Predicting biomarkers in intact older adults and those with amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment, and mild Alzheimer’s Disease using the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status

Introduction: The Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) has been associated, to varying degrees, with commonly used biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Given the ease of RBANS administration as a screening tool for clinical trials and other applications, a better understanding of how RBANS performance is associated with presence of APOE ε4 allele[s], cerebral amyloid burden, and hippocampal volume is warranted. Method: One hundred twenty-one older adults who were classified as intact, amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment, or mild AD underwent cognitive assessment with the RBANS, genetic analysis, and quantitative brain imaging. APOE ε4 carrier status, ¹⁸F-Flutemetamol composite standardized uptake value ratio (SUVR), and hippocampal volume were each regressed on demographic variables and RBANS Total Scale score, Index scores, and subtest scores. Results: Lower RBANS Total Scale score or Delayed Memory Index (DMI) predicted the presence of APOE ε4 allele[s], higher cerebral amyloid burden, and lower hippocampal volumes. DMI was a slightly better predictor than Total Scale score for most AD biomarkers. No demographic variables consistently contributed to these models. Conclusions: The RBANS–DMI in particular–is sensitive to AD pathology. As such, it could be used as a predictive tool, particularly in clinical drug trials to enrich samples prior to less accessible AD biomarker investigation.