Accumulating evidence implicates small vessel cerebrovascular disease, visualized as white matter hyperintensities (WMH) on T2-weighted MRI, in the pathogenesis and diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Cross-sectional volumetric measures of WMH, particularly in the parietal lobes, are associated with increased risk of AD. In the current study, we sought to determine whether the longitudinal regional progression of WMH predicts incident AD above-and-beyond traditional radiological markers of neurodegeneration (i.e., hippocampal atrophy, cortical thickness). Three hundred three non-demented older adults (mean age = 79.24±5.29) received high-resolution MRI at baseline and then again 4.6 years (SD=1.01) later. Over the follow-up interval 26 participants progressed to AD. Using structural equation modeling (SEM), we calculated latent difference scores of parietal/non-parietal WMH, hippocampus volumes, and cortical thickness values in AD-related regions. Within the SEM framework, we determined whether baseline or change scores or both predicted AD conversion, while controlling for several time-invariant relevant variables. Smaller baseline hippocampus volume, change in hippocampus volume (i.e., atrophy), higher baseline parietal lobe WMH, and increasing parietal lobe WMH volume but not WMH in other regions or measures of cortical thickness, independently predicted progression to AD. The findings provide strong evidence that regionally accumulating WMH, in addition to degenerative changes in the medial temporal lobe, predict AD onset in addition to hallmark neurodegenerative changes typically associated with AD.

Socioeconomic disparities—and particularly differences in educational attainment—are associated with remarkable differences in cognition and behavior across the life-span. Decreased educational attainment has been linked to increased exposure to life stressors, which in turn have been associated with structural differences in the hippocampus and the amygdala. However, the degree to which educational attainment is directly associated with anatomical differences in these structures remains unclear. Recent studies in children have found socioeconomic differences in regional brain volume in the hippocampus and amygdala across childhood and adolescence. Here we expand on this work, by investigating whether disparities in hippocampal and amygdala volume persist across the life-span. In a sample of 275 individuals from the BRAINnet Foundation database ranging in age from 17 to 87, we found that socioeconomic status (SES), as operationalized by years of educational attainment, moderates the effect of age on hippocampal volume. Specifically, hippocampal volume tended to markedly decrease with age among less educated individuals, whereas age-related reductions in hippocampal volume were less pronounced among more highly educated individuals. No such effects were found for amygdala volume. Possible mechanisms by which education may buffer age-related effects on hippocampal volume are discussed.

Background Structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides key biomarkers to predict onset and track progression of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, most published reports of relationships between MRI variables and cognition in older adults include racially, ethnically, and socioeconomically homogenous samples. Racial/ethnic differences in MRI variables and cognitive performance, as well as health, socioeconomic status and psychological factors, raise the possibility that brain-behavior relationships may be stronger or weaker in different groups. The current study tested whether MRI predictors of cognition differ in African Americans and Hispanics, compared with non-Hispanic Whites. Methods Participants were 638 non-demented older adults (29% non-Hispanic White, 36% African American, 35% Hispanic) in the Washington Heights-Inwood Columbia Aging Project. Composite scores of memory, language, speed/executive functioning, and visuospatial function were derived from a neuropsychological battery. Hippocampal volume, regional cortical thickness, infarcts, and white matter hyperintensity (WMH) volumes were quantified with FreeSurfer and in-house developed procedures. Multiple-group regression analysis, in which each cognitive composite score was regressed onto MRI variables, demographics, and cardiovascular health, tested which paths differed across groups. Results Larger WMH volume was associated with worse language and speed/executive functioning among African Americans, but not among non-Hispanic Whites. Larger hippocampal volume was more strongly associated with better memory among non-Hispanic Whites compared with Hispanics. Cortical thickness and infarcts were similarly associated with cognition across groups. Conclusion The main finding of this study was that certain MRI predictors of cognition differed across racial/ethnic groups. These results highlight the critical need for more diverse samples in the study of cognitive aging, as the type and relation of neurobiological substrates of cognitive functioning may be different for different groups.

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Cognitive impairment is common in heart failure (HF) and believed to be the result of cerebral hypoperfusion and subsequent brain changes including white matter hyperintensities (WMH). The current study examined the association between cerebral blood flow and WMH in HF patients and the relationship of WMH to cognitive impairment. Sixty-nine patients with HF completed the mini mental state examination (MMSE), echocardiogram, transcranial Doppler sonography (TCD) for cerebral blood flow velocity of the middle cerebral artery and brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Multivariable hierarchical regression analyses controlling for medical and demographic characteristics as well as intracranial volume showed reduced cerebral blood flow velocity of the middle cerebral artery was associated with greater WMH (β = −.34, p = .02). Follow up regression analyses adjusting for the same medical and demographic factors in addition to cerebral perfusion also revealed marginal significance between increased WMH and poorer performance on the MMSE (β = −.26, p = .05). This study suggests that reduced cerebral perfusion is associated with greater WMH in older adults with HF. Our findings support the widely proposed mechanism of cognitive impairment in HF patients and prospective studies are needed to confirm our findings.