fMRI BOLD turnover (TBOLD) as a proxy for neuroinflammation

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Immunology
• Aging Research

Background:

• Inflammation negatively impacts brain health and aging.
• Turnover of the BOLD signal (TBOLD) is a novel brain function measure.
• Previous studies linked increased TBOLD with age and decreased brain volume, but not in carriers of the protective HLA-DRB1*13:02 allele.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if TBOLD, a measure of brain function turnover, reflects neuroinflammation.
• To assess the association between TBOLD and systemic inflammatory markers.

Main Methods:

• Analyzed data from 1390 healthy participants in the Human Connectome Project on Aging/Aging Adult Brain Connectome (AABC).
• Assessed the association between TBOLD and C-reactive protein (CRP).
• Examined the association between TBOLD and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in a subset of 97 participants.

Main Results:

• Found a significant positive association between TBOLD and CRP.
• Observed a significant positive association between TBOLD and IL-6.
• These findings support TBOLD as a potential indicator of neuroinflammation.

Conclusions:

• TBOLD is significantly associated with systemic inflammatory markers CRP and IL-6.
• The results support the hypothesis that TBOLD may serve as a proxy for neuroinflammation.
• This provides a new avenue for understanding brain aging and inflammation.