Small vessel cerebrovascular disease is associated with cognition in prospective Alzheimer's clinical trial participants.

Background: Secondary prevention clinical trials for Alzheimer's disease (AD) target amyloid accumulation in asymptomatic, amyloid-positive individuals, but it is unclear to what extent other pathophysiological processes, such as small vessel cerebrovascular disease, account for participant performance on the primary cognitive outcomes in those trials. White matter hyperintensities are areas of increased signal on T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) that reflect small vessel cerebrovascular disease. They are associated with cognitive functioning in older adults and with clinical presentation and course of AD, particularly when distributed in posterior brain regions.

Association of brain arterial diameters with demographic and anatomical factors in a multi-national pooled analysis of cohort studies.

Background And Purpose: Brain arterial diameters are markers of cerebrovascular disease. Demographic and anatomical factors may influence arterial diameters. We hypothesize that age, sex, height, total cranial volume (TCV), and persistent fetal posterior cerebral artery (fPCA) correlate with brain arterial diameters across populations.

Serum inflammation markers associated with altered brain white matter microstructure in people with HIV on antiretroviral treatment.

Background: Many studies have reported reduced brain white matter fractional anisotropy (FA) and increased mean diffusivity (MD) on diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) of people with HIV (PWH). Few, however, have linked individual blood inflammatory markers with white matter tract-specific FA and MD.

Methods: PWH 50 years old or older from New York, NY, USA, were invited to a cross-sectional study.

Do correlates of white matter features differ between older men and women living with human immunodeficiency virus?

Objective: Given estrogen's role in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease progression and the higher rates of neurocognitive decline in affected women, the purpose of this study was to assess whether the relationship of white matter features and reproductive hormone levels differed between men versus women (sex as a moderator), controlling for selected cardiometabolic risk factors, HIV-related health indicators, and demographics in an aging population of persons living with HIV (PLWH).

Methods: Older PLWH (50 y and older; 44 women and 35 men; mean ± SD age, 59.8 ± 0.

Brain Aging Among Racially and Ethnically Diverse Middle-Aged and Older Adults.

Importance: Neuroimaging studies have documented racial and ethnic disparities in brain health in old age. It remains unclear whether these disparities are apparent in midlife.

Objective: To assess racial and ethnic disparities in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) markers of cerebrovascular disease and neurodegeneration in midlife and late life.

White matter hyperintensities are a prominent feature of autosomal dominant Alzheimer's disease that emerge prior to dementia.

Background: To promote the development of effective therapies, there is an important need to characterize the full spectrum of neuropathological changes associated with Alzheimer's disease. In line with this need, this study examined white matter abnormalities in individuals with early-onset autosomal dominant Alzheimer's disease, in relation to age and symptom severity.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional analysis of data collected in members of a large kindred with a PSEN1 E280A mutation.

Amyloid, cerebrovascular disease, and neurodegeneration biomarkers are associated with cognitive trajectories in a racially and ethnically diverse, community-based sample.

We characterized the additive contribution of cerebrovascular biomarkers to amyloid and neurodegeneration biomarkers (AV(N)) when modeling prospective, longitudinal cognitive trajectories within 3 major racial/ethnic groups. Participants (n = 172; age = 69-96 years; 62% women; 31%/49%/20% Non-Hispanic White/Non-Hispanic Black/Hispanic) from the Washington Heights-Inwood Columbia Aging Project were assessed for amyloid (Florbetaben PET), neurodegeneration (cortical thickness, hippocampal volume), and cerebrovascular disease (white matter hyperintensity (WMH), infarcts). Neuropsychological assessments occurred every 2.

Obstructive sleep apnea, cerebrovascular disease, and amyloid in older adults with Down syndrome across the Alzheimer's continuum.

We determined the extent to which obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is associated with increased cerebrovascular disease and amyloid burden, and the relation of the two processes across clinical Alzheimer's disease (AD) diagnostic groups in adults with Down syndrome (DS). Adults with DS from the Biomarkers of Alzheimer's Disease in Down Syndrome (ADDS) study were included given available research MRI ( = 116; 50 ± 8 years; 42% women) and amyloid PET scans ( = 71; 50 ± 7 years; 39% women) at the time of analysis. Participants were characterized as cognitively stable (CS; 64%), with mild cognitive impairment-DS (MCI-DS; 23%), with possible AD dementia (5%), or with definite AD dementia (8%).

Probing the proteome to explore potential correlates of increased Alzheimer's-related cerebrovascular disease in adults with Down syndrome.

Cerebrovascular disease is associated with symptoms and pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) among adults with Down syndrome (DS). The cause of increased dementia-related cerebrovascular disease in DS is unknown. We explored whether protein markers of neuroinflammation are associated with markers of cerebrovascular disease among adults with DS.

Automatic quantification of white matter hyperintensities on T2-weighted fluid attenuated inversion recovery magnetic resonance imaging.

White matter hyperintensities (WMH) are areas of increased signal visualized on T2-weighted fluid attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequences. They are typically attributed to small vessel cerebrovascular disease in the context of aging. Among older adults, WMH are associated with risk of cognitive decline and dementia, stroke, and various other health outcomes.

Reduced Hippocampal GABA+ Is Associated With Poorer Episodic Memory in Healthy Older Women: A Pilot Study.

