Department of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychobiology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
Neurobiol Aging. 2012 May;33(5):1003.e9-17. doi: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2011.09.020. Epub 2011 Oct 20.
The aim was to investigate the relationship between blood markers of vascular dysfunction with brain microstructural changes and cognition. Eighty-six participants from the Barcelona-Asymptomatic Intracranial Atherosclerosis (AsIA) neuropsychology study were included. Subjects were 50-65 years old, free from dementia and without history of vascular disease. We assessed correlations of blood levels of inflammatory biomarkers (C-reactive protein [CRP] and resistin) and fibrinolysis inhibitors (plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 [PAI-1] and A-lipoprotein (Lp (a)) with fractional anisotropy (FA) measurements of diffusion tensor images (DTI), regional gray matter (GM) volumes and performance in several cognitive domains. Increasing levels of C-reactive protein and PAI-1 levels were associated with white matter (WM) integrity loss in corticosubcortical pathways and association fibers of frontal and temporal lobes, independently of age, sex and vascular risk factors. PAI-1 was also related to lower speed and visuomotor/coordination. None of the biomarkers were related to gray matter volume changes. Our findings suggest that inflammation and dysregulation of the fibrynolitic system may be involved in the pathological mechanisms underlying the WM damage seen in cerebrovascular disease and subsequent cognitive impairment.
目的在于探究血管功能障碍的血液标志物与脑微观结构改变和认知之间的关系。该研究纳入了巴塞罗那无症状颅内动脉粥样硬化（AsIA）神经心理学研究中的 86 名参与者。受试者年龄在 50-65 岁之间，无痴呆症且无血管疾病史。我们评估了炎症生物标志物（C 反应蛋白[CRP]和抵抗素）和纤维蛋白溶解抑制剂（纤溶酶原激活物抑制剂-1[PAI-1]和 A 脂蛋白[Lp（a）]）的血液水平与扩散张量成像（DTI）的各向异性分数（FA）测量值、灰质（GM）体积以及几个认知领域的表现之间的相关性。CRP 和 PAI-1 水平的升高与皮质下皮质和额颞叶联合纤维的白质（WM）完整性丧失有关，这与年龄、性别和血管危险因素无关。PAI-1 还与运动速度和视觉运动/协调能力降低有关。没有生物标志物与灰质体积变化有关。我们的研究结果表明，炎症和纤维蛋白溶解系统的失调可能参与了脑血管疾病和随后认知障碍导致的 WM 损伤的病理机制。
