S42. Functional Connectivity of the Locus Coeruleus Identifies Individuals at Familial Risk for Alzheimer's Disease

INÉS DEL CERRO; BÁRBARA DUARTE-ABRITTA; HERNÁN BOCACCIO; GUSTAVO SEVLEVER; CAROLINA ABULAFIA; MARIANA N. CASTRO; JOSÉ M. MENCHÓN; SALVADOR M. GUINJOAN; MIRTA F. VILLARREAL; STELLA M. SÁNCHEZ; ISIDRO FERRER; CARLES SORIANO-MAS

Chicago

Congreso; Society of Biological Psychiatry 74th Annual Meeting; 2019

Background: Prevention and early treatment strategies for Alzheimer´s Disease (AD) are hampered by the lack of risk biomarkers. Neuropsathological changes in de Locus Coeruleus (LC) are detected early in AD, and noradrenaline plays a neuroprotective role in LC projecting areas. We assessed functional connectivity (FC) of the brainstem in asymptomatic individuals at familial risk for AD hypothesizing that FC of the LC will be decreased in relation to non-at-risk individuals. Methods: 31 offspring of patients with late-onset AD (O-LOAD) and 28 controls underwent a neuropsychological evaluation and a resting state functional MRI acquisition. In FC analysses we evaluated whole-brain global connectivity of the brainstem area, and subsequently assessed seed-to-voxel FC patterns from regions showing between-group differences.Results: O-LOAD scored worse in the MMSE and the RAVLT verbal recognition and delayed recall (pFDR