Affiliations: [a] Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI, USA
| [b] Lifespan Clinical Research Center, Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, RI, USA
| [c] Lifespan Biostatistics Core, Lifespan Hospital System, Providence, RI, USA
| [d] Division of Cardiology, Providence VA Medical Center and Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
| [e] Department of Neurology, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
Correspondence:
[*]
Correspondence to: Peter J. Snyder, PhD, Lifespan Clinical Research Center, Rhode Island Hospital, Suite 1.001, 1 Hoppin Street, Providence, RI 02903, USA. Tel.: +1 401 444 4117; Fax: +1 401 444 4100; E-mail: psnyder@lifespan.org.
Abstract: To explore early autonomic cardiac changes in pre-clinical Alzheimer’s disease (AD), we have evaluated electrocardiologic measures of vagal tone for 63 adults (ages 55–75) at rest, during cognitive testing, and then again at rest. All subjects had multiple risk factors for AD, and all completed amyloid PET scans (18F-Florbetapir) to determine amyloid positivity (Aβ+). No change in electrocardiographic measures were observed for Aβ+ participants under each testing condition, whereas Aβ–subjects showed an expected increase in vagal tone during the cognitive stress condition. These findings suggest an early relationship between cortical Aβ accumulation, a precursor to AD development, and autonomic cardiac function.
