A study recently published in the journal Radiology suggests that subtle differences in regional brain volumes that appear to be related to cardiovascular risk factors may potentially serve as an early indicator of cognitive decline before the onset of dementia.
Researchers from the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center led a retrospective study to investigate modifiable cardiovascular risk factors (alcohol consumption, smoking, diabetes, and obesity) associated with regional brain volume changes and their association with preclinical deficits in cognitive performance. The specific brain regions studied included the hippocampus, prenuceus, and posterior cingulate cortex—all brain regions involved with cognition.
“We already know that vascular risk factors damage the brain and can result in cognitive impairment,” Kevin King, M.D., an assistant professor of radiology at the University of Southern California, said in a press statement. “But our findings give us a more concrete idea about the relationship between specific vascular risk factors and brain health.”
For the study, the researchers analyzed data from 1,629 participants who were aged 25 to 73 and enrolled in the Dallas Heart Study from 2000 to 2002. Participants’ cardiovascular risk factors were evaluated in an initial baseline visit; brain volumes and cognitive function were assessed seven years later by, respectively, magnetic resonance imaging and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA).
The results showed that alcohol consumption and diabetes were associated with smaller total brain volume, and smoking and obesity were associated with reduced volumes in the posterior cingulate cortex. Lower hippocampal volume was associated with previous alcohol consumption and smoking, and lower precuneus volume correlated with alcohol consumption, obesity, and high fasting blood glucose numbers.
Low total scores for MoCA were associated with reduced posterior cingulate volume in participants under 50 and with reduced hippocampal and precuneus volumes in those 50 and over.
“Our findings reveal that lower total brain, hippocampal, precuneus, and posterior cingulate volumes are associated with cardiovascular risk factors and with impaired cognitive performance before the onset of clinical dementia. … even in participants younger than 50 years,” the researchers noted.
The researchers concluded that subtle differences in regional brain volumes in midlife may serve as a biomarker for brain insult before the onset of dementia.
“In the future, we may be able to provide patients with useful and actionable information about the impact different risk factors may be having on their brain health during routine clinical imaging,” King stated.
The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health. ■
“Cardiovascular Risk Factors Associated With Smaller Brain Volumes in Regions Identified as Early Predictors of Cognitive Decline” can be accessed
here.
