scholarly journals Cortical Thickness and Its Association with Clinical Cognitive and Neuroimaging Markers in Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Arsenije Subotic ◽  
Cheryl R. McCreary ◽  
Feryal Saad ◽  
Amanda Nguyen ◽  
Ana Alvarez-Veronesi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Decline ◽  
Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy ◽  
Cortical Thickness ◽  
Vascular Reactivity ◽  
Cortical Atrophy ◽  
White Matter Hyperintensity ◽  
Amyloid Angiopathy ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Normative Study ◽  
Cerebral Amyloid

Background: Cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) contributes to brain neurodegeneration and cognitive decline, but the relationship between these two processes is incompletely understood. Objective: The purpose of this study is to examine cortical thickness and its association with cognition and neurodegenerative biomarkers in CAA. Methods: Data were collected from the Functional Assessment of Vascular Reactivity study and the Calgary Normative Study. In total, 48 participants with probable CAA, 72 cognitively normal healthy controls, and 24 participants with mild dementia due to AD were included. Participants underwent an MRI scan, after which global and regional cortical thickness measurements were obtained using FreeSurfer. General linear models, adjusted for age and sex, were used to compare cortical thickness globally and in an AD signature region. Results: Global cortical thickness was lower in CAA compared to healthy controls (mean difference (MD) –0.047 mm, 95% confidence interval (CI) –0.088, –0.005, p = 0.03), and lower in AD compared to CAA (MD –0.104 mm, 95% CI –0.165, –0.043, p = 0.001). In the AD signature region, cortical thickness was lower in CAA compared to healthy controls (MD –0.07 mm, 95% CI –0.13 to –0.01, p = 0.02). Within the CAA group, lower cortical thickness was associated with lower memory scores (R2 = 0.10; p = 0.05) and higher white matter hyperintensity volume (R2 = 0.09, p = 0.04). Conclusion: CAA contributes to neurodegeneration in the form of lower cortical thickness, and this could contribute to cognitive decline. Regional overlap with an AD cortical atrophy signature region suggests that co-existing AD pathology may contribute to lower cortical thickness observed in CAA.

Abstract 47: White Matter Atrophy in Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy

Stroke ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 47 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Panagiotis Fotiadis ◽  
Aaron Schultz ◽  
Trey Hedden ◽  
Sergi Martinez-Ramirez ◽  
Yael Reijmer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
White Matter ◽  
Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy ◽  
Cortical Thickness ◽  
Tissue Loss ◽  
White Matter Hyperintensity ◽  
Aging Brain ◽  
Amyloid Angiopathy ◽  
Intracranial Volume ◽  
White Matter Volume ◽  
Cerebral Amyloid

Background/Purpose: Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy (CAA) leads to leukoaraiosis, lacunar infarcts and cortical tissue loss. We hypothesized that CAA is also associated with white matter atrophy (WMA). Methods: We have compared volumetric multimodal MRIs from 72 prospectively enrolled non-demented patients with probable CAA (per Boston criteria), to 3 other well-studied cohorts: 289 Healthy Controls (HC) from the Harvard Aging Brain (HAB) study, 231 HC and 198 patients with AD from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI). Validated FreeSurfer algorithms were used to calculate White Matter Volume (WMV), white matter hyperintensity volume (WMHv), and cortical thickness. Microbleeds (MBs) were counted on SWI-MRI. Measures were obtained from the contralateral hemisphere if intracerebral hemorrhage present. All volumes were corrected for total intracranial volume (ICV), so reported as percent of ICV. Results: The CAA patients were significantly younger (mean age: 70.1) compared to both HC cohorts (ADNI-HC: 76.0, p<0.001, HAB-HC: 73.8, p < 0.001), and to patients with AD (75.5, p < 0.001). Despite being younger, patients with CAA presented significantly lower global WMV (28% ± 2.6) than both ADNI-HC (29.2% ± 2.2, p < 0.001), HAB-HC (29.0% ± 2.5, p = 0.001), and patients with AD (28.7% ± 2.2, p = 0.02) [Figure]. The association persisted after correcting for age, gender and WMHv. Within the CAA cohort, there was a negative correlation between WMV and lobar MB counts (rho = -0.26, p = 0.03), it remained significant after correcting for age, gender, WMHv (p=0.016). There were no significant associations however between WMV and neither WMHv, nor cortical thickness (both p>0.2). Conclusions: Patients with CAA show WMA when compared to older HC and AD. WMA independently correlates with MBs, a marker of CAA severity. Consistent spatial patterns of atrophy especially in posterior regions when compared to both HC and AD [Figure] might represent the “WMA signature of CAA”.

