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Sex difference in brain functional connectivity of hippocampus in Alzheimer's disease
Jordan Williamson, Shirley A James, Peter Mukli, Andriy Yabluchanskiy, Dee H Wu, William Sonntag, Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative Consortium, Yuan Yang. GeroScience, 2023-09-25
Topic: Brain imaging, connectivity and assessment
Alzheimer's disease (AD), affecting nearly 6.5 million people, is the fifth leading cause of death in individuals 65 years or older in the USA. Prior research has shown that AD disproportionality affects females; females have a greater incidence rate, perform worse on a variety of neuropsychological tasks, and have greater total brain atrophy. Recent research has linked these sex differences to neuroimaging markers of brain pathology, such as hippocampal volumes. Specifically, research from our lab found that functional connectivity from the hippocampus to the precuneus cortex and brain stem was significantly stronger in males than in females with mild cognitive impairment. The aim of this study was to extend our understanding to individuals with AD and to determine if these potential sex-specific functional connectivity biomarkers extend through different disease stages. The resting state fMRI and T2 MRI of cognitively normal individuals (n = 32, female = 16) and individuals with AD (n = 32, female = 16) from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) were analyzed using the Functional Connectivity Toolbox (CONN). Our results demonstrate that males had a significantly stronger interhemispheric functional connectivity between the left and right hippocampus compared to females. These results improve our current understanding of the role of the hippocampus in sex differences in AD. Understanding the contribution of impaired functional connectivity sex differences may aid in the development of sex-specific precision medicine for improved AD treatment.
Key findings
- Prior research has shown that AD disproportionality affects females; females have a greater incidence rate, perform worse on a variety of neuropsychological tasks, and have greater total brain atrophy.
- Specifically, research from our lab found that functional connectivity from the hippocampus to the precuneus cortex and brain stem was significantly stronger in males than in females with mild cognitive impairment.
- Our results demonstrate that males had a significantly stronger interhemispheric functional connectivity between the left and right hippocampus compared to females.
- These results improve our current understanding of the role of the hippocampus in sex differences in AD.
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Study details
- Participants32
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 50/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, 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 28 of the 56 points we could judge it on, which is 50 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (GeroScience) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 4 / 5 | 2024 — within 3 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 1 / 4 | 32 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 37743414) |
| Free to read | — / 2 | Access not recorded — left out of this score |
| Points | 28 / 56 | Scored on 10 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 28 of the 56 points we could judge it on is 50 out of 100. |
| Total | 50 / 100 | — |
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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
Williamson, J., James, S. A., Mukli, P., Yabluchanskiy, A., Wu, D. H., Sonntag, W., et al. (2024). Sex difference in brain functional connectivity of hippocampus in Alzheimer's disease. GeroScience. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11357-023-00943-x
Vancouver
Williamson J, James SA, Mukli P, Yabluchanskiy A, Wu DH, Sonntag W, et al. Sex difference in brain functional connectivity of hippocampus in Alzheimer's disease. GeroScience. 2024. doi:10.1007/s11357-023-00943-x. PMID: 37743414.
BibTeX
@article{williamson2024-37743414,
author = {Williamson, Jordan and James, Shirley A and Mukli, Peter and Yabluchanskiy, Andriy and Wu, Dee H and Sonntag, William and {Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative Consortium} and Yang, Yuan},
title = {{Sex difference in brain functional connectivity of hippocampus in Alzheimer's disease}},
journal = {GeroScience},
year = {2024},
doi = {10.1007/s11357-023-00943-x},
pmid = {37743414},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s11357-023-00943-x}
}