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Samson AD, Rajagopal S, Pasvanis S, Villeneuve S, McIntosh AR, Rajah MN. Sex differences in longitudinal changes of episodic memory-related brain activity and cognition in cognitively unimpaired older adults with a family history of Alzheimer's disease. Neuroimage Clin 2023; 40:103532. [PMID: 37931333 PMCID: PMC10652211 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2023.103532] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2023] [Revised: 10/25/2023] [Accepted: 10/26/2023] [Indexed: 11/08/2023]
Abstract
Episodic memory decline is an early symptom of Alzheimer's disease (AD) - a neurodegenerative disease that has a higher prevalence rate in older females compared to older males. However, little is known about why these sex differences in prevalence rate exist. In the current longitudinal task fMRI study, we explored whether there were sex differences in the patterns of memory decline and brain activity during object-location (spatial context) encoding and retrieval in a large sample of cognitively unimpaired older adults from the Pre-symptomatic Evaluation of Novel or Experimental Treatments for Alzheimer's Disease (PREVENT-AD) program who are at heightened risk of developing AD due to having a family history (+FH) of the disease. The goal of the study was to gain insight into whether there are sex differences in the neural correlates of episodic memory decline, which may advance knowledge about sex-specific patterns in the natural progression to AD. Our results indicate that +FH females performed better than +FH males at both baseline and follow-up on neuropsychological and task fMRI measures of episodic memory. Moreover, multivariate data-driven task fMRI analysis identified generalized patterns of longitudinal decline in medial temporal lobe activity that was paralleled by longitudinal increases in lateral prefrontal cortex, caudate and midline cortical activity during successful episodic retrieval and novelty detection in +FH males, but not females. Post-hoc analyses indicated that higher education had a stronger effect on +FH females neuropsychological scores compared to +FH males. We conclude that higher educational attainment may have a greater neuroprotective effect in older +FH females compared to +FH males.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandria D Samson
- Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Health Sciences, Toronto, Ontario M6A 2E1, Canada; Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G3, Canada
| | - Sricharana Rajagopal
- Centre for Cerebral Imaging, Douglas Hospital Research Centre, Montreal, Quebec H4H 1R3, Canada
| | - Stamatoula Pasvanis
- Centre for Cerebral Imaging, Douglas Hospital Research Centre, Montreal, Quebec H4H 1R3, Canada
| | - Sylvia Villeneuve
- Centre for Studies on the Prevention of Alzheimer's Disease (StoP-AD), Douglas Hospital Research Centre, Montreal, Quebec H4H 1R3, Canada; Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 1A1, Canada
| | - Anthony R McIntosh
- Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Health Sciences, Toronto, Ontario M6A 2E1, Canada; Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G3, Canada; Institute for Neuroscience and Neurotechnology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia V5A 1S6, Canada; Department of Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia V5A 1S6, Canada
| | - M Natasha Rajah
- Centre for Cerebral Imaging, Douglas Hospital Research Centre, Montreal, Quebec H4H 1R3, Canada; Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 1A1, Canada; Department of Psychology, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, Ontario M5B 2K3, Canada.
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Fang Y, Doyle MF, Alosco ML, Mez J, Satizabal CL, Qiu WQ, Lunetta KL, Murabito JM. Cross-Sectional Association Between Blood Cell Phenotypes, Cognitive Function, and Brain Imaging Measures in the Community-Based Framingham Heart Study. J Alzheimers Dis 2022; 87:1291-1305. [PMID: 35431244 PMCID: PMC9969805 DOI: 10.3233/jad-215533] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Peripheral inflammation is associated with increased risk for dementia. Neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR), red cell distribution width (RDW), and mean platelet volume (MPV), are easily measured circulating blood cell phenotypes reflecting chronic peripheral inflammation, but their association with dementia status is unclear. OBJECTIVE We sought to investigate the cross-sectional association of these inflammatory measures with neuropsychological (NP) test performance, and brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measures in the Framingham Heart Study (FHS) Offspring, Third-generation, and Omni cohorts. METHODS We identified FHS participants who attended an exam that included a complete blood cell count (CBC) and underwent NP testing (n = 3,396) or brain MRI (n = 2,770) within five years of blood draw. We investigated the association between NLR, RDW, and MPV and NP test performance and structural MRI-derived volumetric measurements using linear mixed effect models accounting for family relationships and adjusting for potential confounders. RESULTS Participants were on average 60 years old, 53% female, and about 80% attended some college. Higher NLR was significantly associated with poorer performance on visual memory, and visuospatial abilities, as well as with larger white matter hyperintensity volume. We also observed associations for higher RDW with poorer executive function and smaller total cerebral brain volume. CONCLUSION Chronic peripheral inflammation as measured by NLR and RDW was associated with worse cognitive function, reduced brain volume, and greater microvascular disease in FHS participants. If confirmed in other samples, CBC may provide informative and cost-effective biomarkers of abnormal brain aging in the community.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuan Fang
- Boston University School of Public Health, Department of Biostatistics, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Margaret F. Doyle
- University of Vermont, Larner College of Medicine, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Burlington, VT
| | - Michael L. Alosco
- Boston University School of Medicine, Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and CTE Center, Boston, MA, USA.,Boston University School of Medicine, Department of Neurology, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jesse Mez
- Boston University School of Medicine, Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and CTE Center, Boston, MA, USA.,Boston University School of Medicine, Department of Neurology, Boston, MA, USA.,Framingham Heart Study, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and Boston University School of Medicine, Framingham, MA, USA
| | - Claudia L. Satizabal
- Boston University School of Medicine, Department of Neurology, Boston, MA, USA.,University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases, San Antonio, USA
| | - Wei Qiao Qiu
- Boston University School of Medicine, Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and CTE Center, Boston, MA, USA.,Boston University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Boston, MA, USA.,Boston University School of Medicine, Department of Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Kathryn L. Lunetta
- Boston University School of Public Health, Department of Biostatistics, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Joanne M. Murabito
- Framingham Heart Study, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and Boston University School of Medicine, Framingham, MA, USA.,Boston University School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Section of General Internal Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
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