Change on the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status and its relationship to brain amyloid

ABSTRACT

Background

The Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) has been associated with commonly used biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), including brain amyloid plaque density. However, less is known about if changes in the RBANS across time are also related to brain amyloid deposition. The current study sought to expand on prior work by examining the relationship between changes over time on the RBANS and amyloid deposition via positron emission tomography (PET).

Method

One-hundred twenty-six older adults with intact or impaired cognition and daily functioning underwent repeat assessment with the RBANS across nearly 16 months, as well as had a baseline amyloid PET scan.

Results

In the entire sample, amyloid deposition was significantly related to change on all five Indexes and the Total Scale score of the RBANS, with greater amyloid being associated with worsening cognition. This pattern was also observed in 11 of 12 subtests.

Conclusions

Whereas prior studies have identified a relationship between baseline RBANS and amyloid status, the current findings support that changes in the RBANS are also indicative of AD brain pathology, even if these findings are mediated by cognitive status. Although replication in a more diverse sample is needed, these results continue to support the use of the RBANS in AD clinical trials.

KEYWORDS:

• Alzheimer’s disease
• mild cognitive impairment
• brain imaging
• amyloid
• neuropsychological testing

Acknowledgments

The project described was supported by research grants from the National Institutes on Aging: R01AG055428, and it was registered at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT03466736). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute on Aging or the National Institutes of Health. This project also utilized REDCap, which is supported by 8UL1TR000105 (formerly UL1RR025764) NCATS/NIH.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Institute on Aging [R01AG055428].