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Evaluation of Amyloid Protective Factors in AD
JAMA Neurol; ePub 2017 Apr 17; Vemuri, et al
The protective factors that influence amyloid and Alzheimer disease (AD)-pattern neurodegeneration are different, according to a recent cohort study. Researchers conducted a prospective analysis of 942 elderly individuals ( aged 70-≥90 years) with magnetic resonance imaging and Pittsburgh compound B-positron emission tomography scans enrolled in the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging. They operationalized “exceptional aging” without Alzheimer disease pathophysiology (ADP) by considering individuals aged ≥85 years to be without significant evidence of ADP. Participants included 423 (45%) women and the average age of participants was 79.7 (5.9) years. They found:
- Apart from demographics and the APOE genotype, only midlife dyslipidemia was associated with amyloid deposition.
- Obesity, smoking, diabetes, hypertension, and cardiac and metabolic conditions, but not intellectual enrichment, were associated with greater AD-pattern neurodegeneration.
- In the ≥85 years cohort, results showed small to moderate effects of several variables except job score and midlife hypertension in predicting exceptional aging without ADP.
Vemuri P, Knopman DS, Lesnick TG, et al. Evaluation of amyloid protective factors and Alzheimer disease neurodegeneration protective factors in elderly individuals. [Published online ahead of print April 17, 2017]. JAMA Neurol. doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2017.0244.