Decoding the Clinical Features that Associate with Progression, Causes, and Outcomes in Patients with Suspected Rapidly Progressive Dementia.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the clinical features that identify patients with suspected rapidly progressive dementia (RPD) who will develop RPD.

METHODS

Patients with suspected RPD were enrolled and followed at Mayo Clinic (Jacksonville, FL; January 2020 to October 2023) and Washington University (Saint Louis, MO; June 2016 to December 2019). Two dementia specialists independently reviewed clinical data and assigned diagnoses. Patients were diagnosed with RPD if they developed dementia within 1 year or incapacitation within 2 years of symptom onset. The associations between clinical features and causes and outcomes were explored via univariate and multivariate comparisons.

RESULTS

Of 248 patients with suspected RPD, 185 (74.6%) met criteria for RPD. Patients with RPD were older (62.6 ± 14.5 vs 55.2 ± 18.1 years; p < 0.001), and more frequently diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease or related dementias (OR 3.13, 95% CI 1.40, 7.31) or Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (OR 4.67, 95% CI 1.38, 15.75). Visual agnosia (15/183; 8.2%), substantial brain atrophy (27/182; 14.8%), and periodic epileptiform discharges (11/151; 7.3%) were exclusively detected in patients with RPD. After controlling for age, intensive care unit admission (OR 4.77, 95% CI 1.61, 14.12), lack of seizures (OR 2.47, 95% CI 1.15, 5.31), abnormal brain magnetic resonance imaging (OR 2.01, 95% CI 0.997, 4.05), and cerebrospinal fluid white blood cell count ≤5 cells/mm3 (OR 3.30, 95% CI 1.60, 6.82) were also independently associated with RPD. Patients with RPD were more likely to die or develop severe dementia (mean time to outcome, 36.1 months; 95% CI 31.2-41.0).

INTERPRETATION: Selected clinical features may identify patients with suspected RPD who are likely to continue to decline. Early recognition of these features may improve diagnostic accuracy and inform prognosis. ANN NEUROL 2025;98:764-776.