Summary Background Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is a complex disorder characterised by a broad range of clinical manifestations, differential pathological signatures, and genetic variability. Mutations in three genes—MAPT, GRN, and C9orf72—have been associated with FTD. We sought to identify novel genetic risk loci associated with the disorder. Methods We did a two-stage genome-wide association study on clinical FTD, analysing samples from 3526 patients with FTD and 9402 healthy controls. All participants had European ancestry. In the discovery phase (samples from 2154 patients with FTD and 4308 controls), we did separate association analyses for each FTD subtype (behavioural variant FTD, semantic dementia, progressive non-fluent aphasia, and FTD overlapping with motor neuron disease [FTD-MND]), followed by a meta-analysis of the entire dataset. We carried forward replication of the novel suggestive loci in an independent sample series (samples from 1372 patients and 5094 controls) and then did joint phase and brain expression and methylation quantitative trait loci analyses for the associated (p<5 × 10−8) and suggestive single-nucleotide polymorphisms. Findings We identified novel associations exceeding the genome-wide significance threshold (p<5 × 10−8) that encompassed the HLA locus at 6p21.3 in the entire cohort. We also identified a potential novel locus at 11q14, encompassing RAB38/CTSC, for the behavioural FTD subtype. Analysis of expression and methylation quantitative trait loci data suggested that these loci might affect expression and methylation incis. Interpretation Our findings suggest that immune system processes (link to 6p21.3) and possibly lysosomal and autophagy pathways (link to 11q14) are potentially involved in FTD. Our findings need to be replicated to better define the association of the newly identified loci with disease and possibly to shed light on the pathomechanisms contributing to FTD. Funding The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and National Institute on Aging, the Wellcome/ MRC Centre on Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s Research UK, and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center.

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Background: Subjects with amnesic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) may include patients at high risk for progression to Alzheimer disease (AD) and a population with different underlying pathologic conditions. Objective: To evaluate the potential roles of positron emission tomography with fluodeoxyglucose F 18 (18 FDG-PET) and memory scores in identifying subjects with aMCI and in predicting progression to dementia. Design, Setting, and Patients: Sixty-seven patients at European centers for neurologic and AD care who were diagnosed as having aMCI each underwent an extensive clinical and neuropsychological examination and an 18 FDG-PET study. Forty-eight subjects were followed up periodically for at least 1 year, and progression to dementia was evaluated. Main Outcome Measures: Brain glucose metabolism and memory scores. Results: Fourteen subjects with aMCI who converted to AD within 1 year showed bilateral hypometabolism in the inferior parietal, posterior cingulate, and medial temporal cortex. Subjects with "stable" aMCI presented with hypometabolism in the dorsolateral frontal cortex. The severity of memory impairment, as evaluated by the California Verbal Learning Test-Long Delay Free Recall scores, correlated with the following brain metabolic patterns: scores less than 7 were associated with a typical 18 FDG-PET AD pattern, and scores of 7 or higher were associated with hypometabolism in the dorsolateral frontal cortex and no progression to AD. Conclusion: These data provide evidence for clinical and functional heterogeneity among subjects with aMCI and suggest that 18 FDG-PET findings combined with memory scores may be useful in predicting short-term conversion to AD.

Different patterns of gray matter density distribution in patients with mild cognitive impairment may be associated to different rates of conversion to Alzheimer disease.