Subjective cognitive complaints and amyloid burden in cognitively normal older individuals

• Published in: Neuropsychologia Vol. 50; no. 12; pp. 2880 - 2886
• Main Authors: Amariglio, Rebecca E., Becker, J. Alex, Carmasin, Jeremy, Wadsworth, Lauren P., Lorius, Natacha, Sullivan, Caroline, Maye, Jacqueline E., Gidicsin, Christopher, Pepin, Lesley C., Sperling, Reisa A., Johnson, Keith A., Rentz, Dorene M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01.10.2012; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Aging - metabolism; Aging - psychology; Alzheimer Disease - metabolism; Alzheimer Disease - psychology; Amyloid beta-Peptides - metabolism; Amyloid imaging; Aniline Compounds; Biological and medical sciences; Brain - metabolism; Degenerative and inherited degenerative diseases of the nervous system. Leukodystrophies. Prion diseases; Early detection; Female; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Neurology; Neuropsychological Tests; Organic mental disorders. Neuropsychology; Positron-Emission Tomography; Preclinical Alzheimer’s disease; Prodromal Symptoms; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Radiopharmaceuticals; Subjective cognitive complaints; Thiazoles; Subjective cognitive complaints; Preclinical Alzheimer’s disease; Early detection; Amyloid imaging; Human; Nervous system diseases; Alzheimer disease; Cognition; Cerebral disorder; Preclinical Alzheimer's disease; Central nervous system disease; Early; Degenerative disease; Amyloid; Diagnosis; Elderly; Positron; Emission tomography
• ISSN: 0028-3932; 1873-3514; 1873-3514
• DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2012.08.011

Accumulating evidence suggests that subjective cognitive complaints (SCC) may indicate subtle cognitive decline characteristic of individuals with preclinical Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In this study, we sought to build upon previous studies by associating SCC and amyloid-β deposition using positron emission tomography with Pittsburgh Compound B (PiB-PET) in cognitively normal older individuals. One-hundred thirty one subjects (mean age 73.5±6) were administered three subjective cognitive questionnaires and a brief neuropsychological battery. A relationship between a subjective memory complaints composite score and cortical PiB binding was found to be significant, even after controlling for depressive symptoms. By contrast, there were no significant relationships between objective cognitive measures of memory and executive functions and cortical PiB binding. Our study suggests that SCC may be an early indicator of AD pathology detectable prior to significant objective impairment. ► Subjective cognitive complaints relate to amyloid burden in cognitively normal older subjects. ► Increased subjective cognitive complaints are significantly related to greater PiB uptake. ► Objective cognitive measures are not associated with PiB uptake.