Subacute Cognitive Decline in an 86-Year-Old Woman With Prior Lobar Intracerebral Hemorrhage

2021 ◽  
pp. 192-194
Author(s):  
Stephen W. English ◽  
James P. Klaas
Keyword(s):  
Intracerebral Hemorrhage ◽  
Cognitive Decline ◽  
Temporal Lobe ◽  
Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy ◽  
Mass Effect ◽  
Amyloid Angiopathy ◽  
Left Temporal Lobe ◽  
Epileptiform Discharges ◽  
Cerebral Amyloid ◽  
T2 Hyperintensity

An 86-year-old woman with a history of hypertension, hyperlipidemia, coronary artery disease, and hypothyroidism sought care for subacute, progressive cognitive decline. Five months earlier, she was hospitalized for a small, left temporal, lobar, intracerebral hemorrhage with associated receptive aphasia. Over the next several months, she had a precipitous cognitive decline. She was prescribed memantine by her primary physician because of concern for dementia. One month before seeking care, she was found unconscious in her bathroom, which was believed to be an unwitnessed seizure. Brain magnetic resonance imaging 1 month before the current evaluation showed a prior, small, left temporal hemorrhage and diffuse lobar microhemorrhages on gradient echo imaging, focal leptomeningeal gadolinium enhancement in the left temporal lobe, and multifocal T2 hyperintensity with mass effect, maximal in the left temporal lobe. Electroencephalography showed multifocal, independent epileptiform discharges. She underwent open biopsy of the left temporal lobe, which indicated focal granulomatous inflammation causing vascular destruction, with β‎-amyloid plaques within the cortical and leptomeningeal vessels. The findings were consistent with a diagnosis of amyloid-β‎-related angiitis in the setting of severe cerebral amyloid angiopathy. Because of concern for subclinical seizures and epileptiform discharges on electroencephalography, the patient was started on levetiracetam without substantial change in her mental status. After the biopsy findings demonstrated inflammatory changes consistent with amyloid-β‎-related angiitis, she was started on intravenous methylprednisolone, followed by transition to prednisone. After 6 months of treatment, she had significant clinical and radiographic improvement. Follow-up magnetic resonance imaging at that time showed interval improvement in the T2 hyperintensity and mass effect in the left temporal lobe. She was again independent with her activities of daily living, and memantine was discontinued. Cerebral amyloid angiopathy encompasses a heterogeneous group of diseases characterized by amyloid-β‎ peptide deposition. The most common clinical manifestation of cerebral amyloid angiopathy is lobar intracerebral hemorrhage, which can be multifocal and recurrent but can also result in cerebral ischemia and ischemic leukoencephalopathy.

scholarly journals Advances in cerebral amyloid angiopathy imaging

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 175628641984411 ◽  
Author(s):  
Szu-Ju Chen ◽  
Hsin-Hsi Tsai ◽  
Li-Kai Tsai ◽  
Sung-Chun Tang ◽  
Bo-Chin Lee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy ◽  
Small Vessel Disease ◽  
Imaging Techniques ◽  
White Matter Hyperintensity ◽  
Superficial Siderosis ◽  
Clinical Aspects ◽  
Amyloid Angiopathy ◽  
Perivascular Spaces ◽  
Imaging Studies ◽  
Cerebral Amyloid

Cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) is a cerebral small vessel disease caused by β -amyloid (Aβ) deposition at the leptomeningeal vessel walls. It is a common cause of spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage and a frequent comorbidity in Alzheimer’s disease. The high recurrent hemorrhage rate in CAA makes it very important to recognize this disease to avoid potential harmful medication. Imaging studies play an important role in diagnosis and research of CAA. Conventional computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) methods reveal anatomical alterations, and remains as the most reliable tool in identifying CAA according to modified Boston criteria. The vascular injuries of CAA result in both hemorrhagic and ischemic manifestations and related structural changes on MRI, including cerebral microbleeds, cortical superficial siderosis, white matter hyperintensity, MRI-visible perivascular spaces, and cortical microinfarcts. As imaging techniques advance, not only does the resolution of conventional imaging improve, but novel skills in functional and molecular imaging studies also enable in vivo analysis of vessel physiological changes and underlying pathology. These modern tools help in early detection of CAA and may potentially serve as sensitive outcome markers in future clinical trials. In this article, we reviewed past studies of CAA focusing on utilization of various conventional and novel imaging techniques in both research and clinical aspects.

