Browsing by Author "Jucker, Mathias"

Now showing 1 - 10 of 28
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    15 Years of Longitudinal Genetic, Clinical, Cognitive, Imaging, and Biochemical Measures in DIAN
    (medRxiv, 2024-08-09) Daniels, Alisha J.; McDade, Eric; Llibre-Guerra, Jorge J.; Xiong, Chengjie; Perrin, Richard J.; Ibanez, Laura; Supnet-Bell, Charlene; Cruchaga, Carlos; Goate, Alison; Renton, Alan E.; Benzinger, Tammie L. S.; Gordon, Brian A.; Hassenstab, Jason; Karch, Celeste; Popp, Brent; Levey, Allan; Morris, John; Buckles, Virginia; Allegri, Ricardo F.; Chrem, Patricio; Berman, Sarah B.; Chhatwal, Jasmeer P.; Farlow, Martin R.; Fox, Nick C.; Day, Gregory S.; Ikeuchi, Takeshi; Jucker, Mathias; Lee, Jae-Hong; Levin, Johannes; Lopera, Francisco; Takada, Leonel; Sosa, Ana Luisa; Martins, Ralph; Mori, Hiroshi; Noble, James M.; Salloway, Stephen; Huey, Edward; Rosa-Neto, Pedro; Sánchez-Valle, Raquel; Schofield, Peter R.; Roh, Jee Hoon; Bateman, Randall J.; Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network; Neurology, School of Medicine
    This manuscript describes and summarizes the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network Observational Study (DIAN Obs), highlighting the wealth of longitudinal data, samples, and results from this human cohort study of brain aging and a rare monogenic form of Alzheimer's disease (AD). DIAN Obs is an international collaborative longitudinal study initiated in 2008 with support from the National Institute on Aging (NIA), designed to obtain comprehensive and uniform data on brain biology and function in individuals at risk for autosomal dominant AD (ADAD). ADAD gene mutations in the amyloid protein precursor (APP), presenilin 1 (PSEN1), or presenilin 2 (PSEN2) genes are deterministic causes of ADAD, with virtually full penetrance, and a predictable age at symptomatic onset. Data and specimens collected are derived from full clinical assessments, including neurologic and physical examinations, extensive cognitive batteries, structural and functional neuro-imaging, amyloid and tau pathological measures using positron emission tomography (PET), flurordeoxyglucose (FDG) PET, cerebrospinal fluid and blood collection (plasma, serum, and whole blood), extensive genetic and multi-omic analyses, and brain donation upon death. This comprehensive evaluation of the human nervous system is performed longitudinally in both mutation carriers and family non-carriers, providing one of the deepest and broadest evaluations of the human brain across decades and through AD progression. These extensive data sets and samples are available for researchers to address scientific questions on the human brain, aging, and AD.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Accelerated functional brain aging in pre-clinical familial Alzheimer’s disease
    (Springer Nature, 2021-09-09) Gonneaud, Julie; Baria, Alex T.; Binette, Alexa Pichet; Gordon, Brian A.; Chhatwal, Jasmeer P.; Cruchaga, Carlos; Jucker, Mathias; Levin, Johannes; Salloway, Stephen; Farlow, Martin; Gauthier, Serge; Benzinger, Tammie L.S.; Morris, John C.; Bateman, Randall J.; Breitner, John C.S.; Poirier, Judes; Vachon-Presseau, Etienne; Villeneuve, Sylvia; Neurology, School of Medicine
    Resting state functional connectivity (rs-fMRI) is impaired early in persons who subsequently develop Alzheimer’s disease (AD) dementia. This impairment may be leveraged to aid investigation of the pre-clinical phase of AD. We developed a model that predicts brain age from resting state (rs)-fMRI data, and assessed whether genetic determinants of AD, as well as beta-amyloid (Aβ) pathology, can accelerate brain aging. Using data from 1340 cognitively unimpaired participants between 18–94 years of age from multiple sites, we showed that topological properties of graphs constructed from rs-fMRI can predict chronological age across the lifespan. Application of our predictive model to the context of pre-clinical AD revealed that the pre-symptomatic phase of autosomal dominant AD includes acceleration of functional brain aging. This association was stronger in individuals having significant Aβ pathology.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Amyloid polymorphisms constitute distinct clouds of conformational variants in different etiological subtypes of Alzheimer's disease
