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Published on: September 4, 2013
Peripheral inflammatory markers indicate microstructural damage within periventricular white matter hyperintensities
Walter Swardfager1, Di Yu2, Joel Ramirez3
1Hurvitz Brain Sciences Program, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Canadian Partnership for Stroke Recovery, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; LC Campbell Cognitive Neurology Unit, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; University Health Network Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Introduction:
White matter hyperintensities (WMH) presumed to reflect cerebral small vessel disease and increased peripheral inflammatory markers are found commonly in Alzheimer's disease (AD), but their interrelationships remain unclear.
Methods:
Inflammatory markers were assayed in 54 elderly participants (n = 16 with AD). Periventricular WMH were delineated from T1, T2/proton density, and fluid-attenuated magnetic resonance imaging using semiautomated fuzzy lesion extraction and coregistered with maps of fractional anisotropy (FA), a measure of microstructural integrity assessed using diffusion tensor imaging.
Results:
Mean FA within periventricular WMH was associated with an inflammatory factor consisting of interleukin (IL)-1β, tumor necrosis factor, IL-10, IL-21, and IL-23 in patients with AD (ρ = -0.703, P = .002) but not in healthy elderly (ρ = 0.217, P = .190). Inflammation was associated with greater FA in deep WMH in healthy elderly (ρ = 0.425, P = .008) but not in patients with AD (ρ = 0.174, P = .520).
Discussion:
Peripheral inflammatory markers may be differentially related to microstructural characteristics within the white matter affected by cerebral small vessel disease in elders with and without AD.
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