Editorial
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Sep 26, 2024; 12(27): 6004-6006
Published online Sep 26, 2024. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v12.i27.6004
Predictors of prognosis in Alzheimer’s disease: The role of cognitive dysfunction, immune abnormalities, and advanced neuroimaging
Hafsa Arshad Raja, Abdulqadir J Nashwan
Hafsa Arshad Raja, Rawalpindi Medical University, Rawalpindi 46000, Pakistan
Abdulqadir J Nashwan, Department of Nursing, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha 3050, Qatar
Author contributions: Raja HA contributed to the manuscript's writing, editing, and literature review; Nashwan AJ contributed to the manuscript's writing, editing, and literature review.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Abdulqadir J Nashwan, MSc, Research Scientist, Department of Nursing, Hamad Medical Corporation, Rayyan Road, Doha 3050, Qatar. anashwan@hamad.qa
Received: February 5, 2024
Revised: May 18, 2024
Accepted: June 14, 2024
Published online: September 26, 2024
Processing time: 174 Days and 15.6 Hours
Abstract

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a grave illness that results in cognitive and social issues. A recent study examined the association between neuroimaging results, cognitive dysfunction, atypical cellular immune function, and poor prognostic factors in AD patients who demonstrated poor prognosis. Poor prognosis was associated with abnormal cellular immune function, extrapyramidal symptoms, altered consciousness, abnormal electroencephalogram, modified Rankin scale, increased neutrophil lymphocyte ratio, and severe pneumonia. The impaired cellular immune function characterized by a reduction in the blood T lymphocytes’ proportion predicted poor prognosis as an independent risk factor in AD. Early initiation and maintenance of AD medications is associated with better outcomes.

Keywords: Amyloid beta peptide, Alzheimer's disease, Dementia, Cellular immunity, Prognosis, T lymphocytes, Magnetic resonance spectroscopy

Core Tip: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a serious condition leading to cognitive and social challenges. A recent study found that poor prognosis in AD patients is linked to abnormal cellular immune function, extrapyramidal symptoms, altered consciousness, abnormal electroencephalogram, increased neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio, and severe pneumonia. Impaired cellular immune function, particularly reduced T lymphocytes in the blood, is an independent predictor of poor prognosis. Early and continuous use of AD medications is associated with better outcomes.