Publications by authors named "Charles Decarli"
Article Synopsis
- Sleep disordered breathing (SDB) is a risk factor for stroke and Alzheimer’s disease, particularly among Hispanic/Latino adults, highlighting the need for research on its impact on brain health in this demographic.
- This study, based on the Hispanic Community Health Study, analyzed the association between SDB and brain MRI measures in a diverse group of Hispanic/Latino adults, using data from 2,667 participants with neuroimaging conducted about 10 years after initial sleep assessments.
- Results indicated that higher respiratory event index (REI) correlated with larger hippocampal volumes, while lower oxygen levels during sleep were related to expanded white matter hyperintensity (WMH) volumes, suggesting complex relationships between SDB, oxygen
Subjective cognitive complaints and future risk of dementia and cognitive impairment, which matters most.
Neuropsychol Dev Cogn B Aging Neuropsychol Cogn
December 2024
Many older adults report subjective cognitive decline (SCD); however, the specific types of complaints most strongly associated with early disease detection remain unclear. This study examines which complaints from the Everyday Cognition Scales (ECog) are associated with progression from normal cognition to mild cognitive impairment (MCI)/dementia. 415 older adults were monitored annually for 5 years, on average.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Placental growth factor (PlGF) may regulate cerebrovascular permeability. We hypothesized that white matter interstitial fluid accumulation, estimated via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) free water (FW), would explain the associations between elevated PlGF, white matter hyperintensities (WMH), and cognitive impairment.
Methods: MarkVCID consortium participants ≥55 years old with plasma PlGF and brain MRI were included.
Article Synopsis
- This study explored the connection between blood pressure variability (BPV) and cognitive function in older adults, particularly focusing on those over 65 years old.
- Researchers analyzed data from 4,770 participants from the Chicago Health and Aging Project, measuring blood pressure every three years and assessing cognitive abilities through standardized tests.
- Results indicated that higher BPV was linked to lower cognitive scores, especially among older Black adults, suggesting that fluctuations in blood pressure could contribute to cognitive decline as people age.
Introduction: The U.S. Study to Protect Brain Health Through Lifestyle Intervention to Reduce Risk (U.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Childhood adversity harms neurodevelopment. Literature on late-life brain health is limited, and findings on late-life cognition are mixed.
Methods: Pooling data from Kaiser Healthy Aging and Diverse Life Experiences (KHANDLE) and Study of Healthy Aging in African Americans (STAR) cohorts, we assessed the impact of childhood adversity (factor score from seven self-reported items) on (a) executive function and verbal memory decline using linear mixed effects models (n = 2447), (b) structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using linear regression (n = 618), and (c) amyloid positron emission tomography (PET) using generalized linear models (n = 331), all adjusting for early-life demographic and socioeconomic confounders.
Article Synopsis
- A study was conducted to investigate the X-chromosome's role in Alzheimer's Disease (AD), which had been overlooked in previous genome-wide association studies.
- The research included 115,841 AD cases and 613,671 controls, considering different X-chromosome inactivation (XCI) states in females.
- While no strong genetic risk factors for AD were found on the X-chromosome, seven significant loci were identified, suggesting areas for future research.
Article Synopsis
- - Individuals with subjective memory complaints (SMCs) have higher levels of neurodegeneration biomarkers like neurofilament light chain (NfL) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), indicating increased neurodegenerative processes.
- - The study involved 1,096 older adults and found that those with more memory complaints experienced a 12% increase in NfL and a 9.4% increase in GFAP compared to those with fewer complaints.
- - Participants reporting more memory issues also showed a faster cognitive decline, suggesting that SMCs could help identify individuals at higher risk for neurodegenerative conditions.
Article Synopsis
- Midlife obesity may increase the risk of late-onset dementia, and studying adipokines (substances secreted by fat cells) could help understand this link in aging brains.
- Researchers analyzed serum concentrations of specific adipokines and their relationships to brain MRI markers in 1,882 middle-aged adults from the Framingham Heart Study.
- The study found that higher levels of certain adipokines, particularly RBP4, were associated with brain atrophy, including reduced brain volumes and increased ventricular sizes, suggesting that these factors could play a role in cognitive decline during midlife.
Article Synopsis
- Mild cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) markers are common but only high CSVD burden increases stroke and dementia risk, potentially identified using a multi-marker CSVD score.
- In a study of 1,154 participants aged 55 and older, those with three or more CSVD markers had a significantly higher stroke risk during an 8.6-year follow-up.
- The findings suggest that assessing CSVD burden could enhance stroke risk identification, complementing traditional risk assessments like the Framingham Stroke Risk Profile.
Article Synopsis
- White matter hyperintensities (WMH) increase with age and vary significantly between individuals, prompting the need for age- and sex-specific data for better assessment.
- This study pooled data from nearly 15,000 healthy individuals aged 18-97 to analyze WMH volumes using MRI and established centile curves based on age and sex.
- Findings reveal that WMH volumes increase significantly with age, with females having larger volumes, and these changes follow different patterns based on specific white matter locations, providing valuable normative data for clinical interpretations.
Article Synopsis
- Aberrant angiogenesis may contribute to cognitive decline and could serve as a therapeutic target for dementia prevention, though most prior studies have focused on animal models.
- This study evaluated the relationship between blood markers of angiogenesis and cognitive aging in a sample of 435 older adults, revealing significant associations that varied by sex, particularly in younger women compared to men.
