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Millar PR, Gordon BA, Wisch JK, Schultz SA, Benzinger TL, Cruchaga C, Hassenstab JJ, Ibanez L, Karch C, Llibre-Guerra JJ, Morris JC, Perrin RJ, Supnet-Bell C, Xiong C, Allegri RF, Berman SB, Chhatwal JP, Chrem Mendez PA, Day GS, Hofmann A, Ikeuchi T, Jucker M, Lee JH, Levin J, Lopera F, Niimi Y, Sánchez-González VJ, Schofield PR, Sosa-Ortiz AL, Vöglein J, Bateman RJ, Ances BM, McDade EM. Advanced structural brain aging in preclinical autosomal dominant Alzheimer disease. Mol Neurodegener 2023; 18:98. [PMID: 38111006 PMCID: PMC10729487 DOI: 10.1186/s13024-023-00688-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2023] [Accepted: 11/28/2023] [Indexed: 12/20/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND "Brain-predicted age" estimates biological age from complex, nonlinear features in neuroimaging scans. The brain age gap (BAG) between predicted and chronological age is elevated in sporadic Alzheimer disease (AD), but is underexplored in autosomal dominant AD (ADAD), in which AD progression is highly predictable with minimal confounding age-related co-pathology. METHODS We modeled BAG in 257 deeply-phenotyped ADAD mutation-carriers and 179 non-carriers from the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network using minimally-processed structural MRI scans. We then tested whether BAG differed as a function of mutation and cognitive status, or estimated years until symptom onset, and whether it was associated with established markers of amyloid (PiB PET, CSF amyloid-β-42/40), phosphorylated tau (CSF and plasma pTau-181), neurodegeneration (CSF and plasma neurofilament-light-chain [NfL]), and cognition (global neuropsychological composite and CDR-sum of boxes). We compared BAG to other MRI measures, and examined heterogeneity in BAG as a function of ADAD mutation variants, APOE ε4 carrier status, sex, and education. RESULTS Advanced brain aging was observed in mutation-carriers approximately 7 years before expected symptom onset, in line with other established structural indicators of atrophy. BAG was moderately associated with amyloid PET and strongly associated with pTau-181, NfL, and cognition in mutation-carriers. Mutation variants, sex, and years of education contributed to variability in BAG. CONCLUSIONS We extend prior work using BAG from sporadic AD to ADAD, noting consistent results. BAG associates well with markers of pTau, neurodegeneration, and cognition, but to a lesser extent, amyloid, in ADAD. BAG may capture similar signal to established MRI measures. However, BAG offers unique benefits in simplicity of data processing and interpretation. Thus, results in this unique ADAD cohort with few age-related confounds suggest that brain aging attributable to AD neuropathology can be accurately quantified from minimally-processed MRI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter R Millar
- Department of Neurology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA.
| | - Brian A Gordon
- Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Julie K Wisch
- Department of Neurology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Stephanie A Schultz
- Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Tammie Ls Benzinger
- Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Carlos Cruchaga
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Jason J Hassenstab
- Department of Neurology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Laura Ibanez
- Department of Neurology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
- NeuroGenomics & Informatics Center, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Celeste Karch
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | | | - John C Morris
- Department of Neurology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Richard J Perrin
- Department of Neurology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
- Department of Pathology & Immunology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | | | - Chengjie Xiong
- Department of Biostatistics, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | | | - Sarah B Berman
- Department of Neurology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Jasmeer P Chhatwal
- Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - Gregory S Day
- Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL, USA
| | - Anna Hofmann
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), 72076, Tübingen, Germany
- Department of Cellular Neurology, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, 72076, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Takeshi Ikeuchi
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Brain Research Institute, Niigata University, Niigata, Japan
| | - Mathias Jucker
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), 72076, Tübingen, Germany
- Department of Cellular Neurology, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, 72076, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Jae-Hong Lee
- Department of Neurology, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Johannes Levin
- Department of Neurology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Munich, Germany
- Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology (SyNergy), Munich, Germany
| | | | - Yoshiki Niimi
- Unit for Early and Exploratory Clinical Development, The University of Tokyo Hospital, Bunkyo-Ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Victor J Sánchez-González
- Departamento de Clínicas, CUALTOS, Universidad de Guadalajara, Tepatitlán de Morelos, Jalisco, México
| | - Peter R Schofield
- Neuroscience Research Australia, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- School of Biomedical Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Ana Luisa Sosa-Ortiz
- Instituto Nacional de Neurologia y Neurocirugía MVS, CDMX, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Jonathan Vöglein
- Department of Neurology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Munich, Germany
| | - Randall J Bateman
- Department of Neurology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Beau M Ances
- Department of Neurology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
- Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Eric M McDade
- Department of Neurology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
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