Dataset Information

Brain Reserve in a Case of Cognitive Resilience to Severe Leukoaraiosis.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Leukoaraiosis, or white matter rarefaction, is a common imaging finding in aging and is presumed to reflect vascular disease. When severe in presentation, potential congenital or acquired etiologies are investigated, prompting referral for neuropsychological evaluation in addition to neuroimaging. T2-weighted imaging is the most common magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) approach to identifying white matter disease. However, more advanced diffusion MRI techniques may provide additional insight into mechanisms that influence the abnormal T2 signal, especially when clinical presentations are discrepant with imaging findings.

Method

We present a case of a 74-year-old woman with severe leukoaraoisis. She was examined by a neurologist, neuropsychologist, and rheumatologist, and completed conventional (T1, T2-FLAIR) MRI, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), and advanced single-shell, high b-value diffusion MRI (i.e., fiber ball imaging [FBI]).

Results

The patient was found to have few neurological signs, no significant cognitive impairment, a negative workup for leukoencephalopathy, and a positive antibody for Sjogren's disease for which her degree of leukoaraiosis would be highly atypical. Tractography results indicate intact axonal architecture that was better resolved using FBI rather than DTI.

Conclusions

This case illustrates exceptional cognitive resilience in the face of severe leukoaraiosis and the potential for advanced diffusion MRI to identify brain reserve.

SUBMITTER: Szeles DM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7738360 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Brain Reserve in a Case of Cognitive Resilience to Severe Leukoaraiosis.

Szeles Dana M DM Milano Nicholas J NJ Moss Hunter J HJ Spampinato Maria Vittoria MV Jensen Jens H JH Benitez Andreana A

Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society : JINS 20200616 1

<h4>Objective</h4>Leukoaraiosis, or white matter rarefaction, is a common imaging finding in aging and is presumed to reflect vascular disease. When severe in presentation, potential congenital or acquired etiologies are investigated, prompting referral for neuropsychological evaluation in addition to neuroimaging. T2-weighted imaging is the most common magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) approach to identifying white matter disease. However, more advanced diffusion MRI techniques may provide addit ...[more]

PMID: 32539895

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Project description:ObjectiveBased on the theories of brain reserve and cognitive reserve, we investigated whether larger maximal lifetime brain growth (MLBG) and/or greater lifetime intellectual enrichment protect against cognitive decline over time.MethodsForty patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) underwent baseline and 4.5-year follow-up evaluations of cognitive efficiency (Symbol Digit Modalities Test, Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task) and memory (Selective Reminding Test, Spatial Recall Test). Baseline and follow-up MRIs quantified disease progression: percentage brain volume change (cerebral atrophy), percentage change in T2 lesion volume. MLBG (brain reserve) was estimated with intracranial volume; intellectual enrichment (cognitive reserve) was estimated with vocabulary. We performed repeated-measures analyses of covariance to investigate whether larger MLBG and/or greater intellectual enrichment moderate/attenuate cognitive decline over time, controlling for disease progression.ResultsPatients with MS declined in cognitive efficiency and memory (p < 0.001). MLBG moderated decline in cognitive efficiency (p = 0.031, ?p (2) = 0.122), with larger MLBG protecting against decline. MLBG did not moderate memory decline (p = 0.234, ?p (2) = 0.039). Intellectual enrichment moderated decline in cognitive efficiency (p = 0.031, ?p (2) = 0.126) and memory (p = 0.037, ?p (2) = 0.115), with greater intellectual enrichment protecting against decline. MS disease progression was more negatively associated with change in cognitive efficiency and memory among patients with lower vs higher MLBG and intellectual enrichment.ConclusionWe provide longitudinal support for theories of brain reserve and cognitive reserve in MS. Larger MLBG protects against decline in cognitive efficiency, and greater intellectual enrichment protects against decline in cognitive efficiency and memory. Consideration of these protective factors should improve prediction of future cognitive decline in patients with MS.

Project description:The aim of the paper is to determine the effects of the cognitive reserve on brain tumour patients' cognitive functions and, specifically, if cognitive reserve helps patients cope with the negative effects of brain tumours on their cognitive functions. We retrospectively studied a large sample of around 700 patients, diagnosed with a brain tumour. Each received an MRI brain examination and performed a battery of tests measuring their cognitive abilities before they underwent neurosurgery. To account for the complexity of cognitive reserve, we construct our cognitive reserve proxy by combining three predictors of patients' cognitive performance, namely, patients' education, occupation, and the environment where they live. Our statistical analysis controls for the type, side, site, and size of the lesion, for fluid intelligence quotient, and for age and gender, in order to tease out the effect of cognitive reserve on each of these tests. Clinical neurological variables have the expected effects on cognitive functions. We find a robust positive effect of cognitive reserve on patients' cognitive performance. Moreover, we find that cognitive reserve modulates the effects of the volume of the lesion: the additional negative impact of an increase in the tumour size on patients' performance is less severe for patients with higher cognitive reserve. We also find substantial differences in these effects depending on the cerebral hemisphere where the lesion occurred and on the cognitive function considered. For several of these functions, the positive effect of cognitive reserve is stronger for patients with lesions in the left hemisphere than for patients whose lesions are in the right hemisphere. The development of prevention strategies and personalized rehabilitation interventions will benefit from our contribution to understanding the role of cognitive reserve, in addition to that of neurological variables, as one of the factors determining the patients' individual differences in cognitive performance caused by brain tumours.

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Dataset Information

Brain Reserve in a Case of Cognitive Resilience to Severe Leukoaraiosis.

Objective

Method

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Brain Reserve in a Case of Cognitive Resilience to Severe Leukoaraiosis.

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