Mixed Brain Pathology Is the Most Common Cause of Cognitive Impairment in the Elderly

• Background: Systemic diseases, diabetes mellitus (DM), and cardiovascular disease (CaVD) have been suggested being risk factors for cognitive impairment (CI) and/or influence Alzheimer's disease neuropathologic change (ADNC).Objective: The purpose was to assess the type and the extent of neuropathological alterations in the brain and to assess whether brain pathology was associated with CaVD or DM related alterations in peripheral organs, i.e., vessels, heart, and kidney.Methods: 119 subjects, 15% with DM and 24% with CI, age range 80 to 89 years, were chosen and neuropathological alterations were assessed applying immunohistochemistry.Results: Hyperphosphorylated tau (HP tau) was seen in 99%, amyloid-beta (A beta) in 71%, transactive DNA binding protein 43 (TDP43) in 62%, and alpha-synuclein (alpha S) in 21% of the subjects. Primary age related tauopathy was diagnosed in 29% (more common in females), limbic predominant age-related TDP encephalopathy in 4% (14% of subjects with CI), and dementia with Lewy bodies in 3% (14% of subjects with CI) of the subjects. High/intermediate level of ADNC was seen in 47% and the extent of HPt increased with age. The extent of ADNC was not associated with the extent of pathology observed in peripheral organs, i.e., DM or CaVD. Contrary, brain alterations such as pTDP43 and cerebrovascular lesions (CeVL) were influenced by DM, and CeVL correlated significantly with the extent of vessel pathology.Conclusion: In most (66%) subjects with CI, the cause of impairment was "mixed pathology", i.e., ADNC combined with TDP43, alpha S, or vascular brain lesions. Furthermore, our results suggest that systemic diseases, DMand CaVD, are risk factors for CI but not related to ADNC.

Subject headings

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Klinisk medicin -- Neurologi (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Clinical Medicine -- Neurology (hsv//eng)

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Klinisk medicin -- Klinisk laboratoriemedicin (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Clinical Medicine -- Clinical Laboratory Medicine (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Aging

alpha-synuclein

amyloid-beta

cardiac pathology

cerebrovascular lesions

hyperphosphorylated-tau

nephrosclerosis-transactive DNA binding protein 43

Patologi

Pathology

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)