Beran Magdalena, van Gennip April C E, Stehouwer Coen D A, Jansen Jacobus F A, Gupta Monideepa D, Houben Alfons J H M, Berendschot Tos T J M, Webers Carroll A B, Wesselius Anke, Schalkwijk Casper G, Backes Walter H, de Jong Joost J A, van der Kallen Carla J H, van Greevenbroek Marleen M J, Köhler Sebastian, Vonk Jet M J, Geerlings Mirjam I, Schram Miranda T, van Sloten Thomas T
Department of Internal Medicine Maastricht University Medical Centre+ (MUMC+) Maastricht The Netherlands.
School for Cardiovascular Diseases CARIM Maastricht University Maastricht The Netherlands.
J Am Heart Assoc. 2024 Feb 6;13(3):e9112. doi: 10.1161/JAHA.123.031573. Epub 2024 Jan 19.
Microvascular dysfunction is involved in the development of various cerebral disorders. It may contribute to these disorders by disrupting white matter tracts and altering brain connectivity, but evidence is scarce. We investigated the association between multiple biomarkers of microvascular function and whole-brain white matter connectivity.
Cross-sectional data from The Maastricht Study, a Dutch population-based cohort (n=4326; age, 59.4±8.6 years; 49.7% women). Measures of microvascular function included urinary albumin excretion, central retinal arteriolar and venular calibers, composite scores of flicker light-induced retinal arteriolar and venular dilation, and plasma biomarkers of endothelial dysfunction (intercellular adhesion molecule-1, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1, E-selectin, and von Willebrand factor). White matter connectivity was calculated from 3T diffusion magnetic resonance imaging to quantify the number (average node degree) and organization (characteristic path length, global efficiency, clustering coefficient, and local efficiency) of white matter connections. A higher plasma biomarkers of endothelial dysfunction composite score was associated with a longer characteristic path length (β per SD, 0.066 [95% CI, 0.017-0.114]) after adjustment for sociodemographic, lifestyle, and cardiovascular factors but not with any of the other white matter connectivity measures. After multiple comparison correction, this association was nonsignificant. None of the other microvascular function measures were associated with any of the connectivity measures.
These findings suggest that microvascular dysfunction as measured by indirect markers is not associated with whole-brain white matter connectivity.
微血管功能障碍参与多种脑部疾病的发展。它可能通过破坏白质束和改变脑连接性导致这些疾病,但证据稀少。我们研究了微血管功能的多种生物标志物与全脑白质连接性之间的关联。
来自荷兰基于人群的队列研究——马斯特里赫特研究的横断面数据(n = 4326;年龄,59.4±8.6岁;49.7%为女性)。微血管功能的测量指标包括尿白蛋白排泄、视网膜中央小动脉和小静脉内径、闪烁光诱导的视网膜小动脉和小静脉扩张的综合评分,以及内皮功能障碍的血浆生物标志物(细胞间黏附分子-1、血管细胞黏附分子-1、E-选择素和血管性血友病因子)。白质连接性通过3T扩散磁共振成像计算得出,以量化白质连接的数量(平均节点度)和组织情况(特征路径长度、全局效率、聚类系数和局部效率)。在校正社会人口统计学、生活方式和心血管因素后,较高的内皮功能障碍血浆生物标志物综合评分与较长的特征路径长度相关(每标准差β,0.066 [95%置信区间,0.017 - 0.114]),但与其他任何白质连接性测量指标均无关。经过多重比较校正后,这种关联无统计学意义。其他微血管功能测量指标均与任何连接性测量指标无关。
这些发现表明,通过间接标志物测量的微血管功能障碍与全脑白质连接性无关。