scholarly journals Cerebrovascular reactivity in cerebral amyloid angiopathy, Alzheimer disease, and mild cognitive impairment

Neurology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 95 (10) ◽  
pp. e1333-e1340 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron R. Switzer ◽  
Ikreet Cheema ◽  
Cheryl R. McCreary ◽  
Angela Zwiers ◽  
Anna Charlton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Alzheimer Disease ◽  
Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy ◽  
Response Amplitude ◽  
Cerebrovascular Reactivity ◽  
White Matter Hyperintensity ◽  
Amyloid Angiopathy ◽  
Bold Response ◽  
Cerebral Amyloid

ObjectiveTo assess cerebrovascular reactivity in response to a visual task in participants with cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA), Alzheimer disease (AD), and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) using fMRI.MethodsThis prospective cohort study included 40 patients with CAA, 22 with AD, 27 with MCI, and 25 healthy controls. Each participant underwent a visual fMRI task using a contrast-reversing checkerboard stimulus. Visual evoked potentials (VEPs) were used to compare visual cortex neuronal activity in 83 participants. General linear models using least-squares means, adjusted for multiple comparisons with the Tukey test, were used to estimate mean blood oxygen level–dependent (BOLD) signal change during the task and VEP differences between groups.ResultsAfter adjustment for age and hypertension, estimated mean BOLD response amplitude was as follows: CAA 1.88% (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.60%–2.15%), AD 2.26% (1.91%–2.61%), MCI 2.15% (1.84%–2.46%), and control 2.65% (2.29%–3.00%). Only patients with CAA differed from controls (p = 0.01). In the subset with VEPs, group was not associated with prolonged latencies or lower amplitudes. Lower BOLD amplitude response was associated with higher white matter hyperintensity (WMH) volumes in CAA (for each 0.1% lower BOLD response amplitude, the WMH volume was 9.2% higher, 95% CI 6.0%–12.4%) but not other groups (p = 0.002 for interaction) when controlling for age and hypertension.ConclusionsMean visual BOLD response amplitude was lowest in participants with CAA compared to controls, without differences in VEP latencies and amplitudes. This suggests that the impaired visual BOLD response is due to reduced vascular reactivity in CAA. In contrast to participants with CAA, the visual BOLD response amplitude did not differ between those with AD or MCI and controls.

scholarly journals Distribution of lacunes in cerebral amyloid angiopathy and hypertensive small vessel disease

Neurology ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 88 (23) ◽  
pp. 2162-2168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Pasi ◽  
Gregoire Boulouis ◽  
Panagiotis Fotiadis ◽  
Eitan Auriel ◽  
Andreas Charidimou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy ◽  
Small Vessel Disease ◽  
Small Vessel ◽  
White Matter Hyperintensity ◽  
Amyloid Angiopathy ◽  
Vessel Disease ◽  
Close Relationship ◽  
Cerebral Amyloid ◽  
Highly Correlated ◽  
The Relationship

Objective:To evaluate whether the burden of deep and lobar lacunes differs between patients with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) with definite/probable cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) per the Boston criteria and hypertensive small vessel disease (HTN-SVD; ICH in basal ganglia, thalami, brainstem).Methods:We defined lobar and deep lacunes similar to the topographic distribution used for ICH and cerebral microbleeds (CMBs). We then compared their distribution between patients with CAA-ICH and those with strictly deep CMB and ICH (HTN-ICH). The independent associations of lacune location with the diagnosis of CAA-ICH and HTN-ICH were evaluated with multivariable models. The relationship between lobar lacunes and white matter hyperintensity (WMH) volume was evaluated by means of partial correlation analyses adjusted for age and a validated visual scale.Results:In our final cohort of 316 patients with ICH, lacunes were frequent (24.7%), with similar rates in 191 patients with CAA and 125 with HTN-ICH (23% vs 27.2%, p = 0.4). Lobar lacunes were more commonly present in CAA (20.4% vs 5.7%, p < 0.001), while deep lacunes were more frequent in HTN-ICH (15.2% vs 2.1%, p < 0.001). After correction for demographics and clinical and neuroimaging markers of SVD, lobar lacunes were associated with CAA (p = 0.003) and deep lacunes with HTN-ICH (p < 0.001). Lobar lacunes in 80% of the cases were at least in contact with WMH, and after adjustment for age, they were highly correlated to WMH volume (r = 0.42, p < 0.001).Conclusions:Lobar lacunes are associated with CAA, whereas deep lacunes are more frequent in HTN-SVD. Lobar lacunes seem to have a close relationship with WMH, suggesting a possible common origin.

