Deep/mixed cerebral microbleeds are associated with cognitive dysfunction through thalamocortical connectivity disruption: The Taizhou Imaging Study.
BACKGROUND
Cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) are considered to be risk factors for cognitive dysfunction. The specific pathology and clinical manifestations of CMBs are different based on their locations. We investigated the association between CMBs at different locations and cognitive dysfunction and explored the potential underlying pathways in a rural Han Chinese population.


METHODS
We used baseline data from 562 community-dwelling adults (55-65 years old) in the Taizhou Imaging Study between 2013 and 2015. All individuals underwent multimodal brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and 444 subjects completed neuropsychological tests: the Mini-Mental Status Examination and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment. Multinomial logistic regression was used to estimate the association between CMBs and cognitive dysfunction. The volume of brain regions and white matter microstructure were analyzed using Freesurfer and tract-based spatial statistics, respectively.


RESULTS
CMBs were detected in 104 individuals (18.5%) in our study. Multinomial logistic regression found deep/mixed CMBs were associated with global cognitive dysfunction (OR 3.52; 95% CI 1.21 to 10.26), whereas lobar CMBs (OR 1.76; 95% CI 0.56 to 5.53) were not. Quantification of multimodal brain MRI showed that deep/mixed CMBs were accompanied by decreased thalamic volume and loss of fractional anisotropy of bilateral anterior thalamic radiations.


CONCLUSION
Deep/mixed CMBs were associated with cognitive dysfunction in this Chinese cross-sectional study. Disruption of thalamocortical connectivity might be a potential pathway underlying this relationship.
['Wang|Yingzhe|Y|', 'Jiang|Yanfeng|Y|', 'Suo|Chen|C|', 'Yuan|Ziyu|Z|', 'Xu|Kelin|K|', 'Yang|Qi|Q|', 'Tang|Weijun|W|', 'Zhang|Kexun|K|', 'Zhu|Zhen|Z|', 'Tian|Weizhong|W|', 'Fan|Min|M|', 'Li|Shuyuan|S|', 'Ye|Weimin|W|', 'Dong|Qiang|Q|', 'Jin|Li|L|', 'Cui|Mei|M|', 'Chen|Xingdong|X|']
D000368:Aged D002540:Cerebral Cortex D002543:Cerebral Hemorrhage D002681:China D060825:Cognitive Dysfunction D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies D005260:Female D006801:Humans D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging D008297:Male D008875:Middle Aged D009483:Neuropsychological Tests D013788:Thalamus D066127:White Matter
Cerebral microbleeds Cognitive impairment Multimodal imaging