- Results indicated that higher levels of certain angiogenic markers were linked to better executive function and less brain atrophy, suggesting the potential for targeting angiogenesis in addressing age-related cognitive impairment.
Introduction: Characterizing pathological changes in the brain that underlie cognitive impairment, including Alzheimer's disease and related disorders, is central to clinical concerns of prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.
Methods: We describe the properties of a brain gray matter region ("Union Signature") that is derived from four behavior-specific, data-driven signatures in a discovery cohort.
Results: In a separate validation set, the Union Signature demonstrates clinically relevant properties.
Background: Peak-width of skeletonized mean diffusivity (PSMD), a neuroimaging marker of cerebral small vessel disease (SVD), has shown excellent instrumental properties. Here, we extend our work to perform a biological validation of PSMD.
Methods: We included 396 participants from the Biomarkers for Vascular Contributions to Cognitive Impairment and Dementia (MarkVCID-1) Consortium and three replication samples (Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology = 6172, Rush University Medical Center = 287, University of California Davis Alzheimer's Disease Research Center = 567).
Introduction: A key goal of the Alzheimer's Disease NeuroImaging Initiative (ADNI) positron emission tomography (PET) Core is to harmonize quantification of β-amyloid (Aβ) and tau PET image data across multiple scanners and tracers.
Methods: We developed an analysis pipeline (Berkeley PET Imaging Pipeline, B-PIP) for ADNI Aβ and tau PET images and applied it to PET data from other multisite studies. Steps include image pre-processing, refacing, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)/PET co-registration, visual quality control (QC), quantification of tracer uptake, and standardization of Aβ and tau standardized uptake value ratios (SUVrs) across tracers.
As awareness of dementia increases, more individuals with minor cognitive complaints are requesting clinical assessment. Neuroimaging studies frequently identify incidental white matter hyperintensities, raising patient concerns about their brain health and future risk for dementia. Moreover, current US demographics indicate that ≈50% of these individuals will be from diverse backgrounds by 2060.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Subclinical vascular brain injury is an increasingly recognized risk factor for stroke and dementia. Despite well-established sex differences in vascular risk and disease prevalence, the impact of sex on drivers of subclinical vascular brain injury remains unclear, presenting a barrier to developing sex-specific prevention guidelines. We aimed to establish the extent to which sex moderates associations between vascular risk factors and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measures of subclinical brain injury in stroke-free older adults.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWhite matter hyperintensities (WMH) and infarcts found on magnetic resonance imaging (MR infarcts) are common biomarkers of cerebrovascular disease. In this review, we summarize the methods, publications, and conclusions stemming from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) related to these measures. We combine analysis of WMH and MR infarct data from across the three main ADNI cohorts with a review of existing literature discussing new methodologies and scientific findings derived from these data.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: In a nested case-control study, we examined how cerebral perfusion relates to cognitive status and amyloid in the oldest-old (i.e., 90 years of age and older).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImportance: Prior studies associate late-life community disadvantage with worse brain health. It is relatively unknown if childhood community disadvantage associates with late-life brain health.
Objective: To test associations between childhood residence in an economically disadvantaged community, individual income and education, and late-life cortical brain volumes and white matter integrity.
Article Synopsis
- Short sleep duration is linked to cognitive impairment and dementia, particularly worsened by hypertension.
- A study involving 682 participants found that those with hypertension showed a decline in executive functioning and an increase in brain injury with shorter sleep.
- The relationship between sleep and cognitive performance was not observed in participants without hypertension, highlighting the importance of managing sleep and blood pressure for brain health.
Article Synopsis
- Subcortical brain structures play a crucial role in various developmental and psychiatric disorders, and a study analyzed brain volumes in 74,898 individuals, identifying 254 genetic loci linked to these volumes, which accounted for up to 35% of variation.
- The research included exploring gene expression in specific neural cell types, focusing on genes involved in intracellular signaling and processes related to brain aging.
- The findings suggest that certain genetic variants not only influence brain volume but also have potential causal links to conditions like Parkinson’s disease and ADHD, highlighting the genetic basis for risks associated with neuropsychiatric disorders.
Article Synopsis
- White matter hyperintensities (WMH) are linked to cognitive impairment but solely measuring their volume doesn't fully explain the cognitive deficits.
- Lesion network mapping (LNM) offers a new way to assess how WMH connects with brain networks, potentially improving our understanding of their impact on cognition.
- In a study of 3,485 patients, LNM scores outperformed WMH volumes in predicting cognitive performance, especially in attention, processing speed, and verbal memory, but not for language functions.
Introduction: Recent technological advances have increased the risk that de-identified brain images could be re-identified from face imagery. The Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) is a leading source of publicly available de-identified brain imaging, who quickly acted to protect participants' privacy.
Methods: An independent expert committee evaluated 11 face-deidentification ("de-facing") methods and selected four for formal testing.
Article Synopsis
- Abnormal tau protein accumulation into neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) is a key feature of Alzheimer's disease, and accurately detecting these tangles in tissue samples is important for understanding their relationship with various clinical factors.
- The study introduces a scalable, open-source deep-learning method that can efficiently quantify NFT burden in digital images of post-mortem human brain tissue, overcoming the limitations of manual analysis, like time consumption and variability.
- The trained segmentation model demonstrated strong performance in identifying NFTs at a high level of detail, correlating well with expert scores and significantly improving the speed and accuracy of analysis compared to traditional methods.