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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 MedicineResting 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.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 MedicineObjective: 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.Item Association of BDNF Val66Met With Tau Hyperphosphorylation and Cognition in Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Disease(American Medical Association, 2022-03-01) Lim, Yen Ying; Maruff, Paul; Barthélemy, Nicolas R.; Goate, Alison; Hassenstab, Jason; Sato, Chihiro; Fagan, Anne M.; Benzinger, Tammie L. S.; Xiong, Chengjie; Cruchaga, Carlos; Levin, Johannes; Farlow, Martin R.; Graff-Radford, Neill R.; Laske, Christoph; Masters, Colin L.; Salloway, Stephen; Schofield, Peter R.; Morris, John C.; Bateman, Randall J.; McDade, Eric; Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network; Neurology, School of MedicineImportance: Allelic variation in the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) Val66Met polymorphism moderates increases in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of tau and phosphorylated tau 181 (p-tau181), measured using immunoassay, and cognitive decline in presymptomatic dominantly inherited Alzheimer disease (DIAD). Advances in mass spectrometry show that CSF tau phosphorylation occupancy at threonine 181 and 217 (p-tau181/tau181, p-tau217/tau217) increases with initial β-amyloid (Aβ) aggregation, while phosphorylation occupancy at threonine 205 (p-tau205/tau205) and level of total tau increase when brain atrophy and clinical symptoms become evident. Objective: To determine whether site-specific tau phosphorylation occupancy (ratio of phosphorylated to unphosphorylated tau) is associated with BDNF Val66Met in presymptomatic and symptomatic DIAD. Design, setting, and participants: This cross-sectional cohort study included participants from the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network (DIAN) and Aβ-positive cognitively normal older adults in the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI). Data were collected from 2009 through 2018 at multicenter clinical sites in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia, with no follow-up. DIAN participants provided a CSF sample and completed clinical and cognitive assessments. Data analysis was conducted between March 2020 and March 2021. Main outcomes and measures: Mass spectrometry analysis was used to determine site-specific tau phosphorylation level; tau levels were also measured using immunoassay. Episodic memory and global cognitive composites were computed. Results: Of 374 study participants, 144 were mutation noncarriers, 156 were presymptomatic mutation carriers, and 74 were symptomatic carriers. Of the 527 participants in the network, 153 were excluded because their CSF sample, BDNF status, or both were unavailable. Also included were 125 Aβ-positive cognitively normal older adults in the ADNI. The mean (SD) age of DIAD participants was 38.7 (10.9) years; 43% were women. The mean (SD) age of participants with preclinical sporadic AD was 74.8 (5.6) years; 52% were women. In presymptomatic mutation carriers, compared with Val66 homozygotes, Met66 carriers showed significantly poorer episodic memory (d = 0.62; 95% CI, 0.28-0.95), lower hippocampal volume (d = 0.40; 95% CI, 0.09-0.71), and higher p-tau217/tau217 (d = 0.64; 95% CI, 0.30-0.97), p-tau181/tau181 (d = 0.65; 95% CI, 0.32-0.99), and mass spectrometry total tau (d = 0.43; 95% CI, 0.10-0.76). In symptomatic mutation carriers, Met66 carriers showed significantly poorer global cognition (d = 1.17; 95% CI, 0.65-1.66) and higher p-tau217/tau217 (d = 0.53; 95% CI, 0.05-1.01), mass spectrometry total tau (d = 0.78; 95% CI, 0.28-1.25), and p-tau205/tau205 (d = 0.97; 95% CI, 0.46-1.45), when compared with Val66 homozygotes. In preclinical sporadic AD, Met66 carriers showed poorer episodic memory (d = 0.39; 95% CI, 0.00-0.77) and higher total tau (d = 0.45; 95% CI, 0.07-0.84) and p-tau181 (d = 0.46; 95% CI, 0.07-0.85). Conclusions and relevance: In DIAD, clinical disease stage and BDNF Met66 were associated with cognitive impairment and levels of site-specific tau phosphorylation. This suggests that pharmacological strategies designed to increase neurotrophic support in the presymptomatic stages of AD may be beneficial.