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Amyloid pathology and axonal injury after brain trauma.

Authors :
Scott G
Ramlackhansingh AF
Edison P
Hellyer P
Cole J
Veronese M
Leech R
Greenwood RJ
Turkheimer FE
Gentleman SM
Heckemann RA
Matthews PM
Brooks DJ
Sharp DJ
Source :
Neurology [Neurology] 2016 Mar 01; Vol. 86 (9), pp. 821-8. Date of Electronic Publication: 2016 Feb 03.
Publication Year :
2016

Abstract

Objective: To image β-amyloid (Aβ) plaque burden in long-term survivors of traumatic brain injury (TBI), test whether traumatic axonal injury and Aβ are correlated, and compare the spatial distribution of Aβ to Alzheimer disease (AD).<br />Methods: Patients 11 months to 17 years after moderate-severe TBI underwent (11)C-Pittsburgh compound B ((11)C-PiB)-PET, structural and diffusion MRI, and neuropsychological examination. Healthy aged controls and patients with AD underwent PET and structural MRI. Binding potential (BPND) images of (11)C-PiB, which index Aβ plaque density, were computed using an automatic reference region extraction procedure. Voxelwise and regional differences in BPND were assessed. In TBI, a measure of white matter integrity, fractional anisotropy, was estimated and correlated with (11)C-PiB BPND.<br />Results: Twenty-eight participants (9 with TBI, 9 controls, 10 with AD) were assessed. Increased (11)C-PiB BPND was found in TBI vs controls in the posterior cingulate cortex and cerebellum. Binding in the posterior cingulate cortex increased with decreasing fractional anisotropy of associated white matter tracts and increased with time since injury. Compared to AD, binding after TBI was lower in neocortical regions but increased in the cerebellum.<br />Conclusions: Increased Aβ burden was observed in TBI. The distribution overlaps with, but is distinct from, that of AD. This suggests a mechanistic link between TBI and the development of neuropathologic features of dementia, which may relate to axonal damage produced by the injury.<br /> (© 2016 American Academy of Neurology.)

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
1526-632X
Volume :
86
Issue :
9
Database :
MEDLINE
Journal :
Neurology
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
26843562
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000002413