scholarly journals Association among Parkinsonism-related motor complaints, cerebral small vessel disease, and cerebrovascular risk factors in a community-dwelling population

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Guo ◽  
Cai-hong Ji ◽  
Fei Han ◽  
Jiang-tao Zhang ◽  
Fei-fei Zhai ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Parkinsonism-related motor complaints are commonly seen in the elderly. Our study aimed to investigate the association among Parkinsonism-related motor complaints, cerebral small vessel disease and cerebrovascular risk factors in a community-dwelling population in a Chinese rural area.Methods Individuals who were 50 years old or older, were independently living, were well-functioning, and had no history of ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke, were included. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), quantified motor function assessment, and questionnaire screening for Parkinsonism-related motor complaints were performed. Clinical data including cerebrovascular risk factors were collected. In univariate analysis, Chi-square test and student t-test were used to compare dichotomous variables and continuous variables, respectively, between individuals with or without motor complaints. In multivariate analysis, binary Logistic regression models were generated to determine risk factors for Parkinsonism-related motor complaints. General linear models were used to compare motor parameters between individuals with or without motor complaints. Results In the final analysis, 854 people were included. Individuals with motor complaints had a longer time for finger taping (6.2s v.s. 5.6s, p = 0.006), and a longer time for 3m-walking(4.0s v.s. 3.6s, p = 0.034) than did those without motor complaints. Hypertension was associated with motor complaints (odds ratio, 1.82; 95% confidence interval [CI], [1.21, 2.73]; p = 0.004). Age was not associated with motor complaints; none of the neuroimaging markers of cerebral small vessel disease was associated with motor complaints. Conclusion Hypertension is associated with Parkinsonism-related motor complaints. Better management of hypertension may prevent mobility limitation in the elderly. The questionnaire that we used for Parkinsonism is not suitable for screening small vessel disease in a community-dwelling population.

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayan Dey ◽  
Vessela Stamenova ◽  
Agnes Bacopulos ◽  
Nivethika Jeyakumar ◽  
Gary R. Turner ◽  
...  

Some degree of ischemic injury to white matter tracts occurs naturally with age and is visible on magnetic resonance imaging as focal or confluent white matter hyperintensities (WMHs). Its relationship to cognition, however, remains unclear. To explore this, community-dwelling adults between the ages 55-80 years old completed structural imaging, neuropsychological testing, and questionnaires to provide objective measures and subjective experience of executive functioning. Volumetric lesion burden derived from structural MRI identified those with significant WMH burden (~10 cubic cm). Half of those recruited met this criterion and were designated as the cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) group. Subjective complaints but not objective test scores differentiated adults with and without CSVD. Hierarchical clustering revealed two CSVD subgroups that differentiated those with impaired versus preserved executive function relative to controls. Overall these results provide some explanation for behavioural heterogeneity often observed in studies of age-related white matter changes. They also support the use of questionnaires to assess subjective complaints that may be able to detect subtle effects of pathology not evident on standardized cognitive scores.


2018 ◽  
Vol 314 (6) ◽  
pp. H1117-H1136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dana R. Jorgensen ◽  
C. Elizabeth Shaaban ◽  
Clayton A. Wiley ◽  
Peter J. Gianaros ◽  
Joseph Mettenburg ◽  
...  

Aging in later life engenders numerous changes to the cerebral microvasculature. Such changes can remain clinically silent but are associated with greater risk for negative health outcomes over time. Knowledge is limited about the pathogenesis, prevention, and treatment of potentially detrimental changes in the cerebral microvasculature that occur with advancing age. In this review, we summarize literature on aging of the cerebral microvasculature, and we propose a conceptual framework to fill existing research gaps and advance future work on this heterogeneous phenomenon. We propose that the major gaps in this area are attributable to an incomplete characterization of cerebrovascular pathology, the populations being studied, and the temporality of exposure to risk factors. Specifically, currently available measures of age-related cerebral microvasculature changes are indirect, primarily related to parenchymal damage rather than direct quantification of small vessel damage, limiting the understanding of cerebral small vessel disease (cSVD) itself. Moreover, studies seldom account for variability in the health-related conditions or interactions with risk factors, which are likely determinants of cSVD pathogenesis. Finally, study designs are predominantly cross-sectional and/or have relied on single time point measures, leaving no clear evidence of time trajectories of risk factors or of change in cerebral microvasculature. We argue that more resources should be invested in 1) developing methodological approaches and basic science models to better understand the pathogenic and etiological nature of age-related brain microvascular diseases and 2) implementing state-of-the-science population study designs that account for the temporal evolution of cerebral microvascular changes in diverse populations across the lifespan.