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 MedicineThe 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.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 MedicineDespite 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.Item Awareness of Genetic Risk in the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network (DIAN)(Wiley, 2020-01) Aschenbrenner, Andrew J.; James, Bryan D.; McDade, Eric; Wang, Guoqiao; Lim, Yen Ying; Benzinger, Tammie L.S.; Cruchaga, Carlos; Goate, Alison; Xiong, Chengjie; Perrin, Richard; Buckles, Virginia; Allegri, Ricardo; Berman, Sarah B.; Chhatwal, Jasmeer P.; Fagan, Anne; Farlow, Martin; O'Connor, Antoinette; Ghetti, Bernardino; Graff-Radford, Neill; Goldman, Jill; Gräber, Susanne; Karch, Celeste M.; Lee, Jae-Hong; Levin, Johannes; Martins, Ralph N.; Masters, Colin; Mori, Hiroshi; Noble, James; Salloway, Stephen; Schofield, Peter; Morris, John C.; Bateman, Randall J.; Hassenstab, Jason; Neurology, School of MedicineIntroduction: Although some members of families with autosomal dominant Alzheimer's disease mutations learn their mutation status, most do not. How knowledge of mutation status affects clinical disease progression is unknown. This study quantifies the influence of mutation awareness on clinical symptoms, cognition, and biomarkers. Methods: Mutation carriers and non-carriers from the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network (DIAN) were stratified based on knowledge of mutation status. Rates of change on standard clinical, cognitive, and neuroimaging outcomes were examined. Results: Mutation knowledge had no associations with cognitive decline, clinical progression, amyloid deposition, hippocampal volume, or depression in either carriers or non-carriers. Carriers who learned their status mid-study had slightly higher levels of depression and lower cognitive scores. Discussion: Knowledge of mutation status does not affect rates of change on any measured outcome. Learning of status mid-study may confer short-term changes in cognitive functioning, or changes in cognition may influence the determination of mutation status.Item BDNF Val66Met moderates memory impairment, hippocampal function and tau in preclinical autosomal dominant Alzheimer’s disease(Oxford, 2016-10) Lim, Yen Ying; Hassenstab, Jason; Cruchaga, Carlos; Goate, Alison; Fagan, Anne M.; Benzinger, Tammie L. S.; Maruff, Paul; Snyder, Peter J.; Masters, Colin L.; Allegri, Ricardo; Chhatwal, Jasmeer; Farlow, Martin R.; Graff-Radford, Neill R.; Laske, Christoph; Levin, Johannes; McDade, Eric; Ringman, John M.; Rossor, Martin N.; Salloway, Stephen; Schofield, Peter R.; Holtzman, David M.; Morris, John C.; Bateman, Randall J.; Department of Neurology, IU School of MedicineThe brain-derived neurotrophic factor ( BDNF ) Val66Met polymorphism is implicated in synaptic excitation and neuronal integrity, and has previously been shown to moderate amyloid-β-related memory decline and hippocampal atrophy in preclinical sporadic Alzheimer’s disease. However, the effect of BDNF in autosomal dominant Alzheimer’s disease is unknown. We aimed to determine the effect of BDNF Val66Met on cognitive function, hippocampal function, tau and amyloid-β in preclinical autosomal dominant Alzheimer’s disease. We explored effects of apolipoprotein E ( APOE ) ε4 on these relationships. The Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network conducted clinical, neuropsychological, genetic, biomarker and neuroimaging measures at baseline in 131 mutation non-carriers and 143 preclinical autosomal dominant Alzheimer’s disease mutation carriers on average 12 years before clinical symptom onset. BDNF genotype