Lower serum osteocalcin concentrations are associated with brain microstructural changes and worse cognitive...

Area of Science:

• Neuroendocrinology
• Neuroimaging
• Cognitive Neuroscience

Background:

• Osteocalcin, a bone-derived hormone, is known to cross the blood-brain barrier and influence behavior in rodent models.
• Limited human data exists regarding osteocalcin's impact on brain microstructure and cognitive performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between serum osteocalcin concentrations and brain microstructural alterations using MRI.
• To evaluate the relationship between osteocalcin levels and neuropsychological performance in humans.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study involving 24 obese subjects and 20 healthy volunteers.
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) assessed FLAIR signal intensity and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) metrics in specific brain regions (caudate, hypothalamus, thalamus, putamen, subcortical white matter).
• Cognitive function was evaluated using a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery, including the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT).

Main Results:

• Lower osteocalcin concentrations correlated with higher body mass index (BMI) and specific DTI metrics (λ1, λ2, λ3) in the caudate nucleus.
• Reduced osteocalcin was associated with lower FLAIR signal intensity in the caudate and putamen, and higher fractional anisotropy (FA) in the putamen and thalamus among obese individuals.
• Lower osteocalcin levels predicted worse performance on the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), with osteocalcin identified as a key predictor in multivariate analysis.

Conclusions:

• Lower serum osteocalcin concentrations are significantly associated with measurable changes in brain microstructure.
• These microstructural changes, linked to lower osteocalcin, correspond to impaired cognitive performance, particularly in decision-making tasks.