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. 2022 Nov;34(11):2905-2909.
doi: 10.1007/s40520-022-02222-9. Epub 2022 Aug 29.

Neuropathologic validation of the Alzheimer's Questionnaire

Ida Mohebpour  1 , Michael Malek-Ahmadi  2   3 , Thomas Virden 3rd  1 , Angela Breitmeyer  1 , Marwan N Sabbagh  4 , Briana Auman  5 , Christine M Belden  5 , Parichita Choudhury  5 , Autumn Arch  5 , Kathryn Davis  5 , Carol Cline  5 , Naudia Moorley  5 , Alireza Atri  5   6   7 , Geidy Serrano  4 , Thomas G Beach  4
Affiliations

Neuropathologic validation of the Alzheimer's Questionnaire

Ida Mohebpour et al. Aging Clin Exp Res. 2022 Nov.

Abstract

The Alzheimer's Questionnaire (AQ) is an informant-based screening tool with good diagnostic accuracy for Alzheimer's disease (AD) and amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI). The aim of this study is to validate the AQ with AD-associated neuritic plaque (NP) and neurofibrillary tangle (NFT) pathology. Data from 205 prospectively followed autopsy cases clinically classified as AD (n = 90), aMCI (n = 42), or cognitively unimpaired (CU, n = 73) were used. Semi-quantitative measures of NP and NFT pathology were correlated with the AQ, Clinical Dementia Rating Sum of Boxes (CDR-SOB), and the Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE). The AQ correlated significantly (p < 0.001) with NP load (r = 0.37) and NFT load (r = 0.57). The MMSE and CDR-SOB showed similar correlations with NP load (r = - 0.37, r = 0.35, respectively) and NFT load (r = - 0.58, r = 0.55, respectively). The AQ correlates well with NP and NFT pathology of AD, which provides additional confidence to clinicians using the AQ to screen for AD-related cognitive impairment.

Keywords: Amyloid plaque; Dementia; Informant-based assessment; Neurofibrillary tangle; Neuropathology.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest None of the authors report any competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Alzheimer’s Questionnaire correlations with plaque (A) and tangle (B) load
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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