Grey Matter and Cognitive Patterns in Cognitive Impaired Subjects Using CSF Biomarker Cut-Offs

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Miralbell, Julia^{a; *} | Spulber, Gabriela^{b; f} | Hooshmand, Babak^{c; d} | Besga, Ariadna^e | Mataró, Maria^a | Cedazo-Minguez, Angel^d | Kivipelto, Miia^{c; d; f} | Wahlund, Lars-Olof^b

Affiliations: [a] Department of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychobiology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain | [b] Division of Clinical Geriatrics, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden | [c] Aging Research Center, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden | [d] KI Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden | [e] Psychiatric Department, Santiago Apostol Hospital, Vitoria, Spain | [f] Department of Neurolgy, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland

Correspondence: [*] Correspondence to: Julia Miralbell, Psychiatry and Clinical Psychobiology Department, University of Barcelona, Pg. Vall d'Hebron 171, 17300, Barcelona, Spain. Tel.: +34934031147; Fax: +34934021584; E-mail: jmiralbell@ub.edu.

Abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate brain tissue volumes, grey matter (GM) distribution, and cognitive performance for cognitively impaired subjects using cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarker cut-offs as grouping criteria. 41 subjects attending the Memory Clinic, Karolinska University Hospital, Huddinge, Sweden, were divided into groups based on normal or abnormal CSF levels of Aβ1-42, t-tau, and p-tau181. SIENAX algorithms were employed for brain tissue volumes estimation and voxel-based morphometry (VBM) for mapping the differences in GM patterns. VBM revealed significant lower GM volumes in temporo-parietal, occipital, and prefrontal cortices for those subjects belonging to abnormal CSF t-tau and p-tau181 groups. No differences were found between groups according to CSF Aβ1-42 cut-offs. Patients with abnormal CSF p-tau181 showed lower cognitive performance compared to those with normal levels. Patients with abnormal levels of CSF tau (but not Aβ1-42) showed an Alzheimer's disease-like pattern for both GM distribution and cognitive profile, compared to those with normal levels. These results support the hypothesis that CSF t-tau or p-tau181 levels may be of direct value for the evaluation of disease severity.

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease, CSF biomarkers, grey matter, MRI, voxel based morphometry

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-2012-111553

Journal: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 29, no. 4, pp. 741-749, 2012