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Published on: October 22, 2014
Enlarged Perivascular Spaces and Modifiable Vascular Risk Factors: Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Analysis in the
Shizuka Hayashi1, Jiyang Jiang1, Yang Song2
1Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA) (SH, JJ, MP, PSS, WW), Discipline of Psychiatry and Mental Health, School of Clinical Medicine, UNSW, Sydney, Australia.
Summary
Vascular risk factors like hypertension and smoking are linked to increased perivascular spaces (PVS) in older adults. These findings highlight PVS as a key indicator of vascular brain health and neurodegenerative risk.
Area of Science:
- Neuroimaging and Neurology
- Vascular Biology and Aging
- Genetics and Brain Health
Background:
- Perivascular spaces (PVS) are crucial for waste clearance in the brain.
- Enlarged PVS are associated with aging and cerebrovascular disease.
- Understanding risk factors for PVS is vital for brain health in older adults.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate associations between vascular risk factors, APOE genotype, and PVS.
- To examine sex- and region-specific patterns of PVS in older adults.
- To explore both cross-sectional and longitudinal relationships.
Main Methods:
- Utilized UK Biobank data from 38,121 participants for cross-sectional analysis and 4,225 for longitudinal analysis.
- Employed a deep learning model for automated quantification of PVS in the basal ganglia (BG) and centrum semiovale (CSO) from brain MRI.
- Assessed vascular risk factors including hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, obesity, diabetes, smoking, and alcohol consumption, adjusting for age, sex, scanner, and APOE-ɛ4 status.
Main Results:
- Cross-sectionally, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, obesity, and smoking were associated with increased BG-PVS.
- APOE-ɛ4 carriership and hypertension were linked to increased CSO-PVS.
- Alcohol consumption showed sex-specific associations with BG-PVS; longitudinal associations were limited.
Conclusions:
- Perivascular spaces (PVS) serve as a meaningful indicator of vascular brain health.
- PVS may aid in the early identification of neurodegenerative risk in the aging population.
- Findings underscore the importance of managing vascular risk factors for brain health.
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