    (National Academy of Sciences, 2017-12-05) Rasmussen, Jay; Mahler, Jasmin; Beschorner, Natalie; Kaeser, Stephan A.; Häsler, Lisa M.; Baumann, Frank; Nyström, Sofie; Portelius, Erik; Blennow, Kaj; Lashley, Tammaryn; Fox, Nick C.; Sepulveda-Falla, Diego; Glatzel, Markus; Oblak, Adrian L.; Ghetti, Bernardino; Nilsson, K. Peter R.; Hammarström, Per; Staufenbiel, Matthias; Walker, Lary C.; Jucker, Mathias; Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine
    The molecular architecture of amyloids formed in vivo can be interrogated using luminescent conjugated oligothiophenes (LCOs), a unique class of amyloid dyes. When bound to amyloid, LCOs yield fluorescence emission spectra that reflect the 3D structure of the protein aggregates. Given that synthetic amyloid-β peptide (Aβ) has been shown to adopt distinct structural conformations with different biological activities, we asked whether Aβ can assume structurally and functionally distinct conformations within the brain. To this end, we analyzed the LCO-stained cores of β-amyloid plaques in postmortem tissue sections from frontal, temporal, and occipital neocortices in 40 cases of familial Alzheimer's disease (AD) or sporadic (idiopathic) AD (sAD). The spectral attributes of LCO-bound plaques varied markedly in the brain, but the mean spectral properties of the amyloid cores were generally similar in all three cortical regions of individual patients. Remarkably, the LCO amyloid spectra differed significantly among some of the familial and sAD subtypes, and between typical patients with sAD and those with posterior cortical atrophy AD. Neither the amount of Aβ nor its protease resistance correlated with LCO spectral properties. LCO spectral amyloid phenotypes could be partially conveyed to Aβ plaques induced by experimental transmission in a mouse model. These findings indicate that polymorphic Aβ-amyloid deposits within the brain cluster as clouds of conformational variants in different AD cases. Heterogeneity in the molecular architecture of pathogenic Aβ among individuals and in etiologically distinct subtypes of AD justifies further studies to assess putative links between Aβ conformation and clinical phenotype.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Amyloid-Related Imaging Abnormalities in the DIAN-TU-001 Trial of Gantenerumab and Solanezumab: Lessons from a Trial in Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Disease
    (Wiley, 2022) Joseph-Mathurin, Nelly; Llibre-Guerra, Jorge J.; Li, Yan; McCullough, Austin A.; Hofmann, Carsten; Wojtowicz, Jakub; Park, Ethan; Wang, Guoqiao; Preboske, Gregory M.; Wang, Qing; Gordon, Brian A.; Chen, Charles D.; Flores, Shaney; Aggarwal, Neelum T.; Berman, Sarah B.; Bird, Thomas D.; Black, Sandra E.; Borowski, Bret; Brooks, William S.; Chhatwal, Jasmeer P.; Clarnette, Roger; Cruchaga, Carlos; Fagan, Anne M.; Farlow, Martin; Fox, Nick C.; Gauthier, Serge; Hassenstab, Jason; Hobbs, Diana A.; Holdridge, Karen C.; Honig, Lawrence S.; Hornbeck, Russ C.; Hsiung, Ging-Yuek R.; Jack, Clifford R., Jr.; Jimenez-Velazquez, Ivonne Z.; Jucker, Mathias; Klein, Gregory; Levin, Johannes; Mancini, Michele; Masellis, Mario; McKay, Nicole S.; Mummery, Catherine J.; Ringman, John M.; Shimada, Hiroyuki; Snider, B. Joy; Suzuki, Kazushi; Wallon, David; Xiong, Chengjie; Yaari, Roy; McDade, Eric; Perrin, Richard J.; Bateman, Randall J.; Salloway, Stephen P.; Benzinger, Tammie L. S.; Clifford, David B.; Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network Trials Unit; Neurology, School of Medicine
    Objective: To determine the characteristics of participants with amyloid-related imaging abnormalities (ARIA) in a trial of gantenerumab or solanezumab in dominantly inherited Alzheimer disease (DIAD). Methods: 142 DIAD mutation carriers received either gantenerumab SC (n = 52), solanezumab IV (n = 50), or placebo (n = 40). Participants underwent assessments with the Clinical Dementia Rating® (CDR®), neuropsychological testing, CSF biomarkers, β-amyloid positron emission tomography (PET), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to monitor ARIA. Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses evaluated potential ARIA-related risk factors. Results: Eleven participants developed ARIA-E, including 3 with mild symptoms. No ARIA-E was reported under solanezumab while gantenerumab was associated with ARIA-E compared to placebo (odds ratio [OR] = 9.1, confidence interval [CI][1.2, 412.3]; p = 0.021). Under gantenerumab, APOE-ɛ4 carriers were more likely to develop ARIA-E (OR = 5.0, CI[1.0, 30.4]; p = 0.055), as were individuals with microhemorrhage at baseline (OR = 13.7, CI[1.2, 163.2]; p = 0.039). No ARIA-E was observed at the initial 225 mg/month gantenerumab dose, and most cases were observed at doses >675 mg. At first ARIA-E occurrence, all ARIA-E participants were amyloid-PET+, 60% were CDR >0, 60% were past their estimated year to symptom onset, and 60% had also incident ARIA-H. Most ARIA-E radiologically resolved after dose adjustment and developing ARIA-E did not significantly increase odds of trial discontinuation. ARIA-E was more frequently observed in the occipital lobe (90%). ARIA-E severity was associated with age at time of ARIA-E. Interpretation: In DIAD, solanezumab was not associated with ARIA. Gantenerumab dose over 225 mg increased ARIA-E risk, with additional risk for individuals APOE-ɛ4(+) or with microhemorrhage. ARIA-E was reversible on MRI in most cases, generally asymptomatic, without additional risk for trial discontinuation.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Autosomal dominant and sporadic late onset Alzheimer's disease share a common in vivo pathophysiology
    (Oxford University Press, 2022) Morris, John C.; Weiner, Michael; Xiong, Chengjie; Beckett, Laurel; Coble, Dean; Saito, Naomi; Aisen, Paul S.; Allegri, Ricardo; Benzinger, Tammie L. S.; Berman, Sarah B.; Cairns, Nigel J.; Carrillo, Maria C.; Chui, Helena C.; Chhatwal, Jasmeer P.; Cruchaga, Carlos; Fagan, Anne M.; Farlow, Martin; Fox, Nick C.; Ghetti, Bernardino; Goate, Alison M.; Gordon, Brian A.; Graff-Radford, Neill; Day, Gregory S.; Hassenstab, Jason; Ikeuchi, Takeshi; Jack, Clifford R.; Jagust, William J.; Jucker, Mathias; Levin, Johannes; Massoumzadeh, Parinaz; Masters, Colin L.; Martins, Ralph; McDade, Eric; Mori, Hiroshi; Noble, James M.; Petersen, Ronald C.; Ringman, John M.; Salloway, Stephen; Saykin, Andrew J.; Schofield, Peter R.; Shaw, Leslie M.; Toga, Arthur W.; Trojanowski, John Q.; Vöglein, Jonathan; Weninger, Stacie; Bateman, Randall J.; Buckles, Virginia D.; Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network; Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging and Initiative; Neurology, School of Medicine
    The extent to which the pathophysiology of autosomal dominant Alzheimer's disease corresponds to the pathophysiology of 'sporadic' late onset Alzheimer's disease is unknown, thus limiting the extrapolation of study findings and clinical trial results in autosomal dominant Alzheimer's disease to late onset Alzheimer's disease. We compared brain MRI and amyloid PET data, as well as CSF concentrations of amyloid-β42, amyloid-β40, tau and tau phosphorylated at position 181, in 292 carriers of pathogenic variants for Alzheimer's disease from the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network, with corresponding data from 559 participants from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative. Imaging data and CSF samples were reprocessed as appropriate to guarantee uniform pipelines and assays. Data analyses yielded rates of change before and after symptomatic onset of Alzheimer's disease, allowing the alignment of the ∼30-year age difference between the cohorts on a clinically meaningful anchor point, namely the participant age at symptomatic onset. Biomarker profiles were similar for both autosomal dominant Alzheimer's disease and late onset Alzheimer's disease. Both groups demonstrated accelerated rates of decline in cognitive performance and in regional brain volume loss after symptomatic onset. Although amyloid burden accumulation as determined by PET was greater after symptomatic onset in autosomal dominant Alzheimer's disease than in late onset Alzheimer's disease participants, CSF assays of amyloid-β42, amyloid-β40, tau and p-tau181 were largely overlapping in both groups. Rates of change in cognitive performance and hippocampal volume loss after symptomatic onset were more aggressive for autosomal dominant Alzheimer's disease participants. These findings suggest a similar pathophysiology of autosomal dominant Alzheimer's disease and late onset Alzheimer's disease, supporting a shared pathobiological construct.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Autosomal Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Disease: Analysis of genetic subgroups by Machine Learning