2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 302-325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leif Østergaard ◽  
Thorbjørn S Engedal ◽  
Fiona Moreton ◽  
Mikkel B Hansen ◽  
Joanna M Wardlaw ◽  
...  

Cerebral small vessel disease (SVD) gives rise to one in five strokes worldwide and constitutes a major source of cognitive decline in the elderly. SVD is known to occur in relation to hypertension, diabetes, smoking, radiation therapy and in a range of inherited and genetic disorders, autoimmune disorders, connective tissue disorders, and infections. Until recently, changes in capillary patency and blood viscosity have received little attention in the aetiopathogenesis of SVD and the high risk of subsequent stroke and cognitive decline. Capillary flow patterns were, however, recently shown to limit the extraction efficacy of oxygen in tissue and capillary dysfunction therefore proposed as a source of stroke-like symptoms and neurodegeneration, even in the absence of physical flow-limiting vascular pathology. In this review, we examine whether capillary flow disturbances may be a shared feature of conditions that represent risk factors for SVD. We then discuss aspects of capillary dysfunction that could be prevented or alleviated and therefore might be of general benefit to patients at risk of SVD, stroke or cognitive decline.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle G Jansen ◽  
Ludovica Griffanti ◽  
Clare E Mackay ◽  
Melis Anatürk ◽  
Luca Melazzini ◽  
...  

We characterize the associations of total cerebral small vessel disease (SVD) burden with brain structure, trajectories of vascular risk factors, and cognitive functions in mid-to-late life. Participants were 623 community-dwelling adults from the Whitehall II Imaging Sub-study with multi-modal MRI (mean age 69.96 SD=5.18, 79% men). We used linear mixed-effects models to investigate associations of SVD burden with up to 25-year retrospective trajectories of vascular risk and cognitive performance. General linear modelling was used to investigate concurrent associations with grey matter (GM) density and white matter (WM) microstructure, and whether these associations were modified by cognitive status (Montreal Cognitive Assessment, MoCA). Severe SVD burden in older age was associated with higher mean arterial pressure throughout midlife (β=3.36, 95% CI [0.42—6.30]), and faster 25-year cognitive decline in letter fluency (β=-0.07, 95% CI [-0.13—-0.01]), and verbal reasoning (β=-0.05, 95% CI [-0.11—-0.001]). Moreover, SVD burden was related to lower GM volumes in 9.7% of total GM, and widespread WM microstructural decline (FWE-corrected p<0.05). The latter association was most pronounced in individuals with cognitive impairments on MoCA (F3,608=2.14, p=0.007). These findings highlight the importance of managing midlife vascular health to preserve brain structure and cognitive function in old age.


Stroke ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosa Sommer ◽  
Lei Yu ◽  
Julie A. Schneider ◽  
David A. Bennett ◽  
Aron S. Buchman ◽  
...  

Background and Purpose: The pathogenesis of cerebral small vessel disease remains incompletely understood. The relationship between circadian rhythm disturbances and histopathologic measures of cerebral small vessel disease has not been studied. We hypothesized that disrupted circadian rest-activity rhythms would be associated with a higher burden of cerebral small vessel disease pathology. Methods: We studied 561 community-dwelling older adults (mean age at death, 91.2, 27.4% male) from the Rush Memory and Aging Project. We used actigraphy to quantify several measures of 24-hour rest-activity rhythmicity, including interdaily stability, intradaily variability, and amplitude, and used ordinal logistic regression models to relate these measures to the severity of cerebral arteriolosclerosis, atherosclerosis, macroinfarcts, and microinfarcts, assessed at autopsy. Results: Lower interdaily stability was associated with a higher burden of arteriolosclerosis, higher intradaily variability was associated with a higher burden of atherosclerosis and subcortical infarcts, and lower amplitude was associated with a higher burden of arteriosclerosis, atherosclerosis and subcortical macroinfarcts. Moreover, the associations between interdaily stability and arteriolosclerosis and intradaily variability and subcortical infarcts were independent of cardiovascular risk factors, sleep fragmentation, and medical comorbidities. Conclusions: Disrupted rest-activity rhythms are associated with a greater burden of cerebral small vessel disease in older adults.


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