data were obtained for mutation carriers (95 Val 66 homozygotes, 48 Met 66 carriers). Among preclinical mutation carriers, Met 66 carriers had worse memory performance, lower hippocampal glucose metabolism and increased levels of cerebrospinal fluid tau and phosphorylated tau (p-tau) than Val 66 homozygotes. Cortical amyloid-β and cerebrospinal fluid amyloid-β 42 levels were significantly different from non-carriers but did not differ between preclinical mutation carrier Val 66 homozygotes and Met 66 carriers. There was an effect of APOE on amyloid-β levels, but not cognitive function, glucose metabolism or tau. As in sporadic Alzheimer’s disease, the deleterious effects of amyloid-β on memory, hippocampal function, and tau in preclinical autosomal dominant Alzheimer’s disease mutation carriers are greater in Met 66 carriers. To date, this is the only genetic factor found to moderate downstream effects of amyloid-β in autosomal dominant Alzheimer’s disease.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 MedicineObjective: 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.Item Common Variants Near ZIC1 and ZIC4 in Autopsy-Confirmed Multiple System Atrophy(Wiley, 2022-10) Hopfner, Franziska; Tietz, Anja K.; Ruf, Viktoria C.; Ross, Owen A.; Koga, Shunsuke; Dickson, Dennis; Aguzzi, Adriano; Attems, Johannes; Beach, Thomas; Beller, Allison; Cheshire, William P.; van Deerlin, Vivianna; Desplats, Paula; Deuschl, Günther; Duyckaerts, Charles; Ellinghaus, David; Evsyukov, Valentin; Flanagan, Margaret Ellen; Franke, Andre; Frosch, Matthew P.; Gearing, Marla; Gelpi, Ellen; van Gerpen, Jay A.; Ghetti, Bernardino; Glass, Jonathan D.; Grinberg, Lea T.; Halliday, Glenda; Helbig, Ingo; Höllerhage, Matthias; Huitinga, Inge; Irwin, David John; Keene, Dirk C.; Kovacs, Gabor G.; Lee, Edward B.; Levin, Johannes; Martí, Maria J.; Mackenzie, Ian; McKeith, Ian; Mclean, Catriona; Mollenhauer, Brit; Neumann, Manuela; Newell, Kathy L.; Pantelyat, Alex; Pendziwiat, Manuela; Peters, Annette; Porcel, Laura Molina; Rabano, Alberto; Matěj, Radoslav; Rajput, Alex; Rajput, Ali; Reimann, Regina; Scott, William K.; Seeley , William; Selvackadunco, Sashika; Simuni, Tanya; Stadelmann, Christine; Svenningsson, Per; Thomas, Alan; Trenkwalder, Claudia; Troakes, Claire; Trojanowski, John Q.; Uitti, Ryan J.; White, Charles L.; Wszolek, Zbigniew K.; Xie, Tao; Ximelis, Teresa; Justo, Yebenes; Alzheimer’s Disease Genetics Consortium; Müller, Ulrich; Schellenberg, Gerard D.; Herms, Jochen; Kuhlenbäumer, Gregor; Höglinger, Günter; Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, School of MedicineBackground: Multiple System Atrophy is a rare neurodegenerative disease with alpha-synuclein aggregation in glial cytoplasmic inclusions and either predominant olivopontocerebellar atrophy or striatonigral degeneration, leading to dysautonomia, parkinsonism, and cerebellar ataxia. One prior genome-wide association study in mainly clinically diagnosed patients with Multiple System Atrophy failed to identify genetic variants predisposing for the disease. Objective: Since the clinical diagnosis of Multiple System Atrophy yields a high rate of misdiagnosis when compared to the neuropathological gold standard, we studied only autopsy-confirmed cases. Methods: We studied common genetic variations in Multiple System Atrophy cases (N = 731) and controls (N = 2898). Results: The most strongly disease-associated markers were rs16859966 on chromosome 3, rs7013955 on chromosome 8, and rs116607983 on chromosome 4 with P-values below 5 × 10−6, all of which were supported by at least one additional genotyped and several imputed single nucleotide polymorphisms. The genes closest to the chromosome 3 locus are ZIC1 and ZIC4 encoding the zinc finger proteins of cerebellum 1 and 4 (ZIC1 and ZIC4). Interpretation: Since mutations of ZIC1 and ZIC4 and paraneoplastic autoantibodies directed against ZIC4 are associated with severe cerebellar dysfunction, we conducted immunohistochemical analyses in brain tissue of the frontal