White matter hyperintensities and mild behavioral impairment: Findings from the MEMENTO cohort study

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Gerontology
• Radiology

Background:

• White matter hyperintensities (WMH) are associated with cognitive decline and dementia risk.
• Mild behavioral impairment (MBI), a syndrome of persistent neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS), signifies an at-risk state for cognitive decline.
• Both WMH and MBI are prevalent in mild cognitive impairment (MCI), but their relationship in this population is understudied.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between MBI status and white matter hyperintensities (WMH) volume in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).
• To determine if MBI or its individual domains are better predictors of WMH volume compared to standard cognitive assessments like the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE).

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from 768 memory clinic patients with MCI from the French MEMENTO study.
• Quantified WMH volume using brain magnetic resonance imaging.
• Categorized participants into MBI-positive (MBI+) and MBI-negative (MBI-) based on persistent NPS and assessed the association with WMH volume via linear regression.

Main Results:

• MBI was present in 29.8% of participants and associated with lower MMSE scores and male sex.
• MBI+ status was significantly associated with a 9.4% higher WMH volume compared to MBI- status (p=0.01).
• Global MBI status, but not individual MBI domains or MMSE score, significantly predicted WMH volume.

Conclusions:

• In older adults with MCI, MBI is significantly associated with increased WMH volume.
• The study supports the utility of MBI as a composite assessment for predicting WMH volume in MCI patients.
• Global MBI status demonstrates superior predictive value for WMH volume over individual MBI domains or MMSE scores.