The association of motoric cognitive risk with incident dementia and neuroimaging characteristics: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study

Abstract

Introduction Motoric cognitive risk (MCR), a clinical syndrome characterized by slow gait speed and subjective cognitive complaints, has been associated with dementia risk. The neuropathological features underlying MCR remain poorly understood. Methods The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) community‐based cohort study classified participants using standardized criteria as MCR+/– and mild cognitive impairment (MCI)+/– at study baseline (2011–2013). We examined the 5‐year dementia risk and baseline brain structural/molecular abnormalities associated with MCR+ and MCI+ status. Results Of 5023 nondemented participants included, 204 were MCR+ and 1030 were MCI+. Both MCR+ and MCI+ participants demonstrated increased dementia risk. The pattern of structural brain abnormalities associated with MCR+ differed from that of MCI+. Whereas MCI+ was associated with comparatively smaller volumes in brain regions vulnerable to Alzheimer's disease pathology, MCR+ status was associated with smaller volumes in frontoparietal regions and greater white matter abnormalities. Discussion MCR may represent a predementia syndrome characterized by prominent white matter abnormalities and frontoparietal atrophy.

The Biological Substrate of the Motoric Cognitive Risk Syndrome: A Pilot Study Using Amyloid-/Tau-PET and MR Imaging

“…Previous studies found a correlation between gait parameters and amyloid deposition in subcortical and cortical areas, while a recent study did not find an increased amyloid PET SUVr in MCR+ patients [ 21 ]. Here, for the first time, we also compare tau PET SUVr between MCR+ and MCR- patients, finding no differences.…”

Associations between blood-based biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease with cognition in motoric cognitive risk syndrome: A pilot study using plasma Aβ42 and total tau

“…For cognitively normal individuals, earlier studies have reported significant correlations between slow gait speed and amyloid deposition in the subcortical and cortical areas (Del Campo et al, 2016;Wennberg et al, 2017). However, recent studies did not find increased amyloid deposition in older adults with MCR (Bommarito et al, 2022;Gomez et al, 2022). In this study, for the first time, we compared plasma Aβ42 among older adults with NC, individuals with MCR and those with AD.…”

“…Previous studies suggested that the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying MCR were probably heterogeneous ( Bommarito et al, 2022 ). Gomez et al (2022) recruited 204 participants with MCR and noted that MCR was associated with prominent white matter abnormalities and frontoparietal atrophy. A cross-sectional study recruited 38 participants with MCR and reported that lacunar infarcts in the frontal lobe were associated with MCR in older adults ( Wang et al, 2016 ).…”

The association of white matter hyperintensities with motoric cognitive risk syndrome

“…The association between MCR and WMH was not well documented and there is scope for argument. Gomez et al examined the difference between MCR and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) using neuroimaging data from Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study (ARCS) [12] . Both MCR and MCI associated with increased volume of WMH and MCR associated increase in WMH volume was more than double that associated with MCI [12] .…”

“…However, the association between MCR and WMH was inconsistently presented in various studies. One study revealed that MCR was associated with greater volume of WMH and smaller gray matter volumes in the frontoparietal regions [12] . Conversely, another study showed that MCR was not related to the presence of WMH [13] .…”