    (Elsevier, 2020-06) Castillo-Barne, Diego; Su, Li; Ramírez, Javier; Salas-Gonzalez, Diego; Martinez-Murcia, Francisco J.; Illan, Ignacio A.; Segovia, Fermin; Ortiz, Andres; Cruchaga, Carlos; Farlow, Martin R.; Xiong, Chengjie; Graff-Radford, Neil R.; Schofield, Peter R.; Masters, Colin L.; Salloway, Stephen; Jucker, Mathias; Mori, Hiroshi; Levin, Johannes; Gorriz, Juan M.; Neurology, School of Medicine
    Despite subjects with Dominantly-Inherited Alzheimer's Disease (DIAD) represent less than 1% of all Alzheimer's Disease (AD) cases, the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network (DIAN) initiative constitutes a strong impact in the understanding of AD disease course with special emphasis on the presyptomatic disease phase. Until now, the 3 genes involved in DIAD pathogenesis (PSEN1, PSEN2 and APP) have been commonly merged into one group (Mutation Carriers, MC) and studied using conventional statistical analysis. Comparisons between groups using null-hypothesis testing or longitudinal regression procedures, such as the linear-mixed-effects models, have been assessed in the extant literature. Within this context, the work presented here performs a comparison between different groups of subjects by considering the 3 genes, either jointly or separately, and using tools based on Machine Learning (ML). This involves a feature selection step which makes use of ANOVA followed by Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to determine which features would be realiable for further comparison purposes. Then, the selected predictors are classified using a Support-Vector-Machine (SVM) in a nested k-Fold cross-validation resulting in maximum classification rates of 72-74% using PiB PET features, specially when comparing asymptomatic Non-Carriers (NC) subjects with asymptomatic PSEN1 Mutation-Carriers (PSEN1-MC). Results obtained from these experiments led to the idea that PSEN1-MC might be considered as a mixture of two different subgroups including: a first group whose patterns were very close to NC subjects, and a second group much more different in terms of imaging patterns. Thus, using a k-Means clustering algorithm it was determined both subgroups and a new classification scenario was conducted to validate this process. The comparison between each subgroup vs. NC subjects resulted in classification rates around 80% underscoring the importance of considering DIAN as an heterogeneous entity.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Axonal damage and inflammation response are biological correlates of decline in small-world values: a cohort study in autosomal dominant Alzheimer's disease
    (Oxford University Press, 2024-10-09) Vermunt, Lisa; Sutphen, Courtney L.; Dicks, Ellen; de Leeuw, Diederick M.; Allegri, Ricardo F.; Berman, Sarah B.; Cash, David M.; Chhatwal, Jasmeer P.; Cruchaga, Carlos; Day, Gregory S.; Ewers, Michael; Farlow, Martin R.; Fox, Nick C.; Ghetti, Bernardino; Graff-Radford, Neill R.; Hassenstab, Jason; Jucker, Mathias; Karch, Celeste M.; Kuhle, Jens; Laske, Christoph; Levin, Johannes; Masters, Colin L.; McDade, Eric; Mori, Hiroshi; Morris, John C.; Perrin, Richard J.; Preische, Oliver; Schofield, Peter R.; Suárez-Calvet, Marc; Xiong, Chengjie; Scheltens, Philip; Teunissen, Charlotte E.; Visser, Pieter Jelle; Bateman, Randall J.; Benzinger, Tammie L. S.; Fagan, Anne M.; Gordon, Brian A.; Tijms, Betty M.; Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine
    The grey matter of the brain develops and declines in coordinated patterns during the lifespan. Such covariation patterns of grey matter structure can be quantified as grey matter networks, which can be measured with magnetic resonance imaging. In Alzheimer's disease, the global organization of grey matter networks becomes more random, which is captured by a decline in the small-world coefficient. Such decline in the small-world value has been robustly associated with cognitive decline across clinical stages of Alzheimer's disease. The biological mechanisms causing this decline in small-world values remain unknown. