WHITE MATTER MICROSTRUCTURE AND AMYLOID AGGREGATION IN COGNITIVELY HEALTHY, ELDERLY IDENTICAL TWINS

Anouk den Braber, Kristine Stickney, Dennis van't Ent, Mara ten Kate, Elles Konijnenberg, Jori Tomassen, Frederik Barkhof, Bart N.M. van Berckel, Dorret I. Boomsma, Eco de Geus, Philip Scheltens, Pieter Jelle Visser

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Abstract

Background: Lack of effective predictive models and/or treatments for Alzheimer's Disease (AD) has led a growing movement towards better characterization of pre-clinical stages. One currently established biomarker is positron emission tomography (PET) measured amyloid beta load. Here, in a genetically informative population of cognitively healthy, elderly identical twins, we compared this biomarker to a promising new candidate; white matter (WM) integrity measured by diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Method(s): Eighty-eight genetically identical twin-pairs and 14 individual twins (n=190, mean age(SD)= 70 (7.5)) were selected from the EMIF-AD PreclinAD study. Abeta load, as a measure for amyloid aggregation, was quantified from [18F] Flutemetamol PET scans. Regional measurements of fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD), obtained with tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) from FMRIB's Software Library (FSL), were used as measures for WM integrity. Within-subject associations between amyloid aggregation and WM integrity were estimated using generalized estimating equations, correcting for twin dependency. A possible shared etiology between amyloid aggregation and WM integrity was further explored using a cross-twin cross-trait (CTCT) design, testing whether amyloid aggregation in a twin could predict WM integrity in the co-twin. Analyses were adjusted for age, sex and intracranial volume. Result(s): Amyloid aggregation predicted trends in increased FA and decreased MD. Regions of interest (ROIs) that met p
Original languageEnglish
Article numberIC-P-066
Pages (from-to)P59-P60
Number of pages2
JournalAlzheimers & Dementia
Volume14
Issue number7S Part 1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2018

Cohort Studies

  • Netherlands Twin Register (NTR)

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