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Middle-Aged Children of Alzheimer Parents, A Pilot Study: Stable Neurocognitive Performance at 20-Year Follow-up

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences and Neuropsychiatric Institute and Hospital, VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, California, ljarvik{at}ucla.edu

Asenath La Rue, PhD

Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Institute, University of Wisconsin, Department of Medicine, Madison, Wisconsin

Izabella Gokhman, MD

Charles R. Drew University, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Los Angeles, California

Tracy Harrison, MA

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences and Neuropsychiatric Institute and Hospital, VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, California

Lori Holt, PhD

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences and Neuropsychiatric Institute and Hospital

Bill Steh, PhD

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences and Neuropsychiatric Institute and Hospital

Judith Harker, PhD

VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, California

Scott Larson, PhD

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences and Neuropsychiatric Institute and Hospital

Pauline Yaralian, PhD

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences and Neuropsychiatric Institute and Hospital

Steven Matsuyama, PhD

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences and Neuropsychiatric Institute and Hospital, VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, California

Natalie Rasgon, MD, PhD

Stanford School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Palo Alto, California

Daniel Geschwind, MD

UCLA Departments of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences and Neurology

Nelson Freimer, MD

UCLA Departments of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences & Human Genetics

Elvira Jimenez, MPH

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences and Neuropsychiatric Institute and Hospital, VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, California

Jeffrey Schaeffer, PhD

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences and Neuropsychiatric Institute and Hospital

The objective of this pilot study on a convenience sample of 25 offspring of Alzheimer patients (mean age 61.5 ± 8.8 years; range, 50-82) was the early detection of neurocognitive decline. This preliminary report appears to be the first one dealing with 20-year follow-up of neurocognitive data of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) children. Digit symbol (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale) was the only of 11 neurocognitive measures with a significant decline. And that decline between first and last testing (mean = 19.98 ± 0.30 years) was on raw scores, not scaled scores. Neither parents’ age at onset of AD nor autopsy confirmation or offspring APOE-e4 status influenced neurocognitive results. More robust data than currently available are needed to confirm the findings of this first pilot study and to determine both the trajectory of neurocognitive decline in AD and the risks of developing AD faced by children whose parent had the disease.

Key Words: Alzheimer’s disease • offspring • longitudinal • neurocognitive

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