Work

Relationships Between Myeloperoxidase and the Cognitive and Neuroimaging Correlates of Mild Vascular Cognitive Impairment

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: Mild vascular cognitive impairment (mVCI), the most prevalent form of vascular cognitive impairment, presents with both cognitive impairment and vascular dysfunction, but the underlying disease pathophysiology is not well understood. Building upon the role of the innate immune system in cognitive and vascular disorders, this thesis explores the associations of myeloperoxidase (MPO), a neutrophil specific inflammatory protein marker, with disease markers of mVCI, specifically cognition and neural white matter damage. In n= 27 patients, elevated plasma MPO was related to decreased verbal memory (β= -2.284, p=0.035), after controlling for education and body mass index. Contrarily, elevated MPO was associated with higher periventricular white matter hyperintensity volumes (β= 0.744, p=0.028), before controlling for age and resting systolic blood pressure. The results of this study suggest that MPO may be involved in the pathophysiology of mVCI and may be facilitating its effects on cognition via affecting the neuroimaging correlates of the disease.

Source: Cerebral Circulation - Cognition and Behavior

DOI: 10.1016/j.cccb.2022.100074