Diagnostic accuracy of research criteria for prodromal frontotemporal dementia
Alberto Benussi, Enrico Premi, Mario Grassi, Antonella Alberici, Valentina Cantoni, Stefano Gazzina, Silvana Archetti, Roberto Gasparotti, Giorgio Fumagalli, Arabella Bouzigues, Lucy L. Russell, Kiran Samra, David M. Cash, Martina Bocchetta, Emily Todd, Rhian S. Convery, Imogen J. Swift, Aitana Sogorb‐Esteve, Carolin Heller, John C. van Swieten, Lize C. Jiskoot, Harro Seelaar, Raquel Sánchez‐Valle, Fermín Moreno, Robert Laforce, Caroline Graff, Matthis Synofzik, Daniela Galimberti, James B. Rowe, Mario Masellis, Maria Carmela Tartaglia, Elizabeth Finger, Rik Vandenberghe, Alexandre de Mendonça, Pietro Tiraboschi, Christopher Butler, Isabel Santana, Alexander Gerhard, Isabelle Le Ber, Florence Pasquier, Simon Ducharme, Johannes Levin, Sandro Sorbi, Markus Otto, Alessandro Padovani, Jonathan D. Rohrer, Barbara Borroni, Genetic Frontotemporal dementia Initiative (GENFI), Annabel Nelson, Martina Bocchetta, David L. Thomas, Hanya Benotmane, Jennifer Nicholas, Rachelle Shafei, Carolyn Timberlake, Thomas Cope, Timothy Rittman, Andrea Arighi, Chiara Fenoglio, Elio Scarpini, Vittoria Borracci, Giacomina Rossi, Giorgio Giaccone, Giuseppe Di Fede, Paola Caroppo, Sara Prioni, Veronica Redaelli, David F. Tang‐Wai, Ekaterina Rogaeva, Miguel Castelo‐Branco, Morris Freedman, Ron Keren, Sandra E. Black, Sara Mitchell, Christen Shoesmith, Robart Bartha, Rosa Rademakers, Jackie M. Poos, Janne M. Papma, Lucia Giannini, Rick van Minkelen, Yolande A.L. Pijnenburg, Benedetta Nacmias, Camilla Ferrari, Cristina Polito, Gemma Lombardi, Valentina Bessi, Michele Veldsman, Christin Andersson, Håkan Thonberg, Linn Öijerstedt, Vesna Jelić, Paul Thompson, Tobias Langheinrich, Albert Lladó, Anna Antonell, Jaume Olives, Mircea Balasa, Núria Bargalló, Sergi Borrego‐Écija
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The Genetic Frontotemporal Initiative Staging Group has proposed clinical criteria for the diagnosis of prodromal frontotemporal dementia (FTD), termed mild cognitive and/or behavioral and/or motor impairment (MCBMI). The objective of the study was to validate the proposed research criteria for MCBMI-FTD in a cohort of genetically confirmed FTD cases against healthy controls. METHODS: A total of 398 participants were enrolled, 117 of whom were carriers of an FTD pathogenic variant with mild clinical symptoms, while 281 were non-carrier family members (healthy controls (HC)). A subgroup of patients underwent blood neurofilament light (NfL) levels and anterior cingulate atrophy assessment. RESULTS: The core clinical criteria correctly classified MCBMI vs HC with an AUC of 0.79 (p < 0.001), while the addition of either blood NfL or anterior cingulate atrophy significantly increased the AUC to 0.84 and 0.82, respectively (p < 0.001). The addition of both markers further increased the AUC to 0.90 (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The proposed MCBMI criteria showed very good classification accuracy for identifying the prodromal stage of FTD.