INS NYC 2024 Program

Poster	Poster Session 04 Program Schedule 02/15/2024 12:00 pm - 01:15 pm Room: Shubert Complex (Posters 1-60) Poster Session 04: Neuroimaging \| Neurostimulation/Neuromodulation \| Teleneuropsychology/Technology Final Abstract #23 MRI Marker of Glymphatic System Function is Associated with Memory Performance in Middle-Aged Adults Dejania Cotton-Samuel, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, United States Krystal Laing, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom Patrick Lao, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, United States Jeffrey Pyne, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, United States Mohamad Alshikho, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, United States Lina Cheung, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, United States Richard Benitez, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, United States José Luchsinger-Stuart, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, United States Adam Brickman, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, United States Category: Neuroimaging Keyword 1: neuroimaging: structural Keyword 2: neurocognition Keyword 3: cerebrovascular disease Objective: The glymphatic system plays a crucial role in the clearance of debris and pathological proteins from the brain’s interstitial fluid. Diffusion tensor imaging can be employed to assess diffusion along the perivascular spaces, a method referred to as DTI-ALPS, which serves as a marker for glymphatic system functioning, a process that may be particularly relevant to cognition throughout the adult lifespan. The current study tested the hypothesis that relative dysfunction in the glymphatic system is associated with memory in middle-aged adults more strongly than, and independent of, other magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) markers that are associated with risk for Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders (ADRD). Participants and Methods: Two hundred nine participants from the Northern Manhattan Study of Metabolism and Mind (NOMEM) with available MRI scans and neuropsychological outcomes at the time of analysis (age = 63.7 ± 3.6, 74.6% women, education = 10.2 ± 3.9 years) were included in these analyses. Participants received 3T MRI, which was used to quantitate total white matter hyperintensity (WMH) volume with in-house software and cortical thickness in regions associated with ADRD with FreeSurfer v6.0. An established DTI-ALPS pipeline was used to compute the DTI-ALPS index, determined by the ratio of mean diffusivity values in directions running along and perpendicular to major white matter tracts and perivascular spaces near the lateral ventricles; higher values indicating greater diffusivity along perivascular spaces and improved glymphatic clearance. We used a general linear model to test the association of the DTI-ALPS score with memory function, operationalized as total recall on the Selective Reminding Test (SRT). Additional predictor variables or covariates included were WMH volume, cortical thickness, age, education, and a metabolic syndrome score. Results: Increased DTI-ALPS scores were associated with better memory performance (unstandardized β = 5.4, p=0.04, 95% CI [0.22, 11]). On the other hand, WMH volume (β =-0.14, p=0.5, [-0.54, 0.26]) and mean cortical thickness in AD signature regions (β = 8.3, p=0.2, [-3.0, 20]) were not associated with memory. Of the additional covariates in the model, education (β = 0.69, p<0.001, [0.41, 0.97]) but not age (β = -0.24, p=0.13, [-0.55, 0.07]) or the metabolic syndrome score (β = -0.80 p=0.063, [-1.6, 0.04]), was associated with memory. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that glymphatic dysfunction underlies variability in memory in midlife and that DTI-ALPS may be relevant as a neuroimaging marker of white matter microstructure related to risk of cognitive dysfunction, independent of small vessel cerebrovascular disease and AD-related cortical atrophy. The role of glymphatic system function in nervous system waste clearance and in the maintenance of perivascular space integrity should be further investigated as a part of the early pathophysiological changes that put individuals in midlife at risk for future cognitive decline and/or ADRD.

Poster

02/15/2024
12:00 pm - 01:15 pm
Room: Shubert Complex (Posters 1-60)

Poster Session 04: Neuroimaging | Neurostimulation/Neuromodulation | Teleneuropsychology/Technology

Final Abstract #23

MRI Marker of Glymphatic System Function is Associated with Memory Performance in Middle-Aged Adults

Dejania Cotton-Samuel, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, United States
Krystal Laing, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Patrick Lao, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, United States
Jeffrey Pyne, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, United States
Mohamad Alshikho, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, United States
Lina Cheung, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, United States
Richard Benitez, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, United States
José Luchsinger-Stuart, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, United States
Adam Brickman, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, United States

Category: Neuroimaging

Keyword 1: neuroimaging: structural
Keyword 2: neurocognition
Keyword 3: cerebrovascular disease

Objective:

The glymphatic system plays a crucial role in the clearance of debris and pathological proteins from the brain’s interstitial fluid. Diffusion tensor imaging can be employed to assess diffusion along the perivascular spaces, a method referred to as DTI-ALPS, which serves as a marker for glymphatic system functioning, a process that may be particularly relevant to cognition throughout the adult lifespan. The current study tested the hypothesis that relative dysfunction in the glymphatic system is associated with memory in middle-aged adults more strongly than, and independent of, other magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) markers that are associated with risk for Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders (ADRD).

Participants and Methods:

Two hundred nine participants from the Northern Manhattan Study of Metabolism and Mind (NOMEM) with available MRI scans and neuropsychological outcomes at the time of analysis (age = 63.7 ± 3.6, 74.6% women, education = 10.2 ± 3.9 years) were included in these analyses. Participants received 3T MRI, which was used to quantitate total white matter hyperintensity (WMH) volume with in-house software and cortical thickness in regions associated with ADRD with FreeSurfer v6.0. An established DTI-ALPS pipeline was used to compute the DTI-ALPS index, determined by the ratio of mean diffusivity values in directions running along and perpendicular to major white matter tracts and perivascular spaces near the lateral ventricles; higher values indicating greater diffusivity along perivascular spaces and improved glymphatic clearance. We used a general linear model to test the association of the DTI-ALPS score with memory function, operationalized as total recall on the Selective Reminding Test (SRT). Additional predictor variables or covariates included were WMH volume, cortical thickness, age, education, and a metabolic syndrome score.

Results:

Increased DTI-ALPS scores were associated with better memory performance (unstandardized β = 5.4, p=0.04, 95% CI [0.22, 11]). On the other hand, WMH volume (β =-0.14, p=0.5, [-0.54, 0.26]) and mean cortical thickness in AD signature regions (β = 8.3, p=0.2, [-3.0, 20]) were not associated with memory. Of the additional covariates in the model, education (β = 0.69, p<0.001, [0.41, 0.97]) but not age (β = -0.24, p=0.13, [-0.55, 0.07]) or the metabolic syndrome score (β = -0.80 p=0.063, [-1.6, 0.04]), was associated with memory.

Conclusions:

Our findings suggest that glymphatic dysfunction underlies variability in memory in midlife and that DTI-ALPS may be relevant as a neuroimaging marker of white matter microstructure related to risk of cognitive dysfunction, independent of small vessel cerebrovascular disease and AD-related cortical atrophy. The role of glymphatic system function in nervous system waste clearance and in the maintenance of perivascular space integrity should be further investigated as a part of the early pathophysiological changes that put individuals in midlife at risk for future cognitive decline and/or ADRD.