Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 12, 2025
07:30
Evaluation of the Cognitive Performance of Hypertensive Patients with Silent Cerebrovascular Lesions
Published on: April 23, 2021
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Arterial stiffness moderates the link between NfL and cognition: The IGNITE study
Amani M Norling1,2, Lewis A Lipsitz1,2, Alyssa B Dufour1,2
1The Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research, Hebrew SeniorLife, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Summary
Higher arterial stiffness amplifies the negative impact of neurofilament light on cognitive function in older adults. This suggests vascular aging may worsen neuroaxonal degeneration-related cognitive decline.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Gerontology
- Cardiovascular Medicine
Background:
- Arterial stiffness, measured by carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV), and plasma neurofilament light (NfL) are indicators of vascular and neuroaxonal aging, respectively.
- Both cfPWV and NfL are independently associated with cognitive decline in older adults.
- The potential synergistic effect of cfPWV on the relationship between NfL and cognitive function remains largely unexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether higher cfPWV exacerbates the association between NfL levels and cognitive performance in cognitively unimpaired older adults.
- To explore the combined impact of vascular aging and neuroaxonal degeneration markers on cognitive function.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional study of 570 cognitively unimpaired older adults.
- Cognitive function assessed using composite scores derived from confirmatory factor analysis.
- Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV) dichotomized at the median.
- Plasma NfL levels quantified using Single Molecule Array (Simoa) technology.
Main Results:
- Elevated NfL levels correlated with poorer performance across all cognitive domains.
- Higher cfPWV was associated with diminished episodic memory, working memory, and processing speed.
- Significant interactions between NfL and cfPWV were observed for episodic and working memory, indicating that higher cfPWV amplified the negative effects of NfL on these cognitive domains.
Conclusions:
- Increased arterial stiffness significantly amplifies the detrimental association between NfL-related axonal degeneration and cognitive decline.
- Findings highlight a synergistic interplay between vascular aging (cfPWV) and neurodegenerative markers (NfL) in predicting cognitive function.
- Evaluating NfL or cfPWV in isolation may underestimate their combined impact on age-related cognitive impairment.
Keywords:
cardiorespiratory fitnesscognitive agingepisodic memoryneurofilament lightolder adultspulse wave velocityvascular healthworking memoryMore Related Videos
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