Volume 29, Issue 4 pp. 957-967
ORIGINAL ARTICLE

The severity of neuropsychiatric symptoms is higher in early-onset than late-onset Alzheimer’s disease

Neus Falgàs

Neus Falgàs

Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA

Global Brain Health Institute, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA

Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Cognitive Disorders Unit, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona. Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

Contribution: Conceptualization (lead), Formal analysis (lead), ​Investigation (lead), Methodology (equal), Writing - original draft (lead), Writing - review & editing (lead)

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Isabel E. Allen

Isabel E. Allen

Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA

Contribution: Formal analysis (equal), Methodology (equal), Writing - review & editing (supporting)

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Salvatore Spina

Salvatore Spina

Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA

Contribution: Methodology (equal), Writing - review & editing (equal)

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Harli Grant

Harli Grant

Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA

Contribution: Project administration (equal), Writing - review & editing (supporting)

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Stefanie D. Piña Escudero

Stefanie D. Piña Escudero

Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA

Global Brain Health Institute, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA

Contribution: Data curation (supporting), Writing - review & editing (supporting)

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Jennifer Merrilees

Jennifer Merrilees

Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA

Contribution: Methodology (supporting), Writing - review & editing (supporting)

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Rosalie Gearhart

Rosalie Gearhart

Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA

Contribution: Methodology (supporting), Writing - review & editing (supporting)

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Howard J. Rosen

Howard J. Rosen

Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA

Global Brain Health Institute, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA

Contribution: Methodology (supporting), Writing - review & editing (supporting)

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Joel H. Kramer

Joel H. Kramer

Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA

Global Brain Health Institute, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA

Contribution: Methodology (supporting), Writing - review & editing (supporting)

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William W. Seeley

William W. Seeley

Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA

Contribution: Methodology (supporting), Writing - review & editing (supporting)

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Thomas C. Neylan

Thomas C. Neylan

Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA

Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA

Contribution: Conceptualization (supporting), Funding acquisition (equal), Writing - review & editing (equal)

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Bruce L. Miller

Bruce L. Miller

Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA

Contribution: Funding acquisition (equal), Writing - review & editing (supporting)

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Gil D. Rabinovici

Gil D. Rabinovici

Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA

Global Brain Health Institute, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA

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Lea T. Grinberg

Lea T. Grinberg

Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA

Global Brain Health Institute, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA

Department of Pathology, University of Sao Paulo Medical School, Sao Paulo, Brazil

Department of Pathology, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA

Contribution: Conceptualization (equal), Funding acquisition (equal), Writing - review & editing (supporting)

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Christine M. Walsh

Corresponding Author

Christine M. Walsh

Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA

Correspondence

Christine M. Walsh, Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, 675 Nelson Rising Lane, Suite 190, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA.

Email: [email protected]

Contribution: Conceptualization (lead), Supervision (lead), Writing - original draft (equal), Writing - review & editing (equal)

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First published: 04 December 2021
Citations: 11

Funding information

This work was supported by the Global Brain Health Institute, Tau Consortium/Rainwater Charity Foundation, National Institute on Aging grants NIA R01 AG060477, NIA R01 AG064314, K24AG053435, K23-AG031861, K08 AG052648, R01-AG027859, P01-AG1972403 and P50- AG023501, State of California Department of Health Services Alzheimer's Disease Research Center of California grant 04-33516

Abstract

Background and purpose

The faster rates of cognitive decline and predominance of atypical forms in early-onset Alzheimer's disease (EOAD) suggest that neuropsychiatric symptoms could be different in EOAD compared to late-onset AD (LOAD); however, prior studies based on non-biomarker-diagnosed cohorts show discordant results. Our goal was to determine the profile of neuropsychiatric symptoms in EOAD and LOAD, in a cohort with biomarker/postmortem-confirmed diagnoses. Additionally, the contribution of co-pathologies was explored.

Methods

In all, 219 participants (135 EOAD, 84 LOAD) meeting National Institute on Aging and Alzheimer's Association criteria for AD (115 amyloid positron emission tomography/cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers, 104 postmortem diagnosis) at the University of California San Francisco were evaluated. The Neuropsychiatric Inventory—Questionnaire (NPI-Q) was assessed at baseline and during follow-up. The NPI-Q mean comparisons and regression models adjusted by cognitive (Mini-Mental State Examination) and functional status (Clinical Dementia Rating Sum of Boxes) were performed to determine the effect of EOAD/LOAD and amnestic/non-amnestic diagnosis on NPI-Q. Regression models assessing the effect of co-pathologies on NPI-Q were performed.

Results

At baseline, the NPI-Q scores were higher in EOAD compared to LOAD (< 0.05). Longitudinally, regression models showed a significant effect of diagnosis, where EOAD had higher NPI-Q total, anxiety, motor disturbances and night-time behavior scores (< 0.05). No differences between amnestics/non-amnestics were found. Argyrophilic grain disease co-pathology predicted a higher severity of NPI-Q scores in LOAD.

Conclusions

Anxiety, night-time behaviors and motor disturbances are more severe in EOAD than LOAD across the disease course. The differential patterns of neuropsychiatric symptoms observed between EOAD/LOAD could suggest a pattern of selective vulnerability extending to the brain's subcortical structures. Further, co-pathologies such as argyrophilic grain disease in LOAD may also play a role in increasing neuropsychiatric symptoms.

Conflict of Interest

Authors declare no conflict of interest.

DATA AVALIABILITY STATEMENT

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to privacy or ethical restrictions.

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