cortex and the cerebellum from 24 Multiple System Atrophy patients. Strong immunohistochemical expression of ZIC4 was detected in a subset of neurons of the dentate nucleus in all healthy controls and in patients with striatonigral degeneration, whereas ZIC4-immunoreactive neurons were significantly reduced inpatients with olivopontocerebellar atrophy. These findings point to a potential ZIC4-mediated vulnerability of neurons in Multiple System Atrophy.Item Comparing cortical signatures of atrophy between late-onset and autosomal dominant Alzheimer disease(Elsevier, 2020) Dincer, Aylin; Gordon, Brian A.; Hari-Raj, Amrita; Keefe, Sarah J.; Flores, Shaney; McKay, Nicole S.; Paulick, Angela M.; Shady Lewis, Kristine E.; Feldman, Rebecca L.; Hornbeck, Russ C.; Allegri, Ricardo; Ances, Beau M.; Berman, Sarah B.; Brickman, Adam M.; Brooks, William S.; Cash, David M.; Chhatwal, Jasmeer P.; Farlow, Martin R.; la Fougère, Christian; Fox, Nick C.; Fulham, Michael J.; Jack, Clifford R., Jr.; Joseph-Mathurin, Nelly; Karch, Celeste M.; Lee, Athene; Levin, Johannes; Masters, Colin L.; McDade, Eric M.; Oh, Hwamee; Perrin, Richard J.; Raji, Cyrus; Salloway, Stephen P.; Schofield, Peter R.; Su, Yi; Villemagne, Victor L.; Wang, Qing; Weiner, Michael W.; Xiong, Chengjie; Yakushev, Igor; Morris, John C.; Bateman, Randall J.; Benzinger, Tammie L.S.; Neurology, School of MedicineDefining a signature of cortical regions of interest preferentially affected by Alzheimer disease (AD) pathology may offer improved sensitivity to early AD compared to hippocampal volume or mesial temporal lobe alone. Since late-onset Alzheimer disease (LOAD) participants tend to have age-related comorbidities, the younger-onset age in autosomal dominant AD (ADAD) may provide a more idealized model of cortical thinning in AD. To test this, the goals of this study were to compare the degree of overlap between the ADAD and LOAD cortical thinning maps and to evaluate the ability of the ADAD cortical signature regions to predict early pathological changes in cognitively normal individuals. We defined and analyzed the LOAD cortical maps of cortical thickness in 588 participants from the Knight Alzheimer Disease Research Center (Knight ADRC) and the ADAD cortical maps in 269 participants from the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network (DIAN) observational study. Both cohorts were divided into three groups: cognitively normal controls (nADRC = 381; nDIAN = 145), preclinical (nADRC = 153; nDIAN = 76), and cognitively impaired (nADRC = 54; nDIAN = 48). Both cohorts underwent clinical assessments, 3T MRI, and amyloid PET imaging with either 11C-Pittsburgh compound B or 18F-florbetapir. To generate cortical signature maps of cortical thickness, we performed a vertex-wise analysis between the cognitively normal controls and impaired groups within each cohort using six increasingly conservative statistical thresholds to determine significance. The optimal cortical map among the six statistical thresholds was determined from a receiver operating characteristic analysis testing the performance of each map in discriminating between the cognitively normal controls and preclinical groups. We then performed within-cohort and cross-cohort (e.g. ADAD maps evaluated in the Knight ADRC cohort) analyses to examine the sensitivity of the optimal cortical signature maps to the amyloid levels using only the cognitively normal individuals (cognitively normal controls and preclinical groups) in comparison to hippocampal volume. We found the optimal cortical signature maps were sensitive to early increases in amyloid for the asymptomatic individuals within their respective cohorts and were significant beyond the inclusion of hippocampus volume, but the cortical signature maps performed poorly when analyzing across cohorts. These results suggest the cortical signature maps are a useful MRI biomarker of early AD-related neurodegeneration in preclinical individuals and the pattern of decline differs between LOAD and ADAD.