Association of white matter microstructural integrity with cognition and dementia.
Late-life measures of white matter (WM) microstructural integrity may predict cognitive status, cognitive decline, and incident mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia. We considered participants of the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study who underwent cognitive assessment and neuroimaging in 2011-2013 and were followed through 2016-2017 (n = 1775 for analyses of prevalent MCI and dementia, baseline cognitive performance, and longitudinal cognitive change and n = 889 for analyses of incident MCI, dementia, or death). Cross-sectionally, both overall WM fractional anisotropy and overall WM mean diffusivity were strongly associated with baseline cognitive performance and risk of prevalent MCI or dementia. Longitudinally, greater overall WM mean diffusivity was associated with accelerated cognitive decline, as well as incident MCI, incident dementia, and mortality, but WM fractional anisotropy was not robustly associated with cognitive change or incident cognitive impairment. Both cross-sectional and longitudinal associations were attenuated after additionally adjusting for likely downstream pathologic changes. Increased WM mean diffusivity may provide an early indication of dementia pathogenesis.
['Power|Melinda C|MC|', 'Su|Dan|D|', 'Wu|Aozhou|A|', 'Reid|Robert I|RI|', 'Jack|Clifford R|CR|', 'Knopman|David S|DS|', 'Coresh|Joe|J|', 'Huang|Juebin|J|', 'Kantarci|Kejal|K|', 'Sharrett|A Richey|AR|', 'Gottesman|Rebecca G|RG|', 'Griswold|Mike E|ME|', 'Mosley|Thomas H|TH|']
D000368:Aged D000544:Alzheimer Disease D001921:Brain D003071:Cognition D060825:Cognitive Dysfunction D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies D003704:Dementia D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging D005260:Female D006801:Humans D008297:Male D008875:Middle Aged D066127:White Matter
White matter microstructural integrity Dementia Cognitive decline Cognitive impairment DTI MRI