Evans Tavia E, Vilor-Tejedor Natalia, Operto Gregory, Falcon Carles, Hofman Albert, Ibáñez Agustin, Seshadari Sudha, Tan Louis C S, Weiner Michael, Alladi Suverna, Anazodo Udunna, Gispert Juan Domingo, Adams Hieab H H
Department of Clinical Genetics, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Department of Clinical Genetics, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Barcelonaβeta Brain Research Center, Pasqual Maragall Foundation, Barcelona, Spain; Centre for Genomic Regulation, The Barcelona Institute for Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain; Neurosciences programme, IMIM (Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute), Barcelona, Spain.
Biol Psychiatry Cogn Neurosci Neuroimaging. 2024 Jul 30. doi: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.07.019.
Neurodegenerative diseases require collaborative, multisite research to comprehensively grasp their complex and diverse pathological progression; however, there is caution in aggregating global data due to data heterogeneity. In the current study, we investigated brain structure across stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and how relationships vary across sources of heterogeneity.
Using 6 international datasets (N > 27,000), associations of structural neuroimaging markers were investigated in relation to the AD continuum via meta-analysis. We investigated whether associations varied across elements of magnetic resonance imaging acquisition, study design, and populations.
Modest differences in associations were found depending on how data were acquired; however, patterns were similar. Preliminary results suggested that neuroimaging marker-AD relationships differ across ethnic groups.
Diversity in data offers unique insights into the neural substrate of AD; however, harmonized processing and transparency of data collection are needed. Global collaborations should embrace the inherent heterogeneity that exists in the data and quantify its contribution to research findings at the meta-analytical stage.
神经退行性疾病需要开展协作性的多中心研究，以全面掌握其复杂多样的病理进展；然而，由于数据的异质性，在汇总全球数据时需谨慎行事。在本研究中，我们调查了阿尔茨海默病（AD）各阶段的脑结构，以及这些关系如何因异质性来源的不同而有所变化。
通过荟萃分析，利用6个国际数据集（N>27000），研究了结构神经影像标志物与AD连续体之间的关联。我们调查了这些关联在磁共振成像采集要素、研究设计和人群方面是否存在差异。
根据数据采集方式的不同，发现关联存在适度差异；然而，模式相似。初步结果表明，神经影像标志物与AD的关系在不同种族群体中存在差异。
数据的多样性为深入了解AD的神经基质提供了独特视角；然而，需要进行统一处理并提高数据收集的透明度。全球合作应接受数据中存在的固有异质性，并在荟萃分析阶段量化其对研究结果的贡献。