scholarly journals White matter hyperintensity patterns in cerebral amyloid angiopathy and hypertensive arteriopathy

Neurology ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 86 (6) ◽  
pp. 505-511 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Charidimou ◽  
Gregoire Boulouis ◽  
Kellen Haley ◽  
Eitan Auriel ◽  
Ellis S. van Etten ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
White Matter ◽  
Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy ◽  
White Matter Hyperintensity ◽  
Amyloid Angiopathy ◽  
Cerebral Amyloid

Abstract P442: The Association of Amyloid and Tau Burden With Centrum Semiovale Perivascular Spaces in Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy

Stroke ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 52 (Suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elif Gokcal ◽  
Alex A Becker ◽  
Mitchell J Horn ◽  
Alvin S Das ◽  
Kristin Schwab ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Regression Model ◽  
Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy ◽  
Structural Mri ◽  
Ordinal Regression ◽  
White Matter Hyperintensity ◽  
Amyloid Angiopathy ◽  
Perivascular Spaces ◽  
Centrum Semiovale ◽  
Ordinal Regression Model ◽  
Cerebral Amyloid

Background: The mechanisms linking cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) to enlarged perivascular spaces in centrum semiovale (CSO-EPVS) and whether other Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) pathologies might affect CSO-EPVS are unclear. We hypothesized that amyloid but not tau load would independently correlate with CSO-EPVS in CAA. Methods: Fifty prospectively enrolled nondemented probable CAA patients underwent high-resolution structural MRI, Pittsburgh compound B (PiB, for amyloid), and 18 F-flortaucipir (FTP, for tau) PET imaging. Microbleeds (all lobar, LMB) were counted and white matter hyperintensity volume (WMH) was quantified. CSO-EPVS were counted on T 2 -MRI sequence and graded using a previously validated scale (range 0-4). A multivariate ordinal regression model was used to assess the independent associations between CSO-EPVS and mean cortical amyloid as well as tau deposition, after adjusting for relevant covariates. Results: Patients had a mean age of 69.3±7.2. Age, sex, presence of hypertension, intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), LMB counts, and WMH were not associated with CSO-EPVS grades (p>0.2 for all comparisons). Higher PiB uptake significantly correlated with increased CSO-EPVS (rho=0.45, p=0.001). Higher FTP showed a trend for correlation with CSO-EPVS (rho=0.26, p=0.069). In an ordinal regression model with CSO-EPVS grade as the dependent variable and both amyloid and tau levels included as predictors along with covariates presented above, the association of CSO-EPVS remained significant with higher PiB uptake (β=3.97, 95%CI 1.1-6.8, p=0.007) but not with FTP uptake (p=0.167). Conclusion: Results of this study suggest that CSO-EPVS is independently associated with amyloid but not with tau deposition in CAA. CSO-EPVS was not associated with age or classical vascular risk factors or presence of ICH. Our results support the view that vascular amyloid but not other AD pathologies such as tau might contribute to EPVS in patients with CAA.

Abstract 3208: Sensitivity and Reliability of SWI Compared to T2* GRE MRI for Detection of Microbleeds in Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy

Stroke ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 43 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ah-Ling Cheng ◽  
Cheryl R McCreary ◽  
M. L Lauzon ◽  
Richard Frayne ◽  
Mayank Goyal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy ◽  
Small Vessel Disease ◽  
Intraclass Correlation ◽  
Case Series ◽  
Cerebral Small Vessel Disease ◽  
Small Vessel ◽  
Amyloid Angiopathy ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Vessel Disease ◽  
Cerebral Amyloid

