[p4–178]: Cerebrovascular Risk and Hippocampal Thickness in Healthy Middle‐aged and Older Adults Without Dementia
Year: 2017
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: The relationship between cerebrovascular risk and pathological changes in Alzheimer's disease (AD) is well-established. Cerebrovascular risk can be measured using the Framingham Stroke Risk Profile (FSRP) score, a validated measure of 10-year stroke risk developed in the Framingham Heart Study, while MRI can measure structural changes in the brain related to progression of AD. In healthy, cognitively-intact people, structural and functional brain changes associated with cardiovascular risk factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes, or other vascular risk factors, suggest regional susceptibility to neuronal damage. For this study, we chose to investigate whether cerebrovascular risk factors influenced regional cortical thinning within the medial temporal lobe (MTL) and cognitive performance in healthy middle-aged and older adults. We enrolled 82 non-demented, generally healthy subjects (mean age = 64.2) [n=42 cognitively-intact subjects; n=40 with mild cognitive impairment (MCI)]. We used the FSRP score to assess cerebrovascular risk. Subjects underwent APOE genetic testing, high-resolution structural MRI, and neuropsychological testing. Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated for the interaction between cortical thickness in MTL subregions and FSRP scores using the log transformation. Subjects with lower cerebrovascular risk had higher scores in all domains of cognitive function compared to the higher risk group [-0.74 (95% confidence interval: -1.22, -.43)]. Additionally, after controlling for family history of AD, education and APOE-4 status in a general linear model, higher cerebrovascular risk and thinner cortex within CA fields 2,3 and the dentate gyrus (CA23DG) and CA field 1 of the MTL was associated with poorer cognitive performance (r = -0.52, p = .001). Including age, blood pressure, and use of medication for hypertension in the model, we found that age was significantly associated with cognitive function. Our results suggest that in our healthy volunteers, age, blood pressure and antihypertensive medication use were vascular risks that contributed to cognitive changes in multiple domains and structural differences within the MTL. These findings suggest that even mild cerebrovascular risk may influence the extent of cognitive changes in prodromal stages of AD and be related to structural changes in susceptible brain areas.
Source: Alzheimer s & Dementia
Institution: University of California, Los Angeles
Language: English
Subfield: Psychiatry and Mental health
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2765549947