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INTRODUCTION: Recent work suggests that amyloid beta (Aβ) positron emission tomography (PET) tracer uptake shortly after injection ("early phase") reflects brain metabolism and perfusion. We assessed this modality in a predominantly amyloid‐negative neurodegenerative condition, Parkinson's disease (PD), and hypothesized that early‐phase 18F‐florbetaben (eFBB) uptake would reproduce characteristic hypometabolism and hypoperfusion patterns associated with cognitive decline in PD. METHODS: One hundred fifteen PD patients across the spectrum of cognitive impairment underwent dual‐phase Aβ PET, structural and arterial spin labeling (ASL) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and neuropsychological assessments. Multiple linear regression models compared eFBB uptake to cognitive performance and ASL MRI perfusion. RESULTS: Reduced eFBB uptake was associated with cognitive performance in brain regions previously linked to hypometabolism‐associated cognitive decline in PD, independent of amyloid status. Furthermore, eFBB uptake correlated with cerebral perfusion across widespread regions. DISCUSSION: EFBB uptake is a potential surrogate measure for cerebral perfusion/metabolism. A dual‐phase PET imaging approach may serve as a clinical tool for assessing cognitive impairment. Highlights: Images taken at amyloid beta (Aβ) positron emission tomography tracer injection may reflect brain perfusion and metabolism.Parkinson's disease (PD) is a predominantly amyloid‐negative condition.Early‐phase florbetaben (eFBB) in PD was associated with cognitive performance.eFBB uptake reflects hypometabolism‐related cognitive decline in PD.eFBB correlated with arterial spin labeling magnetic resonance imaging measured cerebral perfusion.eFBB distinguished dementia from normal cognition and mild cognitive impairment.Findings were independent of late‐phase Aβ burden.Thus, eFBB may serve as a surrogate measure for brain metabolism/perfusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe the New Zealand Parkinson's Progression Programme (NZP3), its goals, findings, and future plans. To date, 354 people with Parkinson's disease and 89 healthy older controls have participated over a 14-year period. A major focus of the programme has been the characterisation of current cognitive impairment, and the identification of biomarkers for its future emergence in people with Parkinson's. The programme has made significant contributions to the concept of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in Parkinson's and the development and validation of standardised criteria for it. Brain imaging, both MRI and PET, has also been a focus, showing associations between increasing brain pathology and declining cognitive function. Additional biomarkers such as genetics, fluid biomarkers, eye movement, speech, and quantitative electroencephalography (EEG) are also under investigation. The programme has become a platform supporting many other avenues of research, from investigating the personal impacts of caregiver burden through to national-level epidemiology. To date, the programme has led to multiple journal publications and 17 completed and 9 ongoing PhDs, and many other postgraduate theses. It has led to the development of a skilled core of early-career through to senior researchers and clinicians. We discuss the future directions for the programme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Up to 90% of people with Parkinson's disease (PD) develop communication difficulties over the course of the disease. While the negative effect of dysarthria on communicative participation has been well-documented, the impact of the occurrence of acquired stuttered disfluencies on communication in different speech situations is unknown. This study aimed to determine if the frequency of occurrence of stuttered disfluencies affects communicative participation in individuals with PD, and whether such a relationship is mediated by examiner- and self-rated measures of disease severity., Method: Conversational speech samples were collected from 100 people with PD aged 53-91 years to calculate the frequency of occurrence of stuttered disfluencies. Participants completed the Communicative Participation Item Bank to assess participation in communicative situations. Information on overall speech, cognitive, and motor performance was collected using both self-rated and examiner-rated methods., Results: Participants with PD presented with 0.2%-9.9% stuttered disfluencies during conversation. Overall, participants with PD reported their communicative participation to be impacted "a little" (19.5 ± 7.0), but there was considerable interindividual variation. A higher frequency of stuttered disfluencies was associated with significantly lower communicative participation (ρ = -0.32, p < .01). In addition, examiner-rated frequency of stuttered disfluencies ( p < .01), speech ( p < .01), and motor severity ( p = .04) were all significant predictors of communicative participation. Using self-ratings, speech ( p < .01) and cognitive ( p < .01) measures significantly predicted communicative participation., Conclusions: In people with PD, communicative participation was significantly worse for those with a higher frequency of stuttered disfluencies. Examiner- and self-rated measures of disease severity contributed different information related to communicative constraints. Together, these results highlight the importance of individualized and holistic speech therapy that considers a wide variety of symptoms, including stuttered disfluencies, to ensure positive functional outcomes., Supplemental Material: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.26850169.

Introduction: Recent work suggests that amyloid beta (Aβ) positron emission tomography (PET) tracer uptake shortly after injection ("early phase") reflects brain metabolism and perfusion. We assessed this modality in a predominantly amyloid-negative neurodegenerative condition, Parkinson's disease (PD), and hypothesized that early-phase 18 F-florbetaben (eFBB) uptake would reproduce characteristic hypometabolism and hypoperfusion patterns associated with cognitive decline in PD., Methods: One hundred fifteen PD patients across the spectrum of cognitive impairment underwent dual-phase Aβ PET, structural and arterial spin labeling (ASL) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and neuropsychological assessments. Multiple linear regression models compared eFBB uptake to cognitive performance and ASL MRI perfusion., Results: Reduced eFBB uptake was associated with cognitive performance in brain regions previously linked to hypometabolism-associated cognitive decline in PD, independent of amyloid status. Furthermore, eFBB uptake correlated with cerebral perfusion across widespread regions., Discussion: EFBB uptake is a potential surrogate measure for cerebral perfusion/metabolism. A dual-phase PET imaging approach may serve as a clinical tool for assessing cognitive impairment., Highlights: Images taken at amyloid beta (Aβ) positron emission tomography tracer injection may reflect brain perfusion and metabolism.Parkinson's disease (PD) is a predominantly amyloid-negative condition.Early-phase florbetaben (eFBB) in PD was associated with cognitive performance.eFBB uptake reflects hypometabolism-related cognitive decline in PD.eFBB correlated with arterial spin labeling magnetic resonance imaging measured cerebral perfusion.eFBB distinguished dementia from normal cognition and mild cognitive impairment.Findings were independent of late-phase Aβ burden.Thus, eFBB may serve as a surrogate measure for brain metabolism/perfusion., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest related to this research. The principal author confirms that all authors have read the manuscript, and the paper has not previously been published or is under consideration at another journal. The authors take full responsibility for the data, analyses, and interpretation, and the conduct of the research, and have full access to all the data and the right to publish it. All authors have agreed to the conditions noted on the authorship agreement form., (© 2024 The Author(s). Alzheimer's & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Alzheimer's Association.)