Cardiovascular risk factors cause cortical thinning in cognitively impaired patients: relationships among cardiovascular risk factors, white matter hyperintensities, and cortical atrophy.

Cardiovascular risk factors cause cortical thinning in cognitively impaired patients: relationships among cardiovascular risk factors, white matter hyperintensities, and cortical atrophy. Alzheimer Dis Assoc Disord. 2012 Apr-Jun;26(2):106-12 Authors: Seo SW, Lee JM, Im K, Park JS, Kim SH, Kim ST, Ahn JH, Kim MJ, Kim GH, Kim JH, Roh JH, Cheong HK, Na DL Abstract Cardiovascular risk factors are associated with cognitive impairments. However, the effects of cardiovascular risk factors on the topography of cortical thinning have not yet been studied in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia. Thus, we aimed to evaluate the topography of cortical thinning related to cardiovascular risk factors and the relationships among cardiovascular risk factors, white matter hyperintensities (WMH), and cortical atrophy. Participants included 226 patients with Alzheimer disease or subcortical vascular dementia and 135 patients with amnestic MCI or subcortical vascular MCI. We automatically measured the volume of WMH and cortical thickness. Hypertension was associated with cortical thinning in the frontal and perisylvian regions, and cortical thinning related to diabetes mellitus (DM) occurred in the frontal region. In path analyses, hypertension accounted for 0.04 of the frontal thinning with the mediation of WMH and 0.16 without the mediation of WMH. In case of DM, it accounted for 0.02 of the frontal thinning with the mediation of WMH and 0.1...
Source: Alzheimer Disease and Associated Disorders - Category: Psychiatry Tags: Alzheimer Dis Assoc Disord Source Type: research