TITLE:
Correspondence amongst the PENO Test Battery Cognitive Results and Hippocampal Lesions in Alzheimer’s Disease
AUTHORS:
Rojas Karla, Díaz Alfonso, Espinosa Blanca, Montaño Luis Felipe, Dilhuydy Hugo, Geraux Francine, Joanette Yves, Robitaille Yves, Guevara Jorge
KEYWORDS:
Cognitive Decline, Neuropsychological Evaluation, Synapsis, Plasticity, Alzheimer’s Disease
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Aging Research,
Vol.3 No.3,
July
30,
2014
ABSTRACT: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is characterized by a decline of cognitive
functions. Distinctive histopathological hallmarks are neuritic plaques,
neurofibrillary tangles, and synaptic alterations. Abnormally enlarged synaptic
structures called “Meganeurite clusters” have been linked to plasticity
changes. The aims of this study were to determine if cognitive impairment was
related to specific neuritic and synaptic degeneration processes in patients
with AD, and if the results of a cognitive test could be correlated with the
histopathological damage. The neuropsychological evaluation obtained by the
Protocole d’evaluation neuropsychologique optimal (PENO) test battery was used
in live AD and control individuals. The histopathological evaluation of their
brain after their death was carried out with specific polyclonal and monoclonal
antibodies to Aβ, pTau protein,
synaptophysin, and GAP-43. Images were obtained by confocal microscopy. The
results showed a significant difference between healthy controls and Alzheimer’s
patients in neuropsychological evaluation and histopathological hallmarks
expression. The most significant positive correlation in AD patients was
between memory and language results with the PENO test and the presence of Aβ +pTau+ plaques in the hippocampus. An
interesting negative correlation was between cognitive impairment and the
presence of Meganeuritic clusters, considered as “plasticity” markers. These
results strongly supported the use of the PENO battery test to evaluate the
progression of cognitive impairment in AD prone individuals and patients due to
the strong correlation of the test results with histopathological brain lesions
characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease.