20;10(1):123. doi:10.1186/s13195-018-0449-9