Abstract
BackgroundTo explore whether the combination of white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) and amyloid-beta (Aβ) deposition is associated with worse cognitive performance on cognitive composites (CCs) domain scores in individuals with subjective cognitive decline (SCD).MethodsTwo hundred participants from the FACEHBI cohort underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), 18F-florbetaben positron emission tomography (FBB-PET), and neuropsychological assessment. WMHs were addressed through the Fazekas scale, the Age-Related White Matter Changes (ARWMC) scale, and the FreeSurfer pipeline. Eight CCs domain scores were created using the principal component analysis (PCA). Age, sex, education, and apolipoprotein E (APOE) were used as adjusting variables.ResultsAdjusted multiple linear regression models showed that FreeSurfer (B − .245; 95% CI − .1.676, − .393, p = .016) and β burden (SUVR) (B − .180; 95% CI − 2.140, − .292; p = .070) were associated with face–name associative memory CCs domain score, although the latest one was not statistically significant after correction for multiple testing (p = .070). There was non-significant interaction of these two factors on this same CCs domain score (p = .54). However, its cumulative effects on face–name associative performance indicated that those individuals with either higher WMH load or higher Aβ burden showed the worst performance on the face–name associative memory CCs domain score.ConclusionsOur results suggest that increased WMH load and increased Aβ are independently associated with poorer episodic memory performance in SCD individuals, indicating a cumulative effect of the combination of these two pathological conditions in promoting lower cognitive performance, an aspect that could help in terms of treatment and prevention.
Highlights
To explore whether the combination of white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) and amyloid-beta (Aβ) deposition is associated with worse cognitive performance on cognitive composites (CCs) domain scores in individu‐ als with subjective cognitive decline (SCD)
With a cross-sectional analysis of 200 participants with SCD from the Fundació ACE Brain Health Initiative (FACEHBI) [14] cohort, we aimed to explore the relationship of WMHs and Aβ deposition with performance on cognitive composites (CCs) domain scores in individuals with SCD, providing answers to the following hypotheses: (1) WMHs and Aβ deposition are associated with poor cognitive performance on specific CCs domain scores and (2) the combined impact of WMH load and Aβ burden is associated with a worse cognitive performance
According to the vascular profile, the sample had a median Fazekas score of 1, a median Age-Related White Matter Changes (ARWMC) of 1, and a median WMH volume quantified by FreeSurfer of 1675.25
Summary
To explore whether the combination of white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) and amyloid-beta (Aβ) deposition is associated with worse cognitive performance on cognitive composites (CCs) domain scores in individu‐ als with subjective cognitive decline (SCD). The term subjective cognitive decline (SCD) has been introduced to refer to these kinds of symptoms [12]. Those self-reported complaints, identified with SCD diagnosis, may present with markers for small vessel disease (SVD), such as WMHs. to date, there is little data about WMHs in preclinical AD and their relation to AD biomarkers such as Aβ. We are the first to investigate this aspect in combination with Aβ burden in subjects presenting with SCD in a clinical setting
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