Accurate measurement of transcutaneous oxygen saturation is important for the assessment of cyanosis in CHD. Aim of this study was the evaluation of a supplementary transcutaneous oxygen saturation measurement with an Apple watch® in children with cyanotic heart disease.

During a six-minute walk test, measurement of transcutaneous oxygen saturation was performed simultaneously with an Oximeter (Nellcor, Medtronic, USA) and an Apple watch® Series 7 (Apple inc, USA) in 36 children with cyanotic heart disease.

Median age was 9.2 (IQR 5.7–13.8) years. Transcutaneous oxygen saturation measurement with the Apple watch® was possible in 35/36 and 34/36 subjects before and after six-minute walk test. Children, in whom Apple watch® measurement was not possible, had a transcutaneous oxygen saturation < 85% on oximeter. Before six-minute walk test, median transcutaneous oxygen saturation was 93 (IQR 91–97) % measured by oximeter and 95 (IQR 93–96) % by the Apple watch®. After a median walking distance of 437 (IQR 360–487) m, transcutaneous oxygen saturation dropped to 92 (IQR 88–95, p < 0.001) % by oximeter and to 94 (IQR 90–96, p = 0.013) % measured with the Apple watch®.

In children with mild cyanosis measurement of transcutaneous oxygen saturation with an Apple watch® showed only valid results if transcutaneous oxygen saturation was > 85%, with higher values being measured with the smart watch. In children with moderate or severe cyanosis transcutaneous oxygen saturation, measurement with the Apple watch® was not reliable and cannot be recommended to monitor oxygen saturation at home.

INDUCT (Interdisciplinary Network for Dementia Using Current Technology), and DISTINCT (Dementia Inter-sectorial strategy for training and innovation network for current technology) are two Marie Sklodowska-Curie funded International Training Networks that aimed to develop a multi-disciplinary, inter-sectorial educational research framework for Europe to improve technology and care for people with dementia, and to provide the evidence to show how technology can improve the lives of people with dementia.

In INDUCT (2016-2020) 15 Early Stage Researchers worked on projects in the areas of Technology to support everyday life; technology to promote meaningful activities; and healthcare technology. In DISTINCT (2019-2023) 15 Early Stage Researchers worked on technology to promote Social health in three domains: fulfilling ones potential and obligations in society, managing one’s own life, and participation in social and other meaningful activities.

Both networks adopted three transversal objectives: 1) To determine practical, cognitive and social factors needed to make technology more useable for people with dementia; 2) To evaluate the effectiveness of specific contemporary technology; 3) To trace facilitators and barriers for implementation of technology in dementia care.

The main recommendations resulting from all research projects are integrated in a web-based digital Best Practice Guidance on Human Interaction with Technology in Dementia which was recently updated (Dec 2022 and June 2023) and will be presented at the congress. The recommendations are meant for different target groups, i.e. people in different stages of dementia, their (in)formal carers, policy makers, designers and researchers, who can easily find the recommendations relevant to them in the Best Practice Guidance by means of a digital selection tool.

The INDUCT/DISTINCT Best Practice Guidance informs on how to improve the development, usage, impact and implementation of technology for people with dementia in various technology areas. This Best Practice Guidance is the result of intensive collaborative partnership of INDUCT and DISTINCT with academic and non-academic partners as well as the involvement of representatives of the different target groups throughout the projects.

Blood-based biomarkers represent a scalable and accessible approach for the detection and monitoring of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Plasma phosphorylated tau (p-tau) and neurofilament light (NfL) are validated biomarkers for the detection of tau and neurodegenerative brain changes in AD, respectively. There is now emphasis to expand beyond these markers to detect and provide insight into the pathophysiological processes of AD. To this end, a reactive astrocytic marker, namely plasma glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), has been of interest. Yet, little is known about the relationship between plasma GFAP and AD. Here, we examined the association between plasma GFAP, diagnostic status, and neuropsychological test performance. Diagnostic accuracy of plasma GFAP was compared with plasma measures of p-tau181 and NfL.

This sample included 567 participants from the Boston University (BU) Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC) Longitudinal Clinical Core Registry, including individuals with normal cognition (n=234), mild cognitive impairment (MCI) (n=180), and AD dementia (n=153). The sample included all participants who had a blood draw. Participants completed a comprehensive neuropsychological battery (sample sizes across tests varied due to missingness). Diagnoses were adjudicated during multidisciplinary diagnostic consensus conferences. Plasma samples were analyzed using the Simoa platform. Binary logistic regression analyses tested the association between GFAP levels and diagnostic status (i.e., cognitively impaired due to AD versus unimpaired), controlling for age, sex, race, education, and APOE e4 status. Area under the curve (AUC) statistics from receiver operating characteristics (ROC) using predicted probabilities from binary logistic regression examined the ability of plasma GFAP to discriminate diagnostic groups compared with plasma p-tau181 and NfL. Linear regression models tested the association between plasma GFAP and neuropsychological test performance, accounting for the above covariates.

The mean (SD) age of the sample was 74.34 (7.54), 319 (56.3%) were female, 75 (13.2%) were Black, and 223 (39.3%) were APOE e4 carriers. Higher GFAP concentrations were associated with increased odds for having cognitive impairment (GFAP z-score transformed: OR=2.233, 95% CI [1.609, 3.099], p<0.001; non-z-transformed: OR=1.004, 95% CI [1.002, 1.006], p<0.001). ROC analyses, comprising of GFAP and the above covariates, showed plasma GFAP discriminated the cognitively impaired from unimpaired (AUC=0.75) and was similar, but slightly superior, to plasma p-tau181 (AUC=0.74) and plasma NfL (AUC=0.74). A joint panel of the plasma markers had greatest discrimination accuracy (AUC=0.76). Linear regression analyses showed that higher GFAP levels were associated with worse performance on neuropsychological tests assessing global cognition, attention, executive functioning, episodic memory, and language abilities (ps<0.001) as well as higher CDR Sum of Boxes (p<0.001).

Higher plasma GFAP levels differentiated participants with cognitive impairment from those with normal cognition and were associated with worse performance on all neuropsychological tests assessed. GFAP had similar accuracy in detecting those with cognitive impairment compared with p-tau181 and NfL, however, a panel of all three biomarkers was optimal. These results support the utility of plasma GFAP in AD detection and suggest the pathological processes it represents might play an integral role in the pathogenesis of AD.

Blood-based biomarkers offer a more feasible alternative to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) detection, management, and study of disease mechanisms than current in vivo measures. Given their novelty, these plasma biomarkers must be assessed against postmortem neuropathological outcomes for validation. Research has shown utility in plasma markers of the proposed AT(N) framework, however recent studies have stressed the importance of expanding this framework to include other pathways. There is promising data supporting the usefulness of plasma glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in AD, but GFAP-to-autopsy studies are limited. Here, we tested the association between plasma GFAP and AD-related neuropathological outcomes in participants from the Boston University (BU) Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC).

This sample included 45 participants from the BU ADRC who had a plasma sample within 5 years of death and donated their brain for neuropathological examination. Most recent plasma samples were analyzed using the Simoa platform. Neuropathological examinations followed the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center procedures and diagnostic criteria. The NIA-Reagan Institute criteria were used for the neuropathological diagnosis of AD. Measures of GFAP were log-transformed. Binary logistic regression analyses tested the association between GFAP and autopsy-confirmed AD status, as well as with semi-quantitative ratings of regional atrophy (none/mild versus moderate/severe) using binary logistic regression. Ordinal logistic regression analyses tested the association between plasma GFAP and Braak stage and CERAD neuritic plaque score. Area under the curve (AUC) statistics from receiver operating characteristics (ROC) using predicted probabilities from binary logistic regression examined the ability of plasma GFAP to discriminate autopsy-confirmed AD status. All analyses controlled for sex, age at death, years between last blood draw and death, and APOE e4 status.

