1
|
Garcia-Garcia B, Mattern H, Vockert N, Yakupov R, Schreiber F, Spallazzi M, Perosa V, Haghikia A, Speck O, Düzel E, Maass A, Schreiber S. Vessel Distance Mapping: A novel methodology for assessing vascular-induced cognitive resilience. Neuroimage 2023; 274:120094. [PMID: 37028734 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.120094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2022] [Revised: 03/30/2023] [Accepted: 04/04/2023] [Indexed: 04/09/2023] Open
Abstract
The association between cerebral blood supply and cognition has been widely discussed in the recent literature. One focus of this discussion has been the anatomical variability of the circle of Willis, with morphological differences being present in more than half of the general population. While previous studies have attempted to classify these differences and explore their contribution to hippocampal blood supply and cognition, results have been controversial. To disentangle these previously inconsistent findings, we introduce Vessel Distance Mapping (VDM) as a novel methodology for evaluating blood supply, which allows for obtaining vessel pattern metrics with respect to the surrounding structures, extending the previously established binary classification into a continuous spectrum. To accomplish this, we manually segmented hippocampal vessels obtained from high-resolution 7T time-of-flight MR angiographic imaging in older adults with and without cerebral small vessel disease, generating vessel distance maps by computing the distances of each voxel to its nearest vessel. Greater values of VDM-metrics, which reflected higher vessel distances, were associated with poorer cognitive outcomes in subjects affected by vascular pathology, while this relation was not observed in healthy controls. Therefore, a mixed contribution of vessel pattern and vessel density is proposed to confer cognitive resilience, consistent with previous research findings. In conclusion, VDM provides a novel platform, based on a statistically robust and quantitative method of vascular mapping, for addressing a variety of clinical research questions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Hendrik Mattern
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany; Biomedical Magnetic Resonance, Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany; Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences (CBBS), 39106 Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Niklas Vockert
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Renat Yakupov
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany; Institute of Cognitive Neurology and Dementia Research, Otto-von-Guericke University, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Frank Schreiber
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany; Department of Neurology, Otto-von-Guericke University, 39120, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Marco Spallazzi
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, Unit of Neurology, Azienda Ospedalierouniversitaria, 43126 Parma, Italy
| | - Valentina Perosa
- Department of Neurology, Otto-von-Guericke University, 39120, Magdeburg, Germany; J. Philip Kistler Stroke Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Aiden Haghikia
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany; Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences (CBBS), 39106 Magdeburg, Germany; Department of Neurology, Otto-von-Guericke University, 39120, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Oliver Speck
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany; Biomedical Magnetic Resonance, Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany; Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences (CBBS), 39106 Magdeburg, Germany; Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, 39118 Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Emrah Düzel
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany; Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences (CBBS), 39106 Magdeburg, Germany; Institute of Cognitive Neurology and Dementia Research, Otto-von-Guericke University, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany; Department of Neurology, Otto-von-Guericke University, 39120, Magdeburg, Germany; Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London WCIN 3AZ, UK
| | - Anne Maass
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Stefanie Schreiber
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany; Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences (CBBS), 39106 Magdeburg, Germany; Department of Neurology, Otto-von-Guericke University, 39120, Magdeburg, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Vockert N, Perosa V, Ziegler G, Schreiber F, Priester A, Spallazzi M, Garcia-Garcia B, Aruci M, Mattern H, Haghikia A, Düzel E, Schreiber S, Maass A. Hippocampal vascularization patterns exert local and distant effects on brain structure but not vascular pathology in old age. Brain Commun 2021; 3:fcab127. [PMID: 34222874 PMCID: PMC8249103 DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcab127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2021] [Revised: 04/25/2021] [Accepted: 06/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The hippocampus within the medial temporal lobe is highly vulnerable to age-related pathology such as vascular disease. We examined hippocampal vascularization patterns by harnessing the ultra-high resolution of 7 Tesla magnetic resonance angiography. Dual-supply hemispheres with a contribution of the anterior choroidal artery to hippocampal blood supply were distinguished from single-supply ones with a sole dependence on the posterior cerebral artery. A recent study indicated that a dual vascular supply is related to preserved cognition and structural hippocampal integrity in old age and vascular disease. Here, we examined the regional specificity of these structural benefits at the level of medial temporal lobe sub-regions and hemispheres. In a cross-sectional study with an older cohort of 17 patients with cerebral small vessel disease (70.7 ± 9.0 years, 35.5% female) and 27 controls (71.1 ± 8.2 years, 44.4% female), we demonstrate that differences in grey matter volumes related to the hippocampal vascularization pattern were specifically observed in the anterior hippocampus and entorhinal cortex. These regions were especially bigger in dual-supply hemispheres, but also seemed to benefit from a contralateral dual supply. We further show that total grey matter volumes were greater in people with at least one dual-supply hemisphere, indicating that the hippocampal vascularization pattern has more far-reaching structural implications beyond the medial temporal lobe. A mediation analysis identified total grey matter as a mediator of differences in global cognition. However, our analyses on multiple neuroimaging markers for cerebral small vessel disease did not reveal any evidence that an augmented hippocampal vascularization conveys resistance nor resilience against vascular pathology. We propose that an augmented hippocampal vascularization might contribute to maintaining structural integrity in the brain and preserving cognition despite age-related degeneration. As such, the binary hippocampal vascularization pattern could have major implications for brain structure and function in ageing and dementia independent of vascular pathology, while presenting a simple framework with potential applicability to the clinical setting.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Niklas Vockert
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Valentina Perosa
- Department of Neurology, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany
- J. Philip Kistler Stroke Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Gabriel Ziegler
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany
- Institute of Cognitive Neurology and Dementia Research, Otto-von-Guericke University, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Frank Schreiber
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany
- Department of Neurology, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Anastasia Priester
- Department of Neuroradiology, University Hospital Heidelberg, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Marco Spallazzi
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, Unit of Neurology, Azienda Ospedaliero- Universitaria, 43126 Parma, Italy
| | - Berta Garcia-Garcia
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany
- Department of Neurology, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Merita Aruci
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Hendrik Mattern
- Biomedical Magnetic Resonance, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Aiden Haghikia
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany
- Department of Neurology, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Emrah Düzel
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany
- Department of Neurology, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany
- Institute of Cognitive Neurology and Dementia Research, Otto-von-Guericke University, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London WC1N 3AZ, UK
- Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences (CBBS), 39106 Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Stefanie Schreiber
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany
- Department of Neurology, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany
- Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences (CBBS), 39106 Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Anne Maass
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany
| |
Collapse
|