Abstract
The Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative showed that Japanese had significantly lower brain Aβ burden than Americans among a cognitively normal population. This cross-sectional study aimed to compare vascular disease burden, Aβ burden, and neurodegeneration between cognitively normal elderly Japanese and Americans. Japanese and American participants were matched for age (±4-year-old), sex, and Apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype. Brain vascular disease burden and brain Aβ burden were measured using white matter lesions (WMLs) and 11C-labeled Pittsburgh Compound B (PiB) retention, respectively. Neurodegeneration was measured using hippocampal volumes and cortical thickness. A total of 95 Japanese and 95 Americans were recruited (50.5% men, mean age = 82). Compared to Americans, Japanese participants had larger WMLs, and a similar global Aβ standardized uptake value ratio (SUVR), cortical thickness and hippocampal volumes. Japanese had significantly lower regional Aβ SUVR in the anterior ventral striatum, posterior cingulate cortex, and precuneus. Cognitively normal elderly Japanese and Americans had different profiles regarding vascular disease and Aβ burden. This suggests that multiple risk factors are likely to be involved in the development of dementia. Additionally, Japanese might have a lower risk of dementia due to lower Aβ burden than Americans. Longitudinal follow-up of these cohorts is warranted to ascertain the predictive accuracy of these findings.
Highlights
Vascular disease burden, amyloid-β (Aβ) burden, and neurodegeneration are major pathological risk factors of dementia [1,2]
We have previously reported that white matter lesions (WMLs), Aβ burden, and hippocampal volume were each independently associated with incidence of mild cognitive impairment and dementia [1,2]
The present study showed that, compared to Americans, Japanese elderly with normal cognition had larger WMLs, lower regional brain Aβ deposition, and similar levels of cortical thickness and hippocampal volume
Summary
Amyloid-β (Aβ) burden, and neurodegeneration are major pathological risk factors of dementia [1,2]. The relative prevalence of these major risk factors might differ across populations despite a similar prevalence of dementia across developed countries [3]. Japanese have a notably high vascular disease burden. Prevalence of hypertension is higher in Japan than in other developed countries [4,5]. Japanese have had higher stroke mortality and higher prevalence of silent brain infarcts than Americans [6,7]. The Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) reported a lower brain Aβ burden among Japanese than among Americans [8]
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