Of the 45 brain donors, 29 (64.4%) had autopsy-confirmed AD. The mean (SD) age of the sample at the time of blood draw was 80.76 (8.58) and there were 2.80 (1.16) years between the last blood draw and death. The sample included 20 (44.4%) females, 41 (91.1%) were White, and 20 (44.4%) were APOE e4 carriers. Higher GFAP concentrations were associated with increased odds for having autopsy-confirmed AD (OR=14.12, 95% CI [2.00, 99.88], p=0.008). ROC analysis showed plasma GFAP accurately discriminated those with and without autopsy-confirmed AD on its own (AUC=0.75) and strengthened as the above covariates were added to the model (AUC=0.81). Increases in GFAP levels corresponded to increases in Braak stage (OR=2.39, 95% CI [0.71-4.07], p=0.005), but not CERAD ratings (OR=1.24, 95% CI [0.004, 2.49], p=0.051). Higher GFAP levels were associated with greater temporal lobe atrophy (OR=10.27, 95% CI [1.53,69.15], p=0.017), but this was not observed with any other regions.

The current results show that antemortem plasma GFAP is associated with non-specific AD neuropathological changes at autopsy. Plasma GFAP could be a useful and practical biomarker for assisting in the detection of AD-related changes, as well as for study of disease mechanisms.

Studying phenotypic and genetic characteristics of age at onset (AAO) and polarity at onset (PAO) in bipolar disorder can provide new insights into disease pathology and facilitate the development of screening tools.

To examine the genetic architecture of AAO and PAO and their association with bipolar disorder disease characteristics.

Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) and polygenic score (PGS) analyses of AAO (n = 12 977) and PAO (n = 6773) were conducted in patients with bipolar disorder from 34 cohorts and a replication sample (n = 2237). The association of onset with disease characteristics was investigated in two of these cohorts.

Earlier AAO was associated with a higher probability of psychotic symptoms, suicidality, lower educational attainment, not living together and fewer episodes. Depressive onset correlated with suicidality and manic onset correlated with delusions and manic episodes. Systematic differences in AAO between cohorts and continents of origin were observed. This was also reflected in single-nucleotide variant-based heritability estimates, with higher heritabilities for stricter onset definitions. Increased PGS for autism spectrum disorder (β = −0.34 years, s.e. = 0.08), major depression (β = −0.34 years, s.e. = 0.08), schizophrenia (β = −0.39 years, s.e. = 0.08), and educational attainment (β = −0.31 years, s.e. = 0.08) were associated with an earlier AAO. The AAO GWAS identified one significant locus, but this finding did not replicate. Neither GWAS nor PGS analyses yielded significant associations with PAO.

AAO and PAO are associated with indicators of bipolar disorder severity. Individuals with an earlier onset show an increased polygenic liability for a broad spectrum of psychiatric traits. Systematic differences in AAO across cohorts, continents and phenotype definitions introduce significant heterogeneity, affecting analyses.

No study systematically has investigated the supportive care needs of general head and neck cancer patients using validated measures. These needs include physical and daily living needs, health system and information needs, patient care and support needs, psychological needs, and sexuality needs. Identifying the unmet needs of head and neck cancer patients is a necessary first step to improving the care we provide to patients seen in our head and neck oncology clinics. It is recommended as the first step in intervention development in the Pan-Canadian Clinical Practice Guideline of the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer (see Howell, 2009). This study aimed to identify: (1) met and unmet supportive care needs of head and neck cancer patients, and (2) variability in needs according to demographics, disease variables, level of distress, and quality-of-life domains.

Participants were recruited from the otolaryngology–head and neck surgery clinics of two university teaching hospitals. Self-administered questionnaires included sociodemographic and medical questions, as well as validated measures such as the Supportive Care Needs Survey–Short Form (SCNS-SF34), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy–General (FACT-G) and Head and Neck Module (FACT-H&N) (quality of life measures).

One hundred and twenty-seven patients participated in the survey. 68% of them experienced unmet needs, and 25% revealed a clinically significant distress level on the HADS. The highest unmet needs were psychological (7 of top 10 needs). A multiple linear regression indicated a higher level of overall unmet needs when patients were divorced, had a high level of anxiety (HADS subscale), were in poor physical condition, or had a diminished emotional quality of life (FACT-G subscales).

The results of this study highlight the overwhelming presence of unmet psychological needs in head and neck cancer patients and underline the importance of implementing interventions to address these areas perceived by patients as important. In line with hospital resource allocation and cost-effectiveness, one may also contemplate screening patients for high levels of anxiety, as well as target patients who are divorced and present low levels of physical well-being, as these patients may have more overall needs to be met.