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P2‐401: CEREBRAL VENOUS CALIBER IS ASSOCIATED WITH WHITE MATTER HYPERINTENSITY VOLUME BUT NOT COGNITION
Author(s) -
Houck Alexander L.,
Gutierrez Jose,
Gao Fuqiang,
Igwe Kay C.,
Colón Juliet M.,
Manly Jennifer J.,
Mayeux Richard,
Black Sandra E.,
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.2019.06.2808
Subject(s) - superior sagittal sinus , hyperintensity , cerebral veins , susceptibility weighted imaging , medicine , magnetic resonance imaging , white matter , cardiology , anatomy , radiology , thrombosis
Background: White matter hyperintensities (WMH) on T2weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are a marker of small vessel cerebrovascular disease. Over the past decade, the association between vascular dysfunction and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has increasingly been recognized. Increased WMH volume is associated with increased risk of AD, as well as a worsening overall cognitive profile. This relationship has been generally interpreted as mediated by arterial disease, but there has been renewed interest in the roles of the veins and venules. While the cerebral veins have historically only been accessible for analysis post-mortem, MRI susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI) allows for visualization of the cortical veins in living subjects. In this study, we determined if there is a relationship between diameters of the large draining cerebral veins and WMH volume and cognition. Methods: Data were collected from 675 non-demented older individuals, in whom highresolution MRI-SWI scans and a battery of neurocognitive assessments were available. We quantitatedWMHvolume using in-house software and derived the brain’s major lobes with a standard “lobar” atlas. The diameters of two regions of the cerebral venous draining system (superior sagittal sinus and internal cerebral veins) were measured in the axial plane, and the diameters of two regions (vein of Galen and straight sinus terminus) were measured in the sagittal plane. Linear regression was used to examine relationships among vein/sinus diameter, WMH, and a general cognitive summary measure. Results: Internal cerebral vein diameter was associated with larger total WMH volume (b 1⁄4 0.093, p 1⁄4 0.014), regionally in the parietal lobe (b1⁄4 0.115, p1⁄4 0.002) and in the temporal lobe (b 1⁄4 0.091, p 1⁄4 0.018). Total WMH volume was associated with decreased cognition (b 1⁄4 -0.128, p < 0.001), regionally in the frontal lobe (b 1⁄4 -0.130, p < 0.001) and the parietal lobe (b 1⁄4 -0.126, p < 0.001). However, internal cerebral vein diameter was not associated with cognition (b1⁄4 0.015, p1⁄4 0.670). Conclusions: Our results provide evidence for a relationship between between cerebral vein caliber and white matter disease.