The Role of Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test in Predicting [¹⁸F]Florbetaben PET Results in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Mild Dementia

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Spallazzi, Marco^a | Michelini, Giovanni^{b; c} | Barocco, Federica^d | Dieci, Francesca^e | Copelli, Sandra^e | Messa, Giovanni^e | Scarlattei, Maura^f | Pavesi, Giovanni^g | Ruffini, Livia^f | Caffarra, Paolo^{g; *}

Affiliations: [a] Department of Medicine and Surgery, Unit of Neurology, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria, Parma, Italy | [b] Sigmund Freud University, Milano, Italy | [c] Department of Disability, Fondazione Istituto Ospedaliero di Sospiro – Onlus, Cremona, Italy | [d] Alzheimer Center, FERB, Briolini Hospital, Gazzaniga, Bergamo, Italy | [e] Center for Cognitive Disorders, AUSL Parma, Parma, Italy | [f] Department of Nuclear Medicine, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria, Parma, Italy | [g] Department of Medicine and Surgery, Section of Neuroscience, Unit of Neurology, University of Parma, Parma, Italy

Correspondence: [*] Correspondence to: Paolo Caffarra, Unit of Neuroscience, DiMeC, University of Parma Via Gramsci 14, 43126, Parma. Tel.: +39521/704116; E-mail: paolo.caffarra@unipr.it.

Abstract: Background:Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test (FCSRT) is a reliable cognitive marker for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and the identification of neuropsychological tests sensitive to the early signs of AD pathology is crucial both in research and clinical practice. Objective:The study aimed to ascertain the ability of FCSRT in predicting the amyloid load as determined from amyloid PET imaging (Amy-PET) in patients with cognitive disorders. Methods:For our purpose, 79 patients (71 MCI, 8 mild dementia) underwent a complete workup for dementia, including the FCSRT assessment and a [18F]florbetaben PET scan. FCSRT subitem scores were used as predictors in different binomial regression models. Results:Immediate free recall and delayed free recall were the best predictors overall in the whole sample; whereas in patients <76 years, all models further improved with immediate total recall (ITR) and Index of Sensitivity of Cueing (ISC) resulting the most accurate in anticipating Amy-PET results, with a likelihood of being Amy-PET positive greater than 85% for ITR and ISC scores of less than 25 and 0.5, respectively. Conclusion:FCSRT proved itself to be a valid tool in dementia diagnosis, also being able to correlate with amyloid pathology. The possibility to predict Amy-PET results through a simple and reliable neuropsychological test might be helpful for clinicians in the dementia field, adding value to a paper and pencil tool compared to most costly biomarkers.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease, amyloid PET, biomarkers, Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test, mild cognitive impairment, neuropsychology

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-190950

Journal: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 73, no. 4, pp. 1647-1659, 2020