Proper Name Recall as an Early Indicator of Preclinical Alzheimer’s Disease Pathology

  1. Kimberly D. Mueller
  2. Anja Soldan
  3. Rebecca Langhough
  4. Davide Bruno
  5. Ainara Jauregi-Zinkunegi
  6. Kristin Basche
  7. Madeline Hale
  8. Deling He
  9. Abhay Moghekar
  10. Bruce Hermann
  11. Marilyn Albert
  12. Corinne Pettigrew
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Abstract

Background

Early detection of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is crucial; however, standard neuropsychological tests often lack sensitivity. Process scores, such as proper name (PN) recall from Logical Memory (LM), may improve the detection of AD-related biomarker positivity. We examined whether baseline PN recall predicted future cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) amyloid (Aβ42/Aβ40) and tau (pTau181) status, and whether biomarker status predicted PN recall trajectories.

Methods

We analyzed 271 cognitively unimpaired BIOCARD participants (mean age = 57.3, 60.3% female, mean follow-up = 15.5) using logistic regression and mixed-effects models to examine the associations between PN recall and CSF biomarkers.

Results

Higher baseline PN recall predicted lower amyloid positivity (odds ratio [OR] = 0.72, p = 0.015). Amyloid and tau positivity have been linked to a faster decline in PN. Biomarker-positive participants in the biomarker-negative group lacked practice effects.

Conclusions

PN recall predicts future AD biomarker positivity and may enhance early detection of AD-related cognitive decline.

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