Amyloid-PET and White Matter Hyperintensities Have Independent Effects on Baseline Cognitive Function and Synergistic Effects on Longitudinal Executive Function

Doaa G. Ali, Erin L. Abner, Ahmed A. Bahrani, Riham El Khouli, Brian T. Gold, Yang Jiang, Donna M. Wilcock, Gregory A. Jicha

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Co-occurrence of beta amyloid (Aβ) and white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) increase the risk of dementia and both are considered biomarkers of preclinical dementia. Moderation and mediation modeling were used to define the interplay between global and regional Aβ and WMHs measures in relation to executive function (EF) and memory composite scores outcomes at baseline and after approximately 2 years across a sample of 714 clinically normal participants from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI 2). The moderation regression analysis showed additive effects of Aβ and WMHs over baseline memory and EF scores (p = 0.401 and 0.061, respectively) and synergistic effects over follow-up EF (p < 0.05). Through mediation analysis, the data presented demonstrate that WMHs effects, mediated by global and regional amyloid burden, are responsible for baseline cognitive performance deficits in memory and EF. These findings suggest that Aβ and WMHs contribute to baseline cognition independently while WMHs volumes exert effects on baseline cognitive performance directly and through influences on Aβ accumulation.

Original languageEnglish
Article number218
JournalBrain Sciences
Volume13
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This work was supported by NIH/NIA P30 AG072946 and the generous support of the Robert T. and Nyles Y. McCowan endowment to the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging and the B. Wayne Hughes Memorial Fund.

Funding Information:
We thank Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative for access to their data and the many participants who made this study possible. Data collection and sharing for this project was funded by the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) (National Institutes of Health Grant U01 AG024904) and DOD ADNI (Department of Defense award number W81XWH-12-2-0012). ADNI is funded by the National Institute on Aging, the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering and through generous contributions from the following: AbbVie, Alzheimer’s Association; Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation; Araclon Biotech; BioClinica, Inc.; Biogen; Bristol-Myers Squibb Company; CereSpir, Inc.; Cogstate; Eisai Inc.; Elan Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Eli Lilly and Company; EuroImmun; F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. and its affiliated company Genentech, Inc.; Fujirebio; GE Healthcare; IXICO Ltd.; Janssen Alzheimer Immunotherapy Research & Development, LLC.; Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development LLC.; Lumosity; Lundbeck; Merck & Co., Inc.; Meso Scale Diagnostics, LLC.; NeuroRx Research; Neurotrack Technologies; Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation; Pfizer Inc.; Piramal Imaging; Servier; Takeda Pharmaceutical Company; and Transition Therapeutics. The Canadian Institutes of Health Research is providing funds to support ADNI clinical sites in Canada. Private sector contributions are facilitated by the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health ( www.fnih.org ) on 24 July 2021 . The grantee organization is the Northern California Institute for Research and Education, and the study is coordinated by the Alzheimer’s Therapeutic Research Institute at the University of Southern California. ADNI data are disseminated by the Laboratory for Neuro Imaging at the University of Southern California.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 by the authors.

Keywords

  • cognitive function
  • executive function
  • neuroimaging
  • neuroimaging
  • preclinical Alzheimer’s disease
  • regional standardized uptake value ratio (SUVr)
  • white matter hyperintensities (WMH)

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Neuroscience (all)

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