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Brain arterial dilatation and the risk of Alzheimer's disease
Author(s) -
Gutierrez Jose,
Guzman Vanessa,
Khasiyev Farid,
Manly Jennifer,
Schupf Nicole,
Andrews Howard,
Mayeux Richard,
Brickman Adam M.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
alzheimer's and dementia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.713
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1552-5279
pISSN - 1552-5260
DOI - 10.1016/j.jalz.2018.12.018
Subject(s) - medicine , dementia , cardiology , hyperintensity , hazard ratio , vascular dementia , demographics , pathophysiology , disease , radiology , magnetic resonance imaging , confidence interval , demography , sociology
We tested the hypothesis that brain arterial dilatation increases the risk of Alzheimer's dementia (AD). Methods We studied dementia‐free participants in the Washington Heights‐Inwood Columbia Aging Project who had a brain MRI and post‐MRI dementia adjudication. We measured the axial T2‐proton density diameters of the intracranial carotids and basilar diameters and used Cox models to obtain AD hazard ratios and 95% intervals. Results Of 953 participants (mean age 77 ± 7 y, women 64%, 71% nonwhite) followed on average for 3 ± 3 years, 76 (8%) developed AD. In a model adjusted for demographics, vascular risks, apolipoprotein E ( APOE )‐ε4, and white matter hyperintensities, larger carotid diameters increased the risk of AD, defined categorically as ≥ 90th percentile (HR 4.34, 1.70–11.11) or continuously (HR 1.44 per SD, 1.07–1.94). Discussion Understanding the pathophysiology of the association between AD and brain arterial dilatation may reveal new clues to the vascular contributions to AD.