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Major Surgery Affects Memory in Individuals with Cerebral Amyloid-beta Pathology

Lage, Carmen; Gonzalez-Suarez, Andrea; Puerto Alcalde-Hierro, Maria; Isabel Sampedro-Gonzalez, Maria; Angeles Villanueva-Eguaras, Maria; Ruben Sanchez-Crespo, Manuel; Widmann, Catherine; Brosseron, Frederic; Pozueta, Ana; Lopez-Garcia, Sara; Garcia-Martine

JOURNAL OF ALZHEIMERS DISEASE
2021
VL / 79 - BP / 863 - EP / 874
abstract
Background: Major surgery has been associated with perioperative neurocognitive disorders (PND), but the contributing factors and long-term prognosis are uncertain. We hypothesize that preclinical Alzheimer's disease (AD) might predispose to cognitive deterioration after surgery. Objective: To analyze the effect of amyloid-beta on the cognitive trajectory after orthopedic surgery in a sample of non-demented subjects. Methods: Non-demented individuals older than 65 years that were on the waiting list for orthopedic surgery with spinal anesthesia underwent a neuropsychological assessment before and after surgery. During surgery, cerebrospinal fluid samples were obtained to determine AD biomarkers. Results: Cumulative incidence of PND was 55.2% during a mean follow-up of nine months. The most affected cognitive domains were executive function and constructional praxis. The presence of abnormal levels of amyloid-beta was associated to a postoperative impairment in verbal and visual memory tests. According to their AD biomarker profile, participants were categorized as either Amyloid Positive (A+) or Amyloid Negative (A-). The incidence of PND did not differ between both groups. The A- group showed a tendency similar to the global sample, worsening in executive function tests and improving on memory scales due to practice effects. In contrast, the A + group showed a notable worsening on memory performance. Conclusion: Our findings support the hypothesis that surgery may promote or accelerate memory decline in cognitively asymptomatic subjects with brain amyloid-beta deposits.

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