Noah Schweitzer, Sang Joon Son, Rebecca C Thurston, Jinghang Li, Chang-Le Chen, Howard Aizenstein, Shaolin Yang, Bistra Iordanova, Chang Hyung Hong, Hyun Woong Roh, Yong Hyuk Cho, Sunhwa Hong, You Jin Nam, Dong Yun Lee, Bumhee Park, Na-Rae Kim, Jin Wook Choi, Jaeyoun Cheong, Sang Woon Seo, Young-Sil An, So Young Moon, Seung Jin Han, Minjie Wu
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Objective: White matter hyperintensities (WMH) on brain MRI images are the most common feature of cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD). Studies have yielded divergent findings on the modifiable risk factors for WMH and WMH's impact on cognitive decline. Mounting evidence suggests sex differences in WMH burden and subsequent effects on cognition. Thus, we aimed to identify sex-specific modifiable risk factors for WMH. We then explored whether there were sex-specific associations of WMH to longitudinal clinical dementia outcomes.
Methods: Participants aged 49-89 years were recruited at memory clinics and underwent a T2-weighted fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) 3T MRI scan to measure WMH volume. Participants were then recruited for two additional follow-up visits, 1-2 years apart, where clinical dementia rating sum of boxes (CDR-SB) scores were measured. We first explored which known modifiable risk factors for WMH were significant when tested for a sex-interaction effect. We additionally tested which risk factors were significant when stratified by sex. We then tested to see whether WMH is longitudinally associated with clinical dementia that is sex-specific.
Results: The study utilized data from 713 participants (241 males, 472 females) with a mean age of 72.3 years and 72.8 years for males and females, respectively. 57.3% and 59.5% of participants were diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) for males and females, respectively. 40.7% and 39.4% were diagnosed with dementia for males and females, respectively. Of the 713 participants, 181 participants had CDR-SB scores available for three longitudinal time points. Compared to males, females showed stronger association of age to WMH volume. Type 2 Diabetes was associated with greater WMH burden in females but not males. Finally, baseline WMH burden was associated with worse clinical dementia outcomes longitudinally in females but not in males.
Discussion: Older females have an accelerated increase in cerebrovascular burden as they age, and subsequently are more vulnerable to clinical dementia decline due to CSVD. Additionally, females are more susceptible to the cerebrovascular consequences of diabetes. These findings emphasize the importance of considering sex when examining the consequences of CSVD. Future research should explore the underlying mechanisms driving these sex differences and personalized prevention and treatment strategies.
Clinical trial registration: The BICWALZS is registered in the Korean National Clinical Trial Registry (Clinical Research Information Service; identifier, KCT0003391). Registration Date 2018/12/14.
期刊介绍:
Alzheimer's Research & Therapy is an international peer-reviewed journal that focuses on translational research into Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases. It publishes open-access basic research, clinical trials, drug discovery and development studies, and epidemiologic studies. The journal also includes reviews, viewpoints, commentaries, debates, and reports. All articles published in Alzheimer's Research & Therapy are included in several reputable databases such as CAS, Current contents, DOAJ, Embase, Journal Citation Reports/Science Edition, MEDLINE, PubMed, PubMed Central, Science Citation Index Expanded (Web of Science) and Scopus.