Definite behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia with C9ORF72 expansions despite positive Alzheimer's disease cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers

J Alzheimers Dis. 2012;32(1):19-22. doi: 10.3233/JAD-2012-120877.

Abstract

Hexanucleotide expansion repeats in the C9ORF72 gene are a major cause of familial and, to a lesser extent, sporadic frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and FTLD-ALS. To examine whether C9ORF72 expansions could be involved in early-onset Alzheimer's disease (EOAD), we genotyped the hexanucleotide repeat region in a large cohort of 114 EOAD patients who all had positive AD cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers. We found hexanucleotide expansion repeats of the C9ORF72 gene in 3 out of 114 patients (2.6%). We raise several hypotheses to explain our results and discuss the current status of AD CSF biomarkers in the dementia diagnostic algorithm.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Age of Onset
  • Aged
  • Alzheimer Disease / cerebrospinal fluid
  • Alzheimer Disease / genetics*
  • Alzheimer Disease / psychology*
  • Amyloid beta-Peptides / cerebrospinal fluid
  • Apolipoproteins E / cerebrospinal fluid
  • Biomarkers / cerebrospinal fluid
  • C9orf72 Protein
  • Cohort Studies
  • Frontotemporal Dementia / genetics*
  • Frontotemporal Dementia / psychology*
  • Genotype
  • Humans
  • Microsatellite Repeats
  • Middle Aged
  • Proteins / genetics*
  • tau Proteins / cerebrospinal fluid

Substances

  • Amyloid beta-Peptides
  • Apolipoproteins E
  • Biomarkers
  • C9orf72 Protein
  • C9orf72 protein, human
  • Proteins
  • tau Proteins