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) protein biomarkers are available for studying diverse pathological mechanisms in humans and can provide insight into decline. We investigated the relationships between 10 CSF proteins and small-world coefficient in mutation carriers (N = 219) and non-carriers (N = 136) of the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network Observational study. Abnormalities in Amyloid beta, Tau, synaptic (Synaptosome associated protein-25, Neurogranin) and neuronal calcium-sensor protein (Visinin-like protein-1) preceded loss of small-world coefficient by several years, while increased levels in CSF markers for inflammation (Chitinase-3-like protein 1) and axonal injury (Neurofilament light) co-occurred with decreasing small-world values. This suggests that axonal loss and inflammation play a role in structural grey matter network changes.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Cerebral amyloidosis associated with cognitive decline in autosomal dominant Alzheimer disease
    (American Academy of Neurology, 2015-09) Wang, Fen; Gordon, Brian A.; Ryman, Davis C.; Ma, Shengmei; Xiong, Chengjie; Hassenstab, Jason; Goate, Alison; Fagan, Anne M.; Cairns, Nigel J.; Marcus, Daniel S.; McDade, Eric; Ringman, John M.; Graff-Radford, Neill R.; Ghetti, Bernardino; Farlow, Martin R.; Sperling, Reisa; Salloway, Steve; Schofield, Peter R.; Masters, Colin L.; Martins, Ralph N.; Rossor, Martin N. N.; Jucker, Mathias; Danek, Adrian; Förster, Stefan; Lane, Christopher A.S.; Morris, John C.; Benzinger, Tammie L. S.; Bateman, Randall J.; Department of Neurology, IU School of Medicine
    OBJECTIVE: To investigate the associations of cerebral amyloidosis with concurrent cognitive performance and with longitudinal cognitive decline in asymptomatic and symptomatic stages of autosomal dominant Alzheimer disease (ADAD). METHODS: Two hundred sixty-three participants enrolled in the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network observational study underwent neuropsychological evaluation as well as PET scans with Pittsburgh compound B. One hundred twenty-one participants completed at least 1 follow-up neuropsychological evaluation. Four composite cognitive measures representing global cognition, episodic memory, language, and working memory were generated using z scores from a battery of 13 standard neuropsychological tests. General linear mixed-effects models were used to investigate the relationship between baseline cerebral amyloidosis and baseline cognitive performance and whether baseline cerebral amyloidosis predicts cognitive change over time (mean follow-up 2.32 years ± 0.92, range 0.89-4.19) after controlling for estimated years from expected symptom onset, APOE ε4 allelic status, and education. RESULTS: In asymptomatic mutation carriers, amyloid burden was not associated with baseline cognitive functioning but was significantly predictive of longitudinal decline in episodic memory. In symptomatic mutation carriers, cerebral amyloidosis was correlated with worse baseline performance in multiple cognitive composites and predicted greater decline over time in global cognition, working memory, and Mini-Mental State Examination. CONCLUSIONS: Cerebral amyloidosis predicts longitudinal episodic memory decline in presymptomatic ADAD and multidomain cognitive decline in symptomatic ADAD. These findings imply that amyloidosis in the brain is an indicator of early cognitive decline and provides a useful outcome measure for early assessment and prevention treatment trials.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Change in Cerebrospinal Fluid Tau Microtubule Binding Region Detects Symptom Onset, Cognitive Decline, Tangles, and Atrophy in Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer's Disease
    (Wiley, 2023) Horie, Kanta; Li, Yan; Barthélemy, Nicolas R.; Gordon, Brian; Hassenstab, Jason; Benzinger, Tammie L. S.; Fagan, Anne M.; Morris, John C.; Karch, Celeste M.; Xiong, Chengjie; Allegri, Ricardo; Mendez, Patricio Chrem; Ikeuchi, Takeshi; Kasuga, Kensaku; Noble, James; Farlow, Martin; Chhatwal, Jasmeer; Day, Gregory; Schofield, Peter R.; Masters, Colin L.; Levin, Johannes; Jucker, Mathias; Lee, Jae-Hong; Roh, Jee Hoon; Sato, Chihiro; Sachdev, Pallavi; Koyama, Akihiko; Reyderman, Larisa; Bateman, Randall J.; McDade, Eric; Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network; Neurology, School of Medicine
