Gray matter changes related to microglial activation in Alzheimer’s disease
Publication: Neurobiology of Aging
Nicolas Nicastro, Maura Malpetti, Elijah Mak, Guy B. Williams, W. Richard Bevan-Jones, Stephen F. Carter, Luca Passamonti, Tim D. Fryer, Young T. Hong, Franklin I. Aigbirhiod, James B. Rowe, John T. O’Brien
17 June 2020
Neuroinflammation is increasingly recognized as playing a key pathogenetic role in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Here the researchers examined the relationship between in vivo neuroinflammation and gray matter (GM) changes.
AD/mild cognitive impairment participants exhibited GM atrophy and cortical thinning in AD-related temporoparietal regions (false discovery rate–corrected p < 0.05). Patients also showed increased microglial activation in temporal cortices. Higher 11C-PK11195 binding in these regions was associated with reduced volume and cortical thickness in parietal, occipital, and cingulate areas (false discovery rate p < 0.05). Hippocampal GM atrophy and parahippocampal cortical thinning were related to worse cognition (p < 0.05), but these effects were not mediated by microglial activation.
This study demonstrates an association between in vivo microglial activation and markers of GM damage in AD, positioning neuroinflammation as a potential target for immunotherapeutic strategies.
