Impact of motor dysfunction on neuropsychiatric symptom profile in patients with autopsy-confirmed Alzheimer’s disease

Abstract

Motor dysfunction, which includes changes in gait, balance, and/or functional mobility, is a lesser-known feature of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), especially as it relates to the development of neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS). This study (1) compared rates of NPS between autopsy-confirmed AD patients with and without early-onset motor dysfunction and (2) compared rates of non-AD dementia autopsy pathology (Lewy Body disease, Frontotemporal Lobar degeneration) between these groups. This retrospective longitudinal cohort study utilized National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center (NACC) data. Participants (N = 856) were required to have moderate-to-severe autopsy-confirmed AD, Clinical Dementia Rating-Global scores of ≤1 at their index visit, and NPS and clinician-rated motor data. Early motor dysfunction was associated with significantly higher NPI-Q total scores (T = 4.48, p < .001) and higher odds of delusions (OR [95%CI]: 1.73 [1.02–2.96]), hallucinations (2.45 [1.35–4.56]), depression (1.51 [1.11–2.06]), irritability (1.50 [1.09–2.08]), apathy (1.70 [1.24–2.36]), anxiety (1.38 [1.01–1.90]), nighttime behaviors (1.98 [1.40–2.81]), and appetite/eating problems (1.56 [1.09–2.25]). Early motor dysfunction was also associated with higher Lewy Body disease pathology (1.41 [1.03–1.93]), but not Frontotemporal Lobar degeneration (1.10 [0.71–1.69]), on autopsy. Our results suggest that motor symptoms in early AD are associated with a higher number and severity of NPS, which may be partially explained by comorbid non-AD neuropathology.

Keywords:

• Motor dysfunction
• neuropsychiatric symptoms
• Alzheimer’s disease

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the staff and participants of the NACC study for their important contributions.

Disclosures

PBR has received research grants from the National Institutes of Aging, Alzheimer’s Clinical Trials Consortium, Richman Family Precision Medicine Center of Excellence on Alzheimer’s Disease, Eisai, Functional Neuromodulation, and Lilly; honoraria from GLG, Leerink, Cerevel, Cerevance, Bioxcel, Sunovion, Acadia, Medalink, Novo Nordisk, Noble Insights, TwoLabs, Otsuka, Lundbeck, Acadia, MedaCorp, ExpertConnect, HMP Global, Sinaptica, Synaptogenix, and Neurology Week. PBR has received grant support from National Institute on Aging included AGRO1054771, AGRO1050515, and AGRO1046543.

Disclosure statement

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

Data availability statement

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study can be made available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

The NACC database is funded by NIA/NIH Grant U24 AG072122. NACC data are contributed by the NIA-funded ADRCs: P30 AG062429 (PI James Brewer, MD, PhD), P30 AG066468 (PI Oscar Lopez, MD), P30 AG062421 (PI Bradley Hyman, MD, PhD), P30 AG066509 (PI Thomas Grabowski, MD), P30 AG066514 (PI Mary Sano, PhD), P30 AG066530 (PI Helena Chui, MD), P30 AG066507 (PI Marilyn Albert, PhD), P30 AG066444 (PI John Morris, MD), P30 AG066518 (PI Jeffrey Kaye, MD), P30 AG066512 (PI Thomas Wisniewski, MD), P30 AG066462 (PI Scott Small, MD), P30 AG072979 (PI David Wolk, MD), P30 AG072972 (PI Charles DeCarli, MD), P30 AG072976 (PI Andrew Saykin, PsyD), P30 AG072975 (PI David Bennett, MD), P30 AG072978 (PI Neil Kowall, MD), P30 AG072977 (PI Robert Vassar, PhD), P30 AG066519 (PI Frank LaFerla, PhD), P30 AG062677 (PI Ronald Petersen, MD, PhD), P30 AG079280 (PI Eric Reiman, MD), P30 AG062422 (PI Gil Rabinovici, MD), P30 AG066511 (PI Allan Levey, MD, PhD), P30 AG072946 (PI Linda Van Eldik, PhD), P30 AG062715 (PI Sanjay Asthana, MD, FRCP), P30 AG072973 (PI Russell Swerdlow, MD), P30 AG066506 (PI Todd Golde, MD, PhD), P30 AG066508 (PI Stephen Strittmatter, MD, PhD), P30 AG066515 (PI Victor Henderson, MD, MS), P30 AG072947 (PI Suzanne Craft, PhD), P30 AG072931 (PI Henry Paulson, MD, PhD), P30 AG066546 (PI Sudha Seshadri, MD), P20 AG068024 (PI Erik Roberson, MD, PhD), P20 AG068053 (PI Justin Miller, PhD), P20 AG068077 (PI Gary Rosenberg, MD), P20 AG068082 (PI Angela Jefferson, PhD), P30 AG072958 (PI Heather Whitson, MD), P30 AG072959 (PI James Leverenz, MD).