Introduction
Mexican Americans remain severely underrepresented in Alzheimer's disease (AD) research. The Health & Aging Brain among Latino Elders (HABLE) study was created to fill important gaps in the existing literature.
Methods
Community‐dwelling Mexican Americans and non‐Hispanic White adults and elders (age 50 and above) were recruited. All participants underwent comprehensive assessments including an interview, functional exam, clinical labs, informant interview, neuropsychological testing, and 3T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain. Amyloid and tau positron emission tomography (PET) scans were added at visit 2. Blood samples were stored in the Biorepository.
Results
Data was examined from n = 1705 participants. Significant group differences were found in medical, demographic, and sociocultural factors. Cerebral amyloid and neurodegeneration imaging markers were significantly different between Mexican Americans and non‐Hispanic Whites.
Discussion
The current data provide strong support for continued investigations that examine the risk factors for and biomarkers of AD among diverse populations.
Introduction: No large-scale characterizations of neurofilament light chain (NfL) have been conducted in diverse populations. Methods: Baseline data were analyzed among n = 890 Mexican Americans and n = 813 non-Hispanic Whites from the multi-ethnic Health & Aging Brain among Latino Elders (HABLE) study. Plasma NfL was measured on the Simoa platform.Results: In unadjusted models, NfL was significantly associated with age (P < .001), hypertension (P < .001), dyslipidemia (P = .02), and diabetes (P < .001). Covarying for age and sex, NfL was associated with neurodegeneration (P < .001) and global amyloid burden levels (P = .02) in a subset with available data. NfL levels were significantly associated with diagnostic groups (Normal Cognition [NC], mild cognitive impairment [MCI], Dementia; P < .001); however, there was no cut-score that yielded acceptable diagnostic accuracy. NfL levels produced a sensitivity of 0.60 and specificity of 0.78 with negative predictive value of 89% for detecting amyloid positivity.Discussion: Plasma NfL levels are significantly impacted by age and medical comorbidities that are common among older adults, which complicate its utility as a diagnostic biomarker
Introduction: Despite the clinical implementation, there remain significant gaps in our knowledge regarding the impact of race/ethnicity or common medical comorbidity on plasma Alzheimer's disease (AD) biomarkers.Methods: Plasma biomarkers of amyloid beta (Aβ) 40, Aβ 42 , total tau, and neurofilament light chain (NfL) were measured across cognitively normal Mexican Americans (n = 445) and non-Hispanic Whites (n = 520).Results: Dyslipidemia was associated with elevated Aβ 40 (P = .01) and Aβ 42 (P = .001) while hypertension was associated with elevated Aβ 40 (P = .003), Aβ 42 (P < .001), and total tau (P = .002) levels. Diabetes was associated with higher Aβ 40 (P < .001), Aβ 42 (P < .001), total tau (P < .001), and NfL (P < .001) levels. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) was associated with elevations in Aβ 40 (P < .001), Aβ 42 (P < .001), total tau (P < .001), and NfL (P < .001) levels. Mexican Americans had significantly lower Aβ 40 (P < .001) and higher total tau (P = .005) levels.Discussion: Plasma AD biomarkers vary significantly in association with common medical comorbidities as well as ethnicity. These findings are important for those using these biomarkers in clinical practice and clinical trials.
Introduction: Representation of Mexican Americans in Alzheimer's disease (AD) clinical research has been extremely poor. Methods: Data were examined from the ongoing community-based, multi-ethnic Health & Aging Brain among Latino Elders (HABLE) study. Participants underwent functional exams, clinical labs, neuropsychological testing, and 3T magnetic resonance imaging of the brain. Fasting proteomic markers were examined for predicting mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and AD using support vector machine models.Results: Data were examined from n = 1649 participants (Mexican American n = 866; non-Hispanic White n = 783). Proteomic profiles were highly accurate in detecting MCI (area under the curve [AUC] = 0.91) and dementia (AUC = 0.95). The proteomic profiles varied significantly between ethnic groups and disease state. Negative predictive value was excellent for ruling out MCI and dementia across ethnic groups.
Background: The need for diagnostic biomarkers of cognitive decline is particularly important among aging adults with Down syndrome (DS). Growing empirical support has identified the utility of plasma derived biomarkers among neurotypical adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD); however, the application of such biomarkers has been limited among the DS population. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the cross-sectional diagnostic performance of plasma neurofilament light chain (Nf-L) and total-tau, individually and in combination among a cohort of DS adults. Methods: Plasma samples were analyzed from n = 305 (n = 225 cognitively stable (CS); n = 44 MCI-DS; n = 36 DS–AD) participants enrolled in the Alzheimer’s Biomarker Consortium —Down Syndrome. Results: In distinguishing DS-AD participants from CS, Nf-L alone produced an AUC of 90%, total-tau alone reached 74%, and combined reached an AUC of 86%. When age and gender were included, AUC increased to 93%. Higher values of Nf-L, total-tau, and age were all shown to be associated with increased risk for DS-AD. When distinguishing MCI-DS participants from CS, Nf-L alone produced an AUC of 65%, while total-tau alone reached 56%. A combined model with Nf-L, total-tau, age, and gender produced an AUC of 87%. Both higher values in age and total-tau were found to increase risk for MCI-DS; Nf-L levels were not associated with increased risk for MCI-DS. Conclusion: Advanced assay techniques make total-tau and particularly Nf-L useful biomarkers of both AD pathology and clinical status in DS and have the potential to serve as outcome measures in clinical trials for future disease-modifying drugs.
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