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Cigarette smoking is associated with reduced microstructural integrity of cerebral white matter
Cigarette smoking is associated with reduced microstructural integrity of cerebral white matter
- Source :
- Gons, R A R, van Norden, A G W, de Laat, K F, van Oudheusden, L J B, van Uden, I W M, Zwiers, M P, Norris, D G & de Leeuw, F-E 2011, ' Cigarette smoking is associated with reduced microstructural integrity of cerebral white matter ', Brain : a journal of neurology, vol. 134, no. Pt 7, pp. 2116-24 . https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awr145, Brain : a journal of neurology, 134(Pt 7), 2116-24, Brain, 134, 2116-24, Brain, 134, Pt 7, pp. 2116-24
- Publication Year :
- 2011
-
Abstract
- Contains fulltext : 95719.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access) Cigarette smoking doubles the risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Various pathophysiological pathways have been proposed to cause such a cognitive decline, but the exact mechanisms remain unclear. Smoking may affect the microstructural integrity of cerebral white matter. Diffusion tensor imaging is known to be sensitive for microstructural changes in cerebral white matter. We therefore cross-sectionally studied the relation between smoking behaviour (never, former, current) and diffusion tensor imaging parameters in both normal-appearing white matter and white matter lesions as well as the relation between smoking behaviour and cognitive performance. A structured questionnaire was used to ascertain the amount and duration of smoking in 503 subjects with small-vessel disease, aged between 50 and 85 years. Cognitive function was assessed with a neuropsychological test battery. All subjects underwent 1.5 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging. Using diffusion tensor imaging, fractional anisotropy and mean diffusivity were calculated in both normal-appearing white matter and white matter lesions. A history of smoking was associated with significant higher values of mean diffusivity in normal-appearing white matter and white matter lesions (P-trend for smoking status = 0.02) and with poorer cognitive functioning compared with those who never smoked. Associations with smoking and loss of structural integrity appeared to be strongest in normal-appearing white matter. Furthermore, the duration of smoking cessation was positively related to lower values of mean diffusivity and higher values of fractional anisotropy in normal-appearing white matter [beta = -0.004 (95% confidence interval -0.007 to 0.000; P = 0.03) and beta = 0.019 (95% confidence interval 0.001-0.038; P = 0.04)]. Fractional anisotropy and mean diffusivity values in normal-appearing white matter of subjects who had quit smoking for >20 years were comparable with subjects who had never smoked. These data suggest that smoking affects the microstructural integrity of cerebral white matter and support previous data that smoking is associated with impaired cognition. Importantly, they suggest that quitting smoking may reverse the impaired structural integrity.
- Subjects :
- Male
medicine.medical_specialty
Pathology
medicine.medical_treatment
Neuroinformatics Mental health [DCN 3]
Blood Pressure
Neuropsychological Tests
Nerve Fibers, Myelinated
150 000 MR Techniques in Brain Function
White matter
Cohort Studies
Heart Rate
Risk Factors
Internal medicine
Fractional anisotropy
medicine
Humans
Cognitive decline
Aged
Cerebral Cortex
Analysis of Variance
medicine.diagnostic_test
Smoking
Magnetic resonance imaging
Middle Aged
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Confidence interval
Hyperintensity
medicine.anatomical_structure
Diffusion Tensor Imaging
Cardiology
Smoking cessation
Anisotropy
Female
Smoking Cessation
Neurology (clinical)
Psychology
Cognition Disorders
Functional Neurogenomics [DCN 2]
Diffusion MRI
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 00068950
- Volume :
- 134
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Brain
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....e3a8f4275e53cd650ff2b60249ffbaef
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awr145