Common Brain Structural Alterations Associated with Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors and Alzheimer ’s Dementia: Future Directions and Implications

AbstractRecent reports suggest declines in the age-specific risk of Alzheimer ’s dementia in higher income Western countries. At the same time, investigators believe that worldwide trends of increasing mid-life modifiable risk factors [e.g., cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors] coupled with the growth of the world's oldest age groups may nonetheless lead to an increa se in Alzheimer’s dementia. Thus, understanding the overlap in neuroanatomical profiles associated with CVD risk factors and AD may offer more relevant targets for investigating ways to reduce the growing dementia epidemic than current targets specific to isolated AD-related neuropathology. We hyp othesized that a core group of common brain structural alterations exist between CVD risk factors and Alzheimer’s dementia. Two co-authors conducted independent literature reviews in PubMed using search terms for CVD risk factor burden (separate searches for ‘cardiovascular disease risk factors’ , ‘hypertension’, and ‘Type 2 diabetes’) and ‘aging’ or ‘Alzheimer’s dementia’ with either ‘grey matter volumes’ or ‘white matter’. Of studies that reported regionally localized results, we found support for our hypothesis, determining 23 regions commonly associated with bo th CVD risk factors and Alzheimer’s dementia. Within this context, we outline future directions for research as well as larger cerebrovascular implications for these commonalities. Overall, this review supports pre...

Source: Neuropsychology Review - October 2, 2020 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research