Pet scans reveal relation between early CVD and brain function: Study
Spain: Middle-aged people who show early signs of cardiovascular disease also suffer from brain hypometabolism as demonstrated by PET scans, finds a recent study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. The findings suggest that early stages of Alzheimer's disease could begin years before the occurrence of dementia.
Atherosclerosis has been linked to cognitive decline in late life. However, the impact of subclinical atherosclerosis and cardiovascular risk factors (CVRFs) on brain metabolism at earlier stages is not yet explored. Considering this, MartaCortes-Canteli, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), Madrid, Spain, and colleagues sought to determine the association between brain metabolism, subclinical atherosclerosis, and CVRFs in middle-aged asymptomatic individuals.
The study included 547 asymptomatic middle-aged participants from the PESA (Progression of Early Subclinical Atherosclerosis) study with evidence of subclinical atherosclerosis. Participants underwent 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography.
Global brain FDG uptake and voxel-wise analyses were used to evaluate the associations of cerebral metabolism with CVRFs and atherosclerotic plaque burden in carotids and femorals assessed by 3-dimensional vascular ultrasound.
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