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PMID: 20051356 Published · ppublish English Journal Article Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

Brain atrophy in healthy aging is related to CSF levels of Aβ1-42.

Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991) ·Vol. 20 ·No. 9 ·2010-09-00 ·Pages 2069-79

Fjell AM, Walhovd KB, Fennema-Notestine C, McEvoy LK, Hagler DJ, Holland D, Blennow K, Brewer JB, Dale AM, Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative

Abstract

Reduced levels of beta-amyloid(1-42) (Abeta1-42) and increased levels of tau proteins in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) are found in Alzheimer's disease (AD), likely reflecting Abeta deposition in plaques and neuronal and axonal damage. It is not known whether these biomarkers are associated with brain atrophy also in healthy aging. We tested the relationship between CSF levels of Abeta1-42 and tau (total tau and tau phosphorylated at threonine 181) proteins and 1-year brain atrophy in 71 cognitively normal elderly individuals. Results showed that under a certain threshold value, levels of Abeta1-42 correlated highly with 1-year change in a wide range of brain areas. The strongest relationships were not found in the regions most vulnerable early in AD. Above the threshold level, Abeta1-42 was not related to brain changes, but significant volume reductions as well as ventricular expansion were still seen. It is concluded that Abeta1-42 correlates with brain atrophy and ventricular expansion in a subgroup of cognitively normal elderly individuals but that reductions independent of CSF levels of Abeta1-42 is common. Further research and follow-up examinations over several years are needed to test whether degenerative pathology will eventually develop in the group of cognitively normal elderly individuals with low levels of Abeta1-42.

MeSH Terms
Aged Aged, 80 and over Aging/physiology Amyloid beta-Peptides/cerebrospinal fluid,physiology Atrophy Brain/metabolism,pathology Brain Mapping/methods Cerebral Ventricles/metabolism,pathology Disease Progression Female Humans Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods Male Middle Aged Peptide Fragments/cerebrospinal fluid,physiology
Chemicals
Amyloid beta-Peptides Peptide Fragments amyloid beta-protein (1-42)
Authors & Affiliations
10 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Fjell Anders M
Center for the Study of Human Cognition, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
Walhovd Kristine B
Fennema-Notestine Christine
McEvoy Linda K
Hagler Donald J
Holland Dominic
Blennow Kaj
Brewer James B
Dale Anders M
Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative
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Article Info
Journal
Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)
Abbr.
Cereb Cortex
ISSN
1460-2199
DOI
10.1093/cercor/bhp279
Published
2010-09-00
Epub
2010-00-04
Pages
2069-79
Language
English
Region
United States
NLM ID
9110718
PMCID
PMC3025722
Subset
IM
Grants
NCRR NIH HHS · U24 RR021382 · United States
NIA NIH HHS · R01 AG031224 · United States
NIA NIH HHS · U19 AG010483 · United States
NIA NIH HHS · U01 AG024904 · United States
NIA NIH HHS · K01 AG029218 · United States
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhp279 PMC Full Text View journal details
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