: The current pilot study was designed to examine the association between hippocampal γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) concentration and episodic memory in older individuals, as well as the impact of two major risk factors for Alzheimer's disease (AD)-female sex and Apolipoprotein ε4 ( ε4) genotype-on this relationship. : Twenty healthy, community-dwelling individuals aged 50-71 (11 women) took part in the study. Episodic memory was evaluated using a Directed Forgetting task, and GABA+ was measured in the right hippocampus using a Mescher-Garwood point-resolved magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) sequence.

Cerebrovascular Contributions to Neurocognitive Disorders in People Living With HIV.

Background: To investigate a comprehensive array of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based biomarkers of cerebrovascular disease (CVD) in a cohort of people living with HIV (PLWH) and relate these imaging biomarkers to cognition.

Settings: Cross-sectional, community-based study.

Methods: Participants were PLWH in New York City, aged 50 years or older.

Patterns of tau pathology identified with F-MK-6240 PET imaging.

Introduction: Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging for neurofibrillary tau allows investigation of the in vivo spatiotemporal progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology. We evaluated the suitability of F-MK-6240 in a clinical sample and determined the relationships among F-MK-6240 binding, age, cognition, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)-based AD biomarkers.

Methods: Participants (n = 101, 72 ± 9 years, 52% women) underwent amyloid PET, tau PET, structural T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging, and neuropsychological evaluation.

In Vivo Amyloid, Neurodegeneration, and Verbal Learning in Late Middle-Aged Hispanics.

Background: The National Institute on Aging (NIA)/Alzheimer's Association (AA) 2018 framework conceptualizes Alzheimer's disease (AD) biologically. Evidence of brain amyloid by biomarkers defines AD pathologic change and the Alzheimer's continuum. The presence of tau or neurodegeneration in the absence of amyloid defines non-AD pathologic change.

Development of novel measures for Alzheimer's disease prevention trials (NoMAD).

Introduction: Assessment of cognition and everyday function is essential in clinical trials for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Two novel measures of cognition (No Practice Effects (NPE) cognitive battery and Miami Computerized Functional Assessment Scale (CFAS)) were designed to have robust psychometric properties and reduced practice and ceiling effects. This study aims to evaluate if the NPE and CFAS demonstrate stronger psychometric properties and reduced practice effects compared with established measures, including the Preclinical Alzheimer Cognitive Composite (PACC), Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Subscale (ADAS-Cog), and Functional Activities Questionnaire (FAQ).

Anterolateral entorhinal cortex volume is associated with memory retention in clinically unimpaired older adults.

The entorhinal cortex is subdivided into anterolateral entorhinal cortex (alERC) and posteromedial entorhinal cortex (pmERC) subregions, which are theorized to support distinct cognitive roles. This distinction is particularly important as the alERC is one of the earliest cortical regions affected by Alzheimer's pathology and related neurodegeneration. The relative associations of alERC/pmERC with neuropsychological test performance have not been examined.

Cerebrovascular disease promotes tau pathology in Alzheimer's disease.

Small vessel cerebrovascular disease, visualized as white matter hyperintensities on T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging, contributes to the clinical presentation of Alzheimer's disease. However, the extent to which cerebrovascular disease represents an independent pathognomonic feature of Alzheimer's disease or directly promotes Alzheimer's pathology is unclear. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between white matter hyperintensities and plasma levels of tau and to determine if white matter hyperintensities and tau levels interact to predict Alzheimer's disease diagnosis.

Alzheimer-Related Cerebrovascular Disease in Down Syndrome.

Objective: Adults with Down syndrome (DS) develop Alzheimer disease (AD) pathology by their 5th decade. Compared with the general population, traditional vascular risks in adults with DS are rare, allowing examination of cerebrovascular disease in this population and insight into its role in AD without the confound of vascular risk factors. We examined in vivo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based biomarkers of cerebrovascular pathology in adults with DS, and determined their cross-sectional relationship with age, beta-amyloid pathology, and mild cognitive impairment or clinical AD diagnostic status.

Mnemonic monitoring in anosognosia for memory loss.

Objective: Anosognosia, or unawareness, for memory loss has been proposed to underlie cognitive functions such as memory and executive function. However, there is an inconsistent association between these constructs. Recent studies have shown that compromise ongoing self-monitoring of one's memory associates with anosognosia for memory loss.

Education differentially contributes to cognitive reserve across racial/ethnic groups.

Introduction: We examined whether educational attainment differentially contributes to cognitive reserve (CR) across race/ethnicity.

Methods: A total of 1553 non-Hispanic Whites (Whites), non-Hispanic Blacks (Blacks), and Hispanics in the Washington Heights-Inwood Columbia Aging Project (WHICAP) completed structural magnetic resonance imaging. Mixture growth curve modeling was used to examine whether the effect of brain integrity indicators (hippocampal volume, cortical thickness, and white matter hyperintensity [WMH] volumes) on memory and language trajectories was modified by education across racial/ethnic groups.

Pre-Diabetes, but not Type 2 Diabetes, Is Related to Brain Amyloid in Late Middle-Age.

Background: Type 2 diabetes is a dementia risk factor, but its relation to Alzheimer's disease (AD), the most common cause of dementia, is unclear.

Objective: Our primary objective was to examine the association of pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes with brain amyloid-β (Aβ), the putative main culprit of AD. Our secondary objective was to examine the association of pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes with neurodegeneration, cerebrovascular disease (CVD), and memory performance.