Alzheimer's and Vascular Neuropathological Substrates of Empirically-Derived
Subtypes
 
   Lead Investigator:    Daniel Nation
   Institution      :    University of Southern California
   E-Mail           :    danation@usc.edu
   Proposal ID      :    358


   Publications:


1  Nation D
   Neuropsychological Decline Stratifies Dementia Risk in Cognitively Unimpaired
   2019   Abstract  International Neuropsychological Society Annual Meeting , 

   SUBMITTED



2  Nation DA
   Neuropsychological Decline Stratifies Dementia Risk in Cognitively Unimpaired and Impaired Older Adults
   2019   Journal Article  J Int Neuropsychol Soc , 

   SUBMITTED





   Proposal Description:
   The present project will examine neuropsychological test performance and  concomitant neuropathological substrate in patients with Alzheimer's disease  (AD) and vascular dementia (VaD).  The goals of this  project are three-fold.                                                                                                                                                         First, baseline or initial neuropsychological test performance will be analyzed using statistical grouping techniques including cluster analysis and latent  class analysis in order to empirically-derive neuropsychological subtypes.  Past research using this methodology with patients with dementia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) suggests that, at a minimum, the presence of  amnestic, dysexecutive, and mixed neuropsychological phenotypes.  The second goal of this project is to use these same statistical grouping techniques to analyze neuropsychological test performance near death in order to determine the stability and reliability of baseline empirically-derived neuropsychological subtypes.  Our third goal is to relate neuropathological substrate upon autopsy to both initial and final neuropsychological test performance.  Data regarding vascular risk factors including elements of a metabolic syndrome will be obtained.                                                                                                                                Specifically, this project will focus on the relationship between vascular risk and pathological evidence of vascular disease across the spectrum of AD to mixed AD/ vascular dementia to vascular dementia (VaD).  Using statistical-grouping techniques to derive neuropsychological subtypes we hope to gain better understanding of the co-morbid effects of vascular risk and vascular pathology as related to both neuropsychological test performance and  conventional clinical diagnostic procedures currently used for AD and VaD.