PUBLICATIONS

Nguyen-Kim H, Beckmann C, Redondo M, Ziliox J, Vallet V, Berger-Sturm K, Overbeck JV, Alberi Auber L. COVID salivary diagnostics: A comparative technical study. J Med Virol. 2022 May 25.

Since the beginning of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, molecular diagnostics of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) have taken center stage in the detection of infected individuals for isolation purposes but also in the mass surveillance as a preventive strategy to contain the virus spread. While nasopharyngeal swabs (NPS) have remained the golden standard substrate, salivary diagnostic for SARS-CoV-2 has been proposed as an alternative and noninvasive measure in vulnerable individuals. Nevertheless, there is a widespread assumption that salivary reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) does not match the quality of testing using NPS and particular care should be taken in respect to food or beverage intake, when sampling saliva

Eldem, E., Barve, A. et al. Salivary Proteomics Identifies Transthyretin as a Biomarker of Early Dementia Conversion. IOS Press, 1 Jan. 2022 : 31 – 41.

Background: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) remains to date an incurable disease with a long asymptomatic phase. Early diagnosis in peripheral biofluids has emerged as key for identifying subjects at risk and developing therapeutics and preventative approaches.

Objective: We apply proteomics discovery to identify salivary diagnostic biomarkers for AD, which are suitable for self-sampling and longitudinal biomonitoring during aging.

Persico, G., Casciaro F., Amatori S., Rusin M., Cantatore F., Perna A., Auber L., Fanelli M., Giorgio M. Histone H3 Lysine 4 and 27 Trimethylation Landscape of Human Alzheimer’s Disease. Cells. 2022; 11(4):734.

Background: Epigenetic remodeling is emerging as a critical process for both the onset and progression of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the most common form of neurodegenerative dementia. However, it is not clear to what extent the distribution of histone modifications is involved in AD. Methods: To investigate histone H3 modifications in AD, we compared the genome-wide distributions of H3K4me3 and H3K27me3 in entorhinal cortices from severe sporadic AD patients and from age-matched healthy individuals of both sexes.

Brai E., Tonacci A., Brugada-Ramentol V., D’Andrea F., Alberi L. Intercepting Dementia: Awareness and Innovation as Key Tools. Front. Aging Neurosci., 13 October 2021.

Dementia is a common feature of several age-related brain diseases, leading to a progressive cognitive decline. Due to a growing aging rate, dementia-related disorders currently affect around 50 million people worldwide and by 2050 this number is expected to reach 150 million. Additionally to patients, these neurodegenerative pathologies have a strong impact on family members, caretakers, and other health professionals, therefore representing a public health burden that in 2020 accounted for over 1 trillion USD and is projected to nearly double in the next decade.

Background: Odor identification (OI) dysfunction is an early marker of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), but it remains unclear how olfactory-related regions change from stages of subjective cognitive decline (SCD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to AD dementia.

Methods: Two hundred and sixty-nine individuals were recruited in the present study. The olfactory-related regions were defined as the regions of interest, and the grey matter volume (GMV), low-frequency fluctuation, regional homogeneity (ReHo), and functional connectivity (FC) were compared for exploring the changing pattern of structural and functional abnormalities across AD, MCI, SCD, and normal controls.

Persico G., Casciaro F., et al. Open facility of functional genomics aimed at disclosing late-onset Alzheimer’s disease epigenetic mechanisms and biomarkers. Alzheimer’sDement.2021;17(Suppl.3):e052787.

Chen, B., Zhong, X., et al. The additive effect of late-life depression and olfactory dysfunction on the risk of dementia was mediated by hypersynchronization of the hippocampus/fusiform gyrus. Transl Psychiatry 11, 172 (2021).

Early detection of patients with late-life depression (LLD) with a high risk of developing dementia contributes to early intervention. Odor identification (OI) dysfunction serves as a marker for predicting dementia, but whether OI dysfunction increases the risk of dementia in LLD patients remains unclear. The present study aimed to explore the interactive effect of LLD and OI dysfunction on the risk of dementia and its underlying neuroimaging changes. One hundred and fifty-seven LLD patients and 101 normal controls were recruited, and data on their OI, cognition, activity of daily living (ADL), and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging were collected.

Wang, Qiang et al. ‘Olfactory Dysfunction Is Already Present with Subjective Cognitive Decline and Deepens with Disease Severity in the Alzheimer’s Disease Spectrum’. 1 Jan. 2021 : 585 – 595.

Background: Odor identification dysfunction occurs early in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and is considered a preclinical symptom along with subjective cognitive decline (SCD). Nevertheless, whether subjects with SCD are co-symptomatic with odor identification dysfunction remains unclear. Objective:To compare the degree of odor identification dysfunction and assess the relation between odor identification and cognitive performance in the AD spectrum (including SCD, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and AD). Methods:Patients (84 SCD, 129 MCI, 52 AD) and 35 controls underwent the Sniffin’ Sticks Screen 16 test and comprehensive neuropsychological examination. Results:Odor identification scores were progressively lower moving from normal older adult to SCD, MCI, and AD.