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Quantitative Water Permeability Mapping of Blood-Brain-Barrier Dysfunction in Aging
Jeremy N Ford, Qihao Zhang, Elizabeth M Sweeney, Alexander E Merkler, Mony J de Leon, Ajay Gupta, Thanh D Nguyen, Jana Ivanidze. Frontiers in aging neuroscience, 2022-04-08
Topic: Plasma and spinal-fluid biomarkers
Blood-brain-barrier (BBB) dysfunction is a hallmark of aging and aging-related disorders, including cerebral small vessel disease and Alzheimer's disease. An emerging biomarker of BBB dysfunction is BBB water exchange rate (kW) as measured by diffusion-weighted arterial spin labeling (DW-ASL) MRI. We developed an improved DW-ASL sequence for Quantitative Permeability Mapping and evaluated whole brain and region-specific kW in a cohort of 30 adults without dementia across the age spectrum. In this cross-sectional study, we found higher kW values in the cerebral cortex (mean = 81.51 min-1, SD = 15.54) compared to cerebral white matter (mean = 75.19 min-1, SD = 13.85) (p < 0.0001). We found a similar relationship for cerebral blood flow (CBF), concordant with previously published studies. Multiple linear regression analysis with kW as an outcome showed that age was statistically significant in the cerebral cortex (p = 0.013), cerebral white matter (p = 0.033), hippocampi (p = 0.043), orbitofrontal cortices (p = 0.042), and precunei cortices (p = 0.009), after adjusting for sex and number of vascular risk factors. With CBF as an outcome, age was statistically significant only in the cerebral cortex (p = 0.026) and precunei cortices (p = 0.020). We further found moderate negative correlations between white matter hyperintensity (WMH) kW and WMH volume (r = -0.51, p = 0.02), and normal-appearing white matter (NAWM) and WMH volume (r = -0.44, p = 0.05). This work illuminates the relationship between BBB water exchange and aging and may serve as the basis for BBB-targeted therapies for aging-related brain disorders.
Key findings
- In this cross-sectional study, we found higher kW values in the cerebral cortex (mean = 81.51 min-1, SD = 15.54) compared to cerebral white matter (mean = 75.19 min-1, SD = 13.85) (p < 0.0001).
- We found a similar relationship for cerebral blood flow (CBF), concordant with previously published studies.
- Multiple linear regression analysis with kW as an outcome showed that age was statistically significant in the cerebral cortex (p = 0.013), cerebral white matter (p = 0.033), hippocampi (p = 0.043), orbitofrontal cortices (p = 0.042), and precunei cortices (p = 0.009), after adjusting for sex and number of vascular risk factors.
- With CBF as an outcome, age was statistically significant only in the cerebral cortex (p = 0.026) and precunei cortices (p = 0.020).
Study details
- Study designcross-sectional
- Participants30
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 59/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a snapshot of people at one point in time. Scored zero for effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record, multi-centre collaboration and free to read, so those were left out: it earned 33 of the 56 points we could judge it on, which is 59 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Frontiers in aging neuroscience) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 4 / 12 | A snapshot of people at one point in time |
| Strength of evidence | 3 / 5 | Rated “moderate” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 3 / 5 | 2022 — within 6 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 1 / 4 | 30 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 35462701) |
| Free to read | — / 2 | Access not recorded — left out of this score |
| Points | 33 / 56 | Scored on 10 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 33 of the 56 points we could judge it on is 59 out of 100. |
| Total | 59 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
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Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record names 8 authors; APA and Vancouver show the first six, BibTeX and the downloads carry all of them. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Ford, J. N., Zhang, Q., Sweeney, E. M., Merkler, A. E., de Leon, M. J., Gupta, A., et al. (2022). Quantitative Water Permeability Mapping of Blood-Brain-Barrier Dysfunction in Aging. Frontiers in aging neuroscience. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2022.867452
Vancouver
Ford JN, Zhang Q, Sweeney EM, Merkler AE, de Leon MJ, Gupta A, et al. Quantitative Water Permeability Mapping of Blood-Brain-Barrier Dysfunction in Aging. Frontiers in aging neuroscience. 2022. doi:10.3389/fnagi.2022.867452. PMID: 35462701.
BibTeX
@article{ford2022-35462701,
author = {Ford, Jeremy N and Zhang, Qihao and Sweeney, Elizabeth M and Merkler, Alexander E and de Leon, Mony J and Gupta, Ajay and Nguyen, Thanh D and Ivanidze, Jana},
title = {{Quantitative Water Permeability Mapping of Blood-Brain-Barrier Dysfunction in Aging}},
journal = {Frontiers in aging neuroscience},
year = {2022},
doi = {10.3389/fnagi.2022.867452},
pmid = {35462701},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2022.867452}
}
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