Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 12, 2025

Evaluation of the Cognitive Performance of Hypertensive Patients with Silent Cerebrovascular Lesions
Published on: April 23, 2021
Cardiovascular risk of dementia is associated with brain-behaviour changes in cognitively healthy, middle-aged
Feng Deng1, Maria-Eleni Dounavi2, Emanuele R G Plini3
1School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China.
Abstract:
Alzheimer's Disease (AD) neuropathology start decades before clinical manifestations, but whether risk factors are associated with early cognitive and brain changes in midlife remains poorly understood. We examined whether AD risk factors were associated with cognition and functional connectivity (FC) between the Locus Coeruleus (LC) and hippocampus - two key brain structures in AD neuropathology - cross-sectionally and longitudinally in cognitively healthy midlife individuals. Neuropsychological assessments and functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging were obtained at baseline (N=210), and two-years follow-up (N=188). Associations of cognition and FC with apolipoprotein ε4 (APOE ε4) genotype, family history of dementia, and the Cardiovascular Risk Factors, Aging, and Incidence of Dementia (CAIDE) score were investigated. Cross-sectionally, higher CAIDE scores were associated with worse cognition. Menopausal status interacted with the CAIDE risk on cognition. Furthermore, the CAIDE score significantly moderated the relationship between cognition and LC-Hippocampus FC. Longitudinally, the LC-Hippocampus FC decreased significantly over 2 years. These results suggest that cardiovascular risk of dementia is associated with brain-behaviour changes in cognitively healthy, middle-aged individuals.
Related Concept Videos
Dementia
The progression of dementia is generally gradual....
Cognitive Development During Adulthood
Alzheimer's Disease: Overview
The clinical diagnosis of AD hinges on the presence of memory and other cognitive impairments. Biomarkers, such as changes in Aβ...
Psychoneuroimmunology: Cardiovascular Disease
A key area of focus in PNI is the relationship between stress and coronary...
Aging
Cellular Clock Theory
The cellular clock theory posits that the human lifespan is closely tied to the finite capacity of cells to divide, a phenomenon governed by telomeres, which are protective caps at the ends of...
Blood Studies for Cardiovascular System I: Cardiac Biomarkers
The essential diagnostic tools for detecting myocardial necrosis and monitoring individuals suspected of having acute coronary syndrome (ACS) include:
Troponins
Troponins, particularly cardiac troponins I and T, are the most precise and sensitive markers of myocardial injury. They are detectable within 4-6 hours of myocardial injury and remain...

