Leveraging longitudinal diffusion MRI data to quantify differences in white matter microstructural decline in normal and abnormal aging

Derek B Archer; Kurt Schilling; Niranjana Shashikumar; Varuna Jasodanand; Elizabeth E Moore; Kimberly R Pechman; Murat Bilgel; Lori L Beason-Held; Yang An; Andrea Shafer; Luigi Ferrucci; Shannon L Risacher; Katherine A Gifford; Bennett A Landman; Angela L Jefferson; Andrew J Saykin; Susan M Resnick; Timothy J Hohman; Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative

doi:10.1101/2023.05.17.541182

Leveraging longitudinal diffusion MRI data to quantify differences in white matter microstructural decline in normal and abnormal aging

bioRxiv [Preprint]. 2023 May 18:2023.05.17.541182. doi: 10.1101/2023.05.17.541182.

Authors

Derek B Archer^{1

2}, Kurt Schilling^{3

4}, Niranjana Shashikumar¹, Varuna Jasodanand¹, Elizabeth E Moore¹, Kimberly R Pechman¹, Murat Bilgel⁵, Lori L Beason-Held⁵, Yang An⁵, Andrea Shafer⁵, Luigi Ferrucci⁶, Shannon L Risacher^{7

8}, Katherine A Gifford¹, Bennett A Landman^{3

9

10

4}, Angela L Jefferson^{1

2

11}, Andrew J Saykin^{7

8}, Susan M Resnick⁵, Timothy J Hohman^{1

2}; Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative

Affiliations

¹ Vanderbilt Memory and Alzheimer's Center, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA.
² Vanderbilt Genetics Institute, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.
³ Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.
⁴ Department of Radiology & Radiological Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.
⁵ Laboratory of Behavioral Neuroscience, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
⁶ National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, MD, USA.
⁷ Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
⁸ Indiana Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
⁹ Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
¹⁰ Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
¹¹ Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.

Abstract

Introduction: It is unclear how rates of white matter microstructural decline differ between normal aging and abnormal aging.

Methods: Diffusion MRI data from several well-established longitudinal cohorts of aging [Alzheimer's Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI), Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA), Vanderbilt Memory & Aging Project (VMAP)] was free-water corrected and harmonized. This dataset included 1,723 participants (age at baseline: 72.8±8.87 years, 49.5% male) and 4,605 imaging sessions (follow-up time: 2.97±2.09 years, follow-up range: 1-13 years, mean number of visits: 4.42±1.98). Differences in white matter microstructural decline in normal and abnormal agers was assessed.

Results: While we found global decline in white matter in normal/abnormal aging, we found that several white matter tracts (e.g., cingulum bundle) were vulnerable to abnormal aging.

Conclusions: There is a prevalent role of white matter microstructural decline in aging, and future large-scale studies in this area may further refine our understanding of the underlying neurodegenerative processes.

Highlights: Longitudinal data was free-water corrected and harmonizedGlobal effects of white matter decline were seen in normal and abnormal agingThe free-water metric was most vulnerable to abnormal agingCingulum free-water was the most vulnerable to abnormal aging.

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Abstract

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