    Objective: Identifying cerebrospinal fluid measures of the microtubule binding region of tau (MTBR-tau) species that reflect tau aggregation could provide fluid biomarkers that track Alzheimer's disease related neurofibrillary tau pathological changes. We examined the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) MTBR-tau species in dominantly inherited Alzheimer's disease (DIAD) mutation carriers to assess the association with Alzheimer's disease (AD) biomarkers and clinical symptoms. Methods: Cross-sectional and longitudinal CSF from 229 DIAD mutation carriers and 130 mutation non-carriers had sequential characterization of N-terminal/mid-domain phosphorylated tau (p-tau) followed by MTBR-tau species and tau positron emission tomography (tau PET), other soluble tau and amyloid biomarkers, comprehensive clinical and cognitive assessments, and brain magnetic resonance imaging of atrophy. Results: CSF MTBR-tau species located within the putative "border" region and one species corresponding to the "core" region of aggregates in neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) increased during the presymptomatic stage and decreased during the symptomatic stage. The "border" MTBR-tau species were associated with amyloid pathology and CSF p-tau; whereas the "core" MTBR-tau species were associated stronger with tau PET and CSF measures of neurodegeneration. The ratio of the border to the core species provided a continuous measure of increasing amounts that tracked clinical progression and NFTs. Interpretation: Changes in CSF soluble MTBR-tau species preceded the onset of dementia, tau tangle increase, and atrophy in DIAD. The ratio of 4R-specific MTBR-tau (border) to the NFT (core) MTBR-tau species corresponds to the pathology of NFTs in DIAD and change with disease progression. The dynamics between different MTBR-tau species in the CSF may serve as a marker of tau-related disease progression and target engagement of anti-tau therapeutics.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Comparative neurofilament light chain trajectories in CSF and plasma in autosomal dominant Alzheimer's disease
    (Springer Nature, 2024-11-18) Hofmann, Anna; Häsler, Lisa M.; Lambert, Marius; Kaeser, Stephan A.; Gräber-Sultan, Susanne; Obermüller, Ulrike; Kuder-Buletta, Elke; la Fougere, Christian; Laske, Christoph; Vöglein, Jonathan; Levin, Johannes; Fox, Nick C.; Ryan, Natalie S.; Zetterberg, Henrik; Llibre-Guerra, Jorge J.; Perrin, Richard J.; Ibanez, Laura; Schofield, Peter R.; Brooks, William S.; Day, Gregory S.; Farlow, Martin R.; Allegri, Ricardo F.; Mendez, Patricio Chrem; Ikeuchi, Takeshi; Kasuga, Kensaku; Lee, Jae-Hong; Roh, Jee Hoon; Mori, Hiroshi; Lopera, Francisco; Bateman, Randall J.; McDade, Eric; Gordon, Brian A.; Chhatwal, Jasmeer P.; Jucker, Mathias; Schultz, Stephanie A.; Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network; Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine
    Disease-modifying therapies for Alzheimer's disease (AD) are likely to be most beneficial when initiated in the presymptomatic phase. To track the benefit of such interventions, fluid biomarkers are of great importance, with neurofilament light chain protein (NfL) showing promise for monitoring neurodegeneration and predicting cognitive outcomes. Here, we update and complement previous findings from the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network Observational Study by using matched cross-sectional and longitudinal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and plasma samples from 567 individuals, allowing timely comparative analyses of CSF and blood trajectories across the entire disease spectrum. CSF and plasma trajectories were similar at presymptomatic stages, discriminating mutation carriers from non-carrier controls 10-20 years before the estimated onset of clinical symptoms, depending on the statistical model used. However, after symptom onset the rate of change in CSF NfL continued to increase steadily, whereas the rate of change in plasma NfL leveled off. Both plasma and CSF NfL changes were associated with grey-matter atrophy, but not with Aβ-PET changes, supporting a temporal decoupling of Aβ deposition and neurodegeneration. These observations support NfL in both CSF and blood as an early marker of neurodegeneration but suggest that NfL measured in the CSF may be better suited for monitoring clinical trial outcomes in symptomatic AD patients.