1. Neurofilament relates to white matter microstructure in older adults.
- Author
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Moore EE, Hohman TJ, Badami FS, Pechman KR, Osborn KE, Acosta LMY, Bell SP, Babicz MA, Gifford KA, Anderson AW, Goldstein LE, Blennow K, Zetterberg H, and Jefferson AL
- Subjects
- Aged, Aging cerebrospinal fluid, Amyloid beta-Peptides cerebrospinal fluid, Biomarkers cerebrospinal fluid, Brain anatomy & histology, Cognitive Dysfunction cerebrospinal fluid, Cohort Studies, Diffusion Tensor Imaging, Female, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Peptide Fragments cerebrospinal fluid, White Matter anatomy & histology, Aging physiology, Brain diagnostic imaging, Cognitive Dysfunction diagnostic imaging, Neurofilament Proteins cerebrospinal fluid, White Matter diagnostic imaging
- Abstract
Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) neurofilament light (NFL) is a protein biomarker of axonal injury. To study whether NFL is associated with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) measurements of white matter (WM) microstructure, Vanderbilt Memory & Aging Project participants with normal cognition (n = 77), early mild cognitive impairment (n = 15), and MCI (n = 55) underwent lumbar puncture to obtain CSF and 3T brain MRI. Voxel-wise analyses cross-sectionally related NFL to DTI metrics, adjusting for demographic and vascular risk factors. Increased NFL correlated with multiple DTI metrics (p-values < 0.05). An NFL × diagnosis interaction (excluding early mild cognitive impairment) on WM microstructure (p-values < 0.05) was detected, with associations strongest among MCI. Multiple NFL × CSF biomarker interactions were detected. Associations between NFL and worse WM metrics were strongest among amyloid-β
42 -negative, tau-positive, and suspected nonamyloid pathology participants. Findings suggest increased NFL, a biomarker of axonal injury, is correlated with compromised WM microstructure. Results highlight the role of elevated NFL in predicting WM damage in cognitively impaired older adults who are amyloid-negative, tau-positive, or meet suspected nonamyloid pathology criteria., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)- Published
- 2018
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