Dataset Information

Contribution of white matter hyperintensities to ventricular enlargement in older adults.

ABSTRACT: Lateral ventricles might increase due to generalized tissue loss related to brain atrophy. Alternatively, they may expand into areas of tissue loss related to white matter hyperintensities (WMH). We assessed longitudinal associations between lateral ventricle and WMH volumes, accounting for total brain volume, blood pressure, history of stroke, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and smoking at ages 73, 76 and 79, in participants from the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936, including MRI data from all available time points. Lateral ventricle volume increased steadily with age, WMH volume change was more variable. WMH volume decreased in 20% and increased in remaining subjects. Over 6 years, lateral ventricle volume increased by 3% per year of age, 0.1% per mm Hg increase in blood pressure, 3.2% per 1% decrease of total brain volume, and 4.5% per 1% increase of WMH volume. Over time, lateral ventricle volumes were 19% smaller in women than men. Ventricular and WMH volume changes are modestly associated and independent of general brain atrophy, suggesting that their underlying processes do not fully overlap.

SUBMITTER: Jochems ACC

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9062739 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Contribution of white matter hyperintensities to ventricular enlargement in older adults.

Jochems Angela C C ACC Muñoz Maniega Susana S Del C Valdés Hernández Maria M Barclay Gayle G Anblagan Devasuda D Ballerini Lucia L Meijboom Rozanna R Wiseman Stewart S Taylor Adele M AM Corley Janie J Chappell Francesca M FM Backhouse Ellen V EV Stringer Michael S MS Dickie David Alexander DA Bastin Mark E ME Deary Ian J IJ Cox Simon R SR Wardlaw Joanna M JM

NeuroImage. Clinical 20220426

Lateral ventricles might increase due to generalized tissue loss related to brain atrophy. Alternatively, they may expand into areas of tissue loss related to white matter hyperintensities (WMH). We assessed longitudinal associations between lateral ventricle and WMH volumes, accounting for total brain volume, blood pressure, history of stroke, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and smoking at ages 73, 76 and 79, in participants from the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936, including MRI data from all avail ...[more]

PMID: 35490587

Similar Datasets

Project description:Frontal lobe structures decline faster than most other brain regions in older adults. Age-related change in the frontal lobe is associated with poorer executive function (e.g., working memory, switching/set-shifting, and inhibitory control). The effects and presence of frontal lobe white matter hyperintensities (WMH) on executive function in normal aging is relatively unknown. The current study assessed relationships between region-specific frontal WMH load and cognitive performance in healthy older adults using three executive function tasks from the NIH Toolbox (NIHTB) Cognition Battery. A cohort of 279 healthy older adults ages 65-88 completed NIHTB and 3T T1-weighted and FLAIR MRI. Lesion Segmentation Toolbox quantified WMH volume and generated lesion probability maps. Individual lesion maps were registered to the Desikan-Killiany atlas in FreeSurfer 6.0 to define regions of interest (ROI). Independent linear regressions assessed relationships between executive function performance and region-specific WMH in frontal lobe ROIs. All models included age, sex, education, estimated total intracranial volume, multi-site scanner differences, and cardiovascular disease risk using Framingham criteria as covariates. Poorer set-shifting performance was associated with greater WMH load in three frontal ROIs including bilateral superior frontal (left β = -0.18, FDR-p = 0.02; right β = -0.20, FDR-p = 0.01) and right medial orbitofrontal (β = -0.17, FDR-p = 0.02). Poorer inhibitory performance associated with higher WMH load in one frontal ROI, the right superior frontal (right β = -0.21, FDR-p = 0.01). There were no significant associations between working memory and WMH in frontal ROIs. Our study demonstrates that location and pattern of frontal WMH may be important to assess when examining age-related differences in cognitive functions involving switching/set-shifting and inhibition. On the other hand, working memory performance was not related to presence of frontal WMH in this sample. These data suggest that WMH may contribute selectively to age-related declines in executive function. Findings emerged beyond predictors known to be associated with WMH presence, including age and cardiovascular disease risk. The spread of WMH within the frontal lobes may play a key role in the neuropsychological profile of cognitive aging. Further research should explore whether early intervention on modifiable vascular factors or cognitive interventions targeted for executive abilities may help mitigate the effect of frontal WMH on executive function.

Project description:White matter hyperintensities (WMHs) of presumed vascular origin are one of the most important neuroimaging markers of cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD), which are closely associated with cognitive impairment. The aim of this study was to elucidate the pathogenesis of WMHs from the perspective of inflammation and hypoperfusion mechanisms. A total of 65 patients with WMHs and 65 healthy controls were enrolled in this study. Inflammatory markers measurements [hypersensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2)], cognitive evaluation, and pseudocontinuous arterial spin labeling (PCASL) MRI scanning were performed in all the subjects. The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that Lp-PLA2 was an independent risk factor for WMHs. Cerebral blood flow (CBF) in the whole brain, gray matter (GM), white matter (WM), left orbital medial frontal gyrus [MFG.L (orbital part)], left middle temporal gyrus (MTG.L), and right thalamus (Tha.R) in the patients was lower than those in the controls and CBF in the left triangular inferior frontal gyrus [IFG.L (triangular part)] was higher in the patients than in the controls. There was a significant correlation between Lp-PLA2 levels and CBF in the whole brain (R = -0.417, p < 0.001) and GM (R = -0.278, p = 0.025), but not in the WM in the patients. Moreover, CBF in the MFG.L (orbital part) and the Tha.R was, respectively, negatively associated with the trail making test (TMT) and the Stroop color word test (SCWT), suggesting the higher CBF, the better executive function. The CBF in the IFG.L (triangular part) was negatively correlated with attention scores in the Cambridge Cognitive Examination-Chinese Version (CAMCOG-C) subitems (R = -0.288, p = 0.020). Our results revealed the vascular inflammation roles in WMHs, which may through the regulation of CBF in the whole brain and GM. Additionally, CBF changes in different brain regions may imply a potential role in the modulation of cognitive function in different domains.

Dataset Information

Contribution of white matter hyperintensities to ventricular enlargement in older adults.

Publications

Contribution of white matter hyperintensities to ventricular enlargement in older adults.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets