Brain-predicted age in Down Syndrome is associated with β-amyloid deposition and cognitive decline
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Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Individuals with Down Syndrome (DS) are more likely to experience earlier onset of multiple facets of physiological ageing. This includes brain atrophy, β-amyloid deposition, cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s Disease; factors indicative of brain ageing. Here we employed a machine learning approach, using structural neuroimaging data to predict age (i.e., brain-predicted age) in people with DS (N = 46) and typically developing controls (N = 30). Chronological age was then subtracted from brain-predicted age to generate a brain-predicted age difference (brain-PAD) score. DS participants also underwent [11C]-PiB positron emission tomography (PET) scans to index levels of cerebral β-amyloid deposition, and cognitive assessment. Mean brain-PAD in DS participants’ was +2.49 years, significantly greater than controls (p<0.001). The variability in brain-PAD was associated with the presence and the magnitude of PIB-binding and levels of cognitive performance. Our study indicates that DS is associated with premature structural brain ageing, and that age-related alterations in brain structure are associated with individual differences in the rate of β-amyloid deposition and cognitive impairment.
Date Issued
2017-04-18
Date Acceptance
2017-04-09
Citation
Neurobiology of Aging, 2017, 56, pp.41-49
ISSN
1558-1497
Publisher
Elsevier
Start Page
41
End Page
49
Journal / Book Title
Neurobiology of Aging
Volume
56
Copyright Statement
© 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Subjects
Amyloid PET
Brain aging
Cognitive decline
Down syndrome
MRI
Machine learning
Neurology & Neurosurgery
1103 Clinical Sciences
1109 Neurosciences
Publication Status
Published