Dataset Information

Investigating the contribution of white matter hyperintensities and cortical thickness to empathy in neurodegenerative and cerebrovascular diseases.

ABSTRACT: Change in empathy is an increasingly recognised symptom of neurodegenerative diseases and contributes to caregiver burden and patient distress. Empathy impairment has been associated with brain atrophy but its relationship to white matter hyperintensities (WMH) is unknown. We aimed to investigate the relationships amongst WMH, brain atrophy, and empathy deficits in neurodegenerative and cerebrovascular diseases. Five hundred thirteen participants with Alzheimer's disease/mild cognitive impairment, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, frontotemporal dementia (FTD), Parkinson's disease, or cerebrovascular disease (CVD) were included. Empathy was assessed using the Interpersonal Reactivity Index. WMH were measured using a semi-automatic segmentation and FreeSurfer was used to measure cortical thickness. A heterogeneous pattern of cortical thinning was found between groups, with FTD showing thinning in frontotemporal regions and CVD in left superior parietal, left insula, and left postcentral. Results from both univariate and multivariate analyses revealed that several variables were associated with empathy, particularly cortical thickness in the fronto-insulo-temporal and cingulate regions, sex (female), global cognition, and right parietal and occipital WMH. Our results suggest that cortical atrophy and WMH may be associated with empathy deficits in neurodegenerative and cerebrovascular diseases. Future work should consider investigating the longitudinal effects of WMH and atrophy on empathy deficits in neurodegenerative and cerebrovascular diseases.

SUBMITTER: Ozzoude M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9213606 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Investigating the contribution of white matter hyperintensities and cortical thickness to empathy in neurodegenerative and cerebrovascular diseases.

Ozzoude Miracle M Varriano Brenda B Beaton Derek D Ramirez Joel J Holmes Melissa F MF Scott Christopher J M CJM Gao Fuqiang F Sunderland Kelly M KM McLaughlin Paula P Rabin Jennifer J Goubran Maged M Kwan Donna D Roberts Angela A Bartha Robert R Symons Sean S Tan Brian B Swartz Richard H RH Abrahao Agessandro A Saposnik Gustavo G Masellis Mario M Lang Anthony E AE Marras Connie C Zinman Lorne L Shoesmith Christen C Borrie Michael M Fischer Corinne E CE Frank Andrew A Freedman Morris M Montero-Odasso Manuel M Kumar Sanjeev S Pasternak Stephen S Strother Stephen C SC Pollock Bruce G BG Rajji Tarek K TK Seitz Dallas D Tang-Wai David F DF Turnbull John J Dowlatshahi Dar D Hassan Ayman A Casaubon Leanne L Mandzia Jennifer J Sahlas Demetrios D Breen David P DP Grimes David D Jog Mandar M Steeves Thomas D L TDL Arnott Stephen R SR Black Sandra E SE Finger Elizabeth E Tartaglia Maria Carmela MC

GeroScience 20220316 3

Change in empathy is an increasingly recognised symptom of neurodegenerative diseases and contributes to caregiver burden and patient distress. Empathy impairment has been associated with brain atrophy but its relationship to white matter hyperintensities (WMH) is unknown. We aimed to investigate the relationships amongst WMH, brain atrophy, and empathy deficits in neurodegenerative and cerebrovascular diseases. Five hundred thirteen participants with Alzheimer's disease/mild cognitive impairmen ...[more]

PMID: 35294697

Similar Datasets

Project description:Abstract White matter hyperintensities (WMHs) have a heterogeneous aetiology, associated with both vascular risk factors and amyloidosis due to Alzheimer’s disease. While spatial distribution of both amyloid and WM lesions carry important information for the underlying pathogenic mechanisms, the regional relationship between these two pathologies and their joint contribution to early cognitive deterioration remains largely unexplored. We included 662 non-demented participants from three Amyloid Imaging to Prevent Alzheimer’s disease (AMYPAD)-affiliated cohorts: EPAD-LCS (N = 176), ALFA+ (N = 310), and EMIF-AD PreclinAD Twin60++ (N = 176). Using PET imaging, cortical amyloid burden was assessed regionally within early accumulating regions (medial orbitofrontal, precuneus, and cuneus) and globally, using the Centiloid method. Regional WMH volume was computed using Bayesian Model Selection. Global associations between WMH, amyloid, and cardiovascular risk scores (Framingham and CAIDE) were assessed using linear models. Partial least square (PLS) regression was used to identify regional associations. Models were adjusted for age, sex, and APOE-e4 status. Individual PLS scores were then related to cognitive performance in 4 domains (attention, memory, executive functioning, and language). While no significant global association was found, the PLS model yielded two components of interest. In the first PLS component, a fronto-parietal WMH pattern was associated with medial orbitofrontal–precuneal amyloid, vascular risk, and age. Component 2 showed a posterior WMH pattern associated with precuneus-cuneus amyloid, less related to age or vascular risk. Component 1 was associated with lower performance in all cognitive domains, while component 2 only with worse memory. In a large pre-dementia population, we observed two distinct patterns of regional associations between WMH and amyloid burden, and demonstrated their joint influence on cognitive processes. These two components could reflect the existence of vascular-dependent and -independent manifestations of WMH-amyloid regional association that might be related to distinct primary pathophysiology. Lorenzini et al. describe two distinct regional patterns of association between white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) and early amyloid deposition, differentially related to vascular risk factors and cognitive performance. These results suggest the existence of vascular-dependent and -independent manifestations of WMH-amyloid regional association that might be related to distinct primary pathophysiology. Graphical Abstract Graphical abstract

Project description:White matter hyperintensities (WMHs) of presumed vascular origin are one of the most important neuroimaging markers of cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD), which are closely associated with cognitive impairment. The aim of this study was to elucidate the pathogenesis of WMHs from the perspective of inflammation and hypoperfusion mechanisms. A total of 65 patients with WMHs and 65 healthy controls were enrolled in this study. Inflammatory markers measurements [hypersensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2)], cognitive evaluation, and pseudocontinuous arterial spin labeling (PCASL) MRI scanning were performed in all the subjects. The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that Lp-PLA2 was an independent risk factor for WMHs. Cerebral blood flow (CBF) in the whole brain, gray matter (GM), white matter (WM), left orbital medial frontal gyrus [MFG.L (orbital part)], left middle temporal gyrus (MTG.L), and right thalamus (Tha.R) in the patients was lower than those in the controls and CBF in the left triangular inferior frontal gyrus [IFG.L (triangular part)] was higher in the patients than in the controls. There was a significant correlation between Lp-PLA2 levels and CBF in the whole brain (R = -0.417, p < 0.001) and GM (R = -0.278, p = 0.025), but not in the WM in the patients. Moreover, CBF in the MFG.L (orbital part) and the Tha.R was, respectively, negatively associated with the trail making test (TMT) and the Stroop color word test (SCWT), suggesting the higher CBF, the better executive function. The CBF in the IFG.L (triangular part) was negatively correlated with attention scores in the Cambridge Cognitive Examination-Chinese Version (CAMCOG-C) subitems (R = -0.288, p = 0.020). Our results revealed the vascular inflammation roles in WMHs, which may through the regulation of CBF in the whole brain and GM. Additionally, CBF changes in different brain regions may imply a potential role in the modulation of cognitive function in different domains.

Dataset Information

Investigating the contribution of white matter hyperintensities and cortical thickness to empathy in neurodegenerative and cerebrovascular diseases.

Publications

Investigating the contribution of white matter hyperintensities and cortical thickness to empathy in neurodegenerative and cerebrovascular diseases.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets