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Association of Cerebrovascular and Alzheimer Disease Biomarkers With Cholinergic White Matter Degeneration in Cognitively Unimpaired Individuals

Cedres, Nira ; Ferreira, Daniel ; Nemy, Milan ; Machado, Alejandra ; Pereira, Joana B. LU ; Shams, Sara ; Wahlund, Lars Olof ; Zettergren, Anna ; Stepankova, Olga and Vyslouzilova, Lenka , et al. (2022) In Neurology 99(15). p.1619-1629
Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Several pathologic processes might contribute to the degeneration of the cholinergic system in aging. We aimed to determine the contribution of amyloid, tau, and cerebrovascular biomarkers toward the degeneration of cholinergic white matter (WM) projections in cognitively unimpaired individuals. METHODS: The contribution of amyloid and tau pathology was assessed through CSF levels of the Aβ42/40 ratio and phosphorylated tau (p-tau). CSF Aβ38 levels were also measured. Cerebrovascular pathology was assessed using automatic segmentations of WM lesions (WMLs) on MRI. Cholinergic WM projections (i.e., cingulum and external capsule pathways) were modeled using tractography based on diffusion tensor imaging data.... (More)

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Several pathologic processes might contribute to the degeneration of the cholinergic system in aging. We aimed to determine the contribution of amyloid, tau, and cerebrovascular biomarkers toward the degeneration of cholinergic white matter (WM) projections in cognitively unimpaired individuals. METHODS: The contribution of amyloid and tau pathology was assessed through CSF levels of the Aβ42/40 ratio and phosphorylated tau (p-tau). CSF Aβ38 levels were also measured. Cerebrovascular pathology was assessed using automatic segmentations of WM lesions (WMLs) on MRI. Cholinergic WM projections (i.e., cingulum and external capsule pathways) were modeled using tractography based on diffusion tensor imaging data. Sex and APOE ε4 carriership were also included in the analysis as variables of interest. RESULTS: We included 203 cognitively unimpaired individuals from the H70 Gothenburg Birth Cohort Studies (all individuals aged 70 years, 51% female). WM lesion burden was the most important contributor to the degeneration of both cholinergic pathways (increase in mean square error [IncMSE] = 98.8% in the external capsule pathway and IncMSE = 93.3% in the cingulum pathway). Levels of Aβ38 and p-tau also contributed to cholinergic WM degeneration, especially in the external capsule pathway (IncMSE = 28.4% and IncMSE = 23.4%, respectively). The Aβ42/40 ratio did not contribute notably to the models (IncMSE<3.0%). APOE ε4 carriers showed poorer integrity in the cingulum pathway (IncMSE = 21.33%). Women showed poorer integrity of the external capsule pathway (IncMSE = 21.55%), which was independent of amyloid status as reflected by the nonsignificant differences in integrity when comparing amyloid-positive vs amyloid-negative women participants (T201 = -1.55; p = 0.123). DISCUSSION: In cognitively unimpaired older individuals, WMLs play a central role in the degeneration of cholinergic pathways. Our findings highlight the importance of WM lesion burden in the elderly population, which should be considered in the development of prevention programs for neurodegeneration and cognitive impairment.

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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Neurology
volume
99
issue
15
pages
1619 - 1629
publisher
Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
external identifiers
  • pmid:35918153
  • scopus:85139526127
ISSN
1526-632X
DOI
10.1212/WNL.0000000000200930
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
861342b3-939d-4fc8-b4a9-6bc033b9df70
date added to LUP
2022-12-13 15:52:17
date last changed
2024-04-04 14:14:49
@article{861342b3-939d-4fc8-b4a9-6bc033b9df70,
  abstract     = {{<p>BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Several pathologic processes might contribute to the degeneration of the cholinergic system in aging. We aimed to determine the contribution of amyloid, tau, and cerebrovascular biomarkers toward the degeneration of cholinergic white matter (WM) projections in cognitively unimpaired individuals. METHODS: The contribution of amyloid and tau pathology was assessed through CSF levels of the Aβ42/40 ratio and phosphorylated tau (p-tau). CSF Aβ38 levels were also measured. Cerebrovascular pathology was assessed using automatic segmentations of WM lesions (WMLs) on MRI. Cholinergic WM projections (i.e., cingulum and external capsule pathways) were modeled using tractography based on diffusion tensor imaging data. Sex and APOE ε4 carriership were also included in the analysis as variables of interest. RESULTS: We included 203 cognitively unimpaired individuals from the H70 Gothenburg Birth Cohort Studies (all individuals aged 70 years, 51% female). WM lesion burden was the most important contributor to the degeneration of both cholinergic pathways (increase in mean square error [IncMSE] = 98.8% in the external capsule pathway and IncMSE = 93.3% in the cingulum pathway). Levels of Aβ38 and p-tau also contributed to cholinergic WM degeneration, especially in the external capsule pathway (IncMSE = 28.4% and IncMSE = 23.4%, respectively). The Aβ42/40 ratio did not contribute notably to the models (IncMSE&lt;3.0%). APOE ε4 carriers showed poorer integrity in the cingulum pathway (IncMSE = 21.33%). Women showed poorer integrity of the external capsule pathway (IncMSE = 21.55%), which was independent of amyloid status as reflected by the nonsignificant differences in integrity when comparing amyloid-positive vs amyloid-negative women participants (T201 = -1.55; p = 0.123). DISCUSSION: In cognitively unimpaired older individuals, WMLs play a central role in the degeneration of cholinergic pathways. Our findings highlight the importance of WM lesion burden in the elderly population, which should be considered in the development of prevention programs for neurodegeneration and cognitive impairment.</p>}},
  author       = {{Cedres, Nira and Ferreira, Daniel and Nemy, Milan and Machado, Alejandra and Pereira, Joana B. and Shams, Sara and Wahlund, Lars Olof and Zettergren, Anna and Stepankova, Olga and Vyslouzilova, Lenka and Eriksdotter, Maria and Teipel, Stefan and Grothe, Michel J. and Blennow, Kaj and Zetterberg, Henrik and Schöll, Michael and Kern, Silke and Skoog, Ingmar and Westman, Eric}},
  issn         = {{1526-632X}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{10}},
  number       = {{15}},
  pages        = {{1619--1629}},
  publisher    = {{Lippincott Williams & Wilkins}},
  series       = {{Neurology}},
  title        = {{Association of Cerebrovascular and Alzheimer Disease Biomarkers With Cholinergic White Matter Degeneration in Cognitively Unimpaired Individuals}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000200930}},
  doi          = {{10.1212/WNL.0000000000200930}},
  volume       = {{99}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}