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Cerebrospinal fluid Aβ levels correlate with structural brain changes in Parkinson's disease
Mona K Beyer1, Guido Alves, Kristy S Hwang
1The Norwegian Center for Movement Disorders, Stavanger University Hospital, Stavanger, Norway. mona.beyer@lyse.net
Movement Disorders : Official Journal of the Movement Disorder Society
|February 15, 2013
Summary
Cerebrospinal fluid amyloid beta levels correlate with ventricular enlargement in early Parkinson's disease patients. These findings suggest that cerebrospinal fluid and MRI markers may help identify individuals at high risk for cognitive decline.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Neurology
- Radiology
Background:
- Parkinson's disease (PD) is associated with cognitive impairment, including dementia.
- Previous studies on the ParkWest cohort showed hippocampal atrophy and ventricular enlargement in cognitively normal PD (PDCN) and PD with mild cognitive impairment (PDMCI) subjects.
- The relationship between cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers and these structural changes in early PD is not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between CSF levels of amyloid beta (Aβ)38, Aβ40, Aβ42, total tau (t-tau), and phosphorylated tau (p-tau) and structural brain changes (hippocampal atrophy and ventricular enlargement) in drug-naïve PD patients.
- To determine if these associations differ between PDCN and PDMCI subjects.
Main Methods:
- Utilized MRI data and baseline CSF samples from the ParkWest study cohort.
- Performed three-dimensional radial distance analyses of hippocampi and lateral ventricles.
- Analyzed CSF levels of Aβ38, Aβ40, Aβ42, t-tau, and p-tau in 73 PDCN and 18 PDMCI subjects.
Main Results:
- Significant associations were found between CSF Aβ analytes and t-tau levels and lateral ventricular enlargement in the pooled sample.
- In PDCN subjects, all three CSF Aβ analytes were significantly associated with the radial distance of the occipital and frontal horns of the lateral ventricles.
- CSF Aβ38 and Aβ42 showed negative associations with ventricular enlargement in the pooled sample and in PDMCI subjects (occipital horns).
- No associations were found between CSF t-tau or p-tau and hippocampal atrophy, unlike in Alzheimer's disease.
Conclusions:
- CSF Aβ levels in early PD correlate with ventricular enlargement, a marker previously linked to PD dementia.
- CSF and MRI markers may serve as valuable tools for identifying PD patients at elevated risk of cognitive decline and dementia.
- The distinct lack of association between tau pathology markers and hippocampal atrophy in PD, compared to Alzheimer's disease, highlights differing underlying mechanisms.
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