Introduction: Case examples and small case series suggest that MRI susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI) may be more sensitive for cerebral microbleed (CMB) detection compared to MRI T2* gradient-recalled echo (GRE). However, there are few data on CMB counts measured by SWI vs. GRE, or inter-rater reliability, in groups of patients with cerebral small vessel disease. We used data from a prospective cohort study of cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA), a cerebral small-vessel disease marked by high numbers of CMBs, to quantify the sensitivity and reliability of SWI vs. GRE for CMB detection. Methods: Nine patients with symptomatic CAA (mean age 71±8.3; 7 males and 2 females) and 21 healthy non-CAA controls (mean age 68±6.3; 10 M/11 F) underwent T2* GRE and SWI on a 3.0T MR scanner. Probable CAA was diagnosed according to the Boston criteria prior to study entry using information from clinical MRI with GRE sequences. Two raters (labeled 1 and 2) independently interpreted the GRE and SWI scans blinded to clinical information. The phase-filtered magnitude image was used for SWI interpretation. Agreement reliability was assessed using the kappa coefficient (where a kappa of ≥0.60 indicates good agreement) or the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Results: Overall, the raters identified 1,432 CMBs in the 9 CAA cases (range 1-434 per patient) and 8 CMBs in the healthy controls (range 0-3). Rater 1 identified CMBs in 5/21 healthy controls on SWI and 5/21 on GRE, while rater 2 identified CMBs in 4/21 on SWI and 3/21 on GRE (kappa 0.70 for GRE and 0.57 for SWI). In CAA cases more CMBs were seen on SWI compared to the GRE sequence but the difference was significant only for rater 1 (rater 1: on average 85% more per patient on SWI than on GRE, p=0.008; rater 2: 19% more, p=0.25). Among CAA cases the reliability between raters was poor for GRE (ICC 0.36) but excellent for SWI (0.94, p<0.05 for comparison with GRE). Review suggested that the differing reliability was because rater 1 was less likely than rater 2 to identify faint lesions on GRE as CMB, whereas these lesions were more conspicuous on SWI. If SWI rather than GRE were used to determine CAA status according to the Boston criteria, all 9 CAA cases would remain classified as probable CAA but 2/21 controls would be reclassified as either possible (n=1) or probable (n=1) asymptomatic CAA based on the detection of one or more lobar microbleeds on SWI. Conclusions: SWI confers greater reliability as well as greater sensitivity for CMB detection compared to GRE, and should be the preferred sequence for quantifying CMBs. SWI may more frequently identify lobar microbleeds that could represent asymptomatic CAA. Further research is needed to determine whether the Boston criteria require revision to take into account the greater sensitivity of SWI for CMB detection.

Lacunes, Microinfarcts, and Vascular Dysfunction in Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy

Neurology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 96 (12) ◽  
pp. e1646-e1654
Author(s):  
Elif Gokcal ◽  
Mitchell J. Horn ◽  
Susanne J. van Veluw ◽  
Aina Frau-Pascual ◽  
Alvin S. Das ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy ◽  
Regression Models ◽  
Cox Regression ◽  
Vascular Dysfunction ◽  
Blood Oxygen Level Dependent ◽  
White Matter Hyperintensity ◽  
Amyloid Angiopathy ◽  
Cerebral Amyloid ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

ObjectiveTo analyze the relationship of lacunes with cortical cerebral microinfarcts (CMIs), to assess their association with vascular dysfunction, and to evaluate their effect on the risk of incident intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) in cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA).MethodsThe count and topography of lacunes (deep/lobar), CMIs, and white matter hyperintensity (WMH) volume were retrospectively analyzed in a prospectively enrolled CAA cohort that underwent high-resolution research MRIs. The relationship of lacunes with CMIs and other CAA-related markers including time to peak (TTP) of blood oxygen level–dependent signal, an established measure of vascular dysfunction, was evaluated in multivariate models. Adjusted Cox regression models were used to investigate the relationship between lacunes and incident ICH.ResultsThe cohort consisted of 122 patients with probable CAA without dementia (mean age, 69.4 ± 7.6 years). Lacunes were present in 31 patients (25.4%); all but one were located in lobar regions. Cortical CMIs were more common in patients with lacunes compared to patients without lacunes (51.6% vs 20.9%, p = 0.002). TTP was not associated with either lacunes or CMIs (both p > 0.2) but longer TTP response independently correlated with higher WMH volume (p = 0.001). Lacunes were associated with increased ICH risk in univariate and multivariate Cox regression models (p = 0.048 and p = 0.026, respectively).ConclusionsOur findings show a high prevalence of lobar lacunes, frequently coexisting with CMIs in CAA, suggesting that these 2 lesion types may be part of a common spectrum of CAA-related infarcts. Lacunes were not related to vascular dysfunction but predicted incident ICH, favoring severe focal vessel involvement rather than global ischemia as their mechanism.

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