| Poster | Poster Session 11 Program Schedule
02/17/2024
10:45 am - 12:00 pm
Room: Shubert Complex (Posters 1-60)
Poster Session 11: Cultural Neuropsychology | Education/Training | Professional Practice Issues
Final Abstract #20
Associations Among Blood Biomarkers of Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration and Cognition in a Cohort of Oldest Old Individuals from Colombia.
Ana Baena, Grupo de Neurociencias de Antioquia, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellin, Colombia
Daniel Vasquez, Grupo de Neurociencias de Antioquia, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellin, Colombia
Yesica Zuluaga, Grupo de Neurociencias de Antioquia, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellin, Colombia
David Aguillon, Grupo de Neurociencias de Antioquia, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellin, Colombia
Liliana Hincapié, Grupo de Neurociencias de Antioquia, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellin, Colombia
Lucia Madrigal, Grupo de Neurociencias de Antioquia, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellin, Colombia
Gloria García, Grupo de Neurociencias de Antioquia, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellin, Colombia
Francisco Lopera, Grupo de Neurociencias de Antioquia, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellin, Colombia
Joseph Arboleda, Mass Eye and Ear and Department of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA., BOSTON, Colombia
Yakeel Quiroz, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA., BOSTON, Colombia
Category: Aging
Keyword 1: neurocognition
Keyword 2: aging (normal)
Keyword 3: assessment
Objective:
The prevalence of cognitive impairment and dementia increases with age, yet the cognitive and biological changes of the oldest old (≥ 80 years of age), the fastest growing age group, remains poorly understood. Blood-based biomarkers are promising tools for the accurate and minimally invasive detection of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and also for differential diagnosis of dementia. We examined associations among markers of neuroinflammation (Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein; GFAP) and neurodegeneration (Neurofilament Light Chain; NfL) and cognition in a group of oldest old individuals from Colombia.
Participants and Methods:
A total of 38 individuals (31 women and 7 men), with an average age of 92.5 (6.63) years were included in this study. Participants underwent blood draws to quantify plasma GFAP and NfL concentration and completed multidomain cognitive testing. They also completed the Functional Assessment Staging Test (FAST) to assess independence in daily activities. Evaluations were conducted at the Neurosciences Group of the University of Antioquia, in Colombia. Spearman correlations were used to examine associations between plasma biomarkers (GFAP and NfL) and cognitive tests (Mini-Mental State Examination; MMSE, CERAD word list learning).
Results:
10 participants were cognitively-unimpaired (FAST= 1), 4 endorsed subjective cognitive complaints (FAST=2), 6 met criteria for mild cognitive impairment (FAST=3) and 18 met criteria for dementia (FAST>3). The group had a mean total MMSE score of 19.2 (7.93). Lower MMSE scores were associated with higher GFAP (r = -0.41, p = 0.017) and NfL levels (r = -0.34, p = 0.052). Memory performance was not associated with blood biomarkers.
Conclusions:
This study suggests that global cognition, as measured by the MMSE is associated with blood based biomarkers of neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration in the oldest old individuals. Future studies with larger samples are needed to confirm and validate these findings, as well as examine possible associations between memory decline and biomarkers to further characterize the utility of these variables for detecting AD in the group of oldest old individuals.
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