Dopamine transporter availability in clinically normal aging is associated with individual differences in white matter integrity.

ABSTRACT: Aging-related differences in white matter integrity, the presence of amyloid plaques, and density of biomarkers indicative of dopamine functions can be detected and quantified with in vivo human imaging. The primary aim of the present study was to investigate whether these imaging-based measures constitute independent imaging biomarkers in older adults, which would speak to the hypothesis that the aging brain is characterized by multiple independent neurobiological cascades. We assessed MRI-based markers of white matter integrity and PET-based marker of dopamine transporter density and amyloid deposition in the same set of 53 clinically normal individuals (age 65-87). A multiple regression analysis demonstrated that dopamine transporter availability is predicted by white matter integrity,

SUBMITTER: Rieckmann A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4729206 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature