Basal forebrain atrophy along the Alzheimer's disease continuum in adults with Down syndrome

• BackgroundBasal forebrain (BF) degeneration occurs in Down syndrome (DS)-associated Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the dynamics of BF atrophy with age and disease progression, its impact on cognition, and its relationship with AD biomarkers have not been studied in DS. MethodsWe included 234 adults with DS (150 asymptomatic, 38 prodromal AD, and 46 AD dementia) and 147 euploid controls. BF volumes were extracted from T-weighted magnetic resonance images using a stereotactic atlas in SPM12. We assessed BF volume changes with age and along the clinical AD continuum and their relationship to cognitive performance, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and plasma amyloid/tau/neurodegeneration biomarkers, and hippocampal volume. ResultsIn DS, BF volumes decreased with age and along the clinical AD continuum and significantly correlated with amyloid, tau, and neurofilament light chain changes in CSF and plasma, hippocampal volume, and cognitive performance. DiscussionBF atrophy is a potentially valuable neuroimaging biomarker of AD-related cholinergic neurodegeneration in DS.

Subject headings

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Medicinska och farmaceutiska grundvetenskaper -- Neurovetenskaper (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Basic Medicine -- Neurosciences (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Alzheimer's disease

basal forebrain

biomarkers

cholinergic

Down

syndrome

magnetic resonance imaging

neuroimaging

volumetry

senile-dementia

nucleus basalis

cholinergic neurons

cerebral-cortex

biomarker

brain

abnormalities

hippocampus

validation

risk

Neurosciences & Neurology

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)