White matter degradation near cerebral microbleeds is associated with cognitive change after mild traumatic brain injury

Andrei Irimia; Van Ngo; Nikhil N Chaudhari; Fan Zhang; Shantanu H Joshi; Anita N Penkova; Lauren J O'Donnell; Nasim Sheikh-Bahaei; Xiaoyu Zheng; Helena C Chui

doi:10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2022.08.010

White matter degradation near cerebral microbleeds is associated with cognitive change after mild traumatic brain injury

Neurobiol Aging. 2022 Dec:120:68-80. doi: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2022.08.010. Epub 2022 Aug 24.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Ethel Percy Andrus Gerontology Center, Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Denney Research Center, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Viterbi School of Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA. Electronic address: irimia@usc.edu.
² Ethel Percy Andrus Gerontology Center, Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
³ Laboratory of Mathematics in Imaging, Department of Radiology, Brigham & Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
⁴ Ahmanson Lovelace Brain Mapping Center, Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
⁵ Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, Viterbi School of Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
⁶ Department of Neurology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Department of Radiology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
⁷ Department of Materials Science & Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
⁸ Department of Radiology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.

PMID: 36116396
PMCID: PMC9759713
DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2022.08.010

Abstract

To explore how cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) accompanying mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) reflect white matter (WM) degradation and cognitive decline, magnetic resonance images were acquired from 62 mTBI adults (imaged ∼7 days and ∼6 months post-injury) and 203 matched healthy controls. On average, mTBI participants had a count of 2.7 ± 2.6 traumatic CMBs in WM, located 6.1 ± 4.4 mm from cortex. At ∼6-month follow-up, 97% of CMBs were associated with significant reductions (34% ± 11%, q < 0.05) in the fractional anisotropy of WM streamlines within ∼1 cm of CMB locations. Male sex and older age were significant risk factors for larger reductions (q < 0.05). For CMBs in the corpus callosum, cingulum bundle, inferior and middle longitudinal fasciculi, fractional anisotropy changes were significantly and positively associated with changes in cognitive functions mediated by these structures (q < 0.05). Our findings distinguish traumatic from non-traumatic CMBs by virtue of surrounding WM alterations and challenge the assumption that traumatic CMBs are neurocognitively silent. Thus, mTBI with CMB findings can be described as a clinical endophenotype warranting longitudinal cognitive assessment.

Keywords: Brain aging; Brain atrophy; Cognitive decline; Connectome atrophy; Neurovascular injury.

Publication types

Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

Brain Concussion* / complications
Brain Concussion* / diagnostic imaging
Brain Concussion* / pathology
Cerebral Hemorrhage / complications
Cerebral Hemorrhage / diagnostic imaging
Cognition
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging / methods
Male
White Matter* / diagnostic imaging
White Matter* / pathology

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding