Dataset Information

Neuroimaging and biomarker evidence of neurodegeneration in asthma.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Epidemiologic studies have shown that Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related dementias (ADRD) are seen more frequently with asthma, especially with greater asthma severity or exacerbation frequency.

Objective

To examine the changes in brain structure that may underlie this phenomenon, we examined diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) and blood-based biomarkers of AD (phosphorylated tau 181, p-Tau181), neurodegeneration (neurofilament light chain, NfL), and glial activation (glial fibrillary acidic protein, GFAP).

Methods

dMRI data were obtained in 111 individuals with asthma, ranging in disease severity from mild to severe, and 135 healthy controls. Regression analyses were used to test the relationships between asthma severity and neuroimaging measures, as well as AD pathology, neurodegeneration, and glial activation, indexed by plasma p-Tau181, NfL, and GFAP, respectively. Additional relationships were tested with cognitive function.

Results

Asthma participants had widespread and large-magnitude differences in several dMRI metrics, which were indicative of neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration, and which were robustly associated with GFAP and, to a lesser extent, NfL. The AD biomarker p-Tau181 was only minimally associated with neuroimaging outcomes. Further, asthma severity was associated with deleterious changes in neuroimaging outcomes, which in turn were associated with slower processing speed, a test of cognitive performance.

Conclusions

Asthma, particularly when severe, is associated with characteristics of neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration, and may be a potential risk factor for neural injury and cognitive dysfunction. There is a need to determine how asthma may affect brain health and whether treatment directed toward characteristics of asthma associated with these risks can mitigate these effects.

SUBMITTER: Rosenkranz MA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8821112 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Neuroimaging and biomarker evidence of neurodegeneration in asthma.

Rosenkranz Melissa A MA Dean Douglas C DC Bendlin Barbara B BB Jarjour Nizar N NN Esnault Stephane S Zetterberg Henrik H Heslegrave Amanda A Evans Michael D MD Davidson Richard J RJ Busse William W WW

The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology 20210915 2

<h4>Background</h4>Epidemiologic studies have shown that Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related dementias (ADRD) are seen more frequently with asthma, especially with greater asthma severity or exacerbation frequency.<h4>Objective</h4>To examine the changes in brain structure that may underlie this phenomenon, we examined diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) and blood-based biomarkers of AD (phosphorylated tau 181, p-Tau181), neurodegeneration (neurofilament light chain, NfL), and ...[more]

PMID: 34536414

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Dataset Information

Neuroimaging and biomarker evidence of neurodegeneration in asthma.

Background

Objective

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Neuroimaging and biomarker evidence of neurodegeneration in asthma.

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