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Contemplating Alzheimer’s Disease and the Contribution of White Matter Hyperintensities

  • Dementia (KS Marder, Section Editor)
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Abstract

As the older adult segment of the population increases, Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has emerged as a significant public health epidemic. Over the past 3 decades, advances in the understanding of the biology of AD have led to a somewhat unified hypothesis of disease pathogenesis that emphasizes the precipitating role of beta amyloid protein. However, several lines of evidence suggest that multiple pathologies are necessary for clinical manifestation of the disease. Our focus over the past several years has been on the contribution of small vessel cerebrovascular disease, visualized as white matter hyperintensities (WMH) on magnetic resonance imaging, to AD. White matter hyperintensity volume, particularly in parietal regions, is elevated among individuals with and at risk for AD, predicts future diagnosis of AD, predicts the rate of progression of cognitive symptoms among individuals with AD, and increases over time among individuals destined to develop AD. White matter hyperintensities may represent an independent source of impairment and/or may interact more fundamentally with “primary” AD pathology. Future work should focus on more inclusive models of that better define “normal” vs “pathological” aging.

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Acknowledgment

Work presented here was supported in part by grants from the National Institutes of Health (AG034189, AG037212, AG028786, AG029949, AG024708), Alzheimer’s Association, Mary E. Groff Surgical Medical Research and Education Charitable Trust, and Columbia University.

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Conflict of Interest

Adam M. Brickman has received travel/accommodations expenses covered or reimbursed from the International Neuropsychological Society (as a board member) and the Alzheimer's Association.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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  1. Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain, Department of Neurology, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, PS Box 16, 630 West 168th Street, New York, NY, 10032, USA

    Adam M. Brickman

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Correspondence to Adam M. Brickman.

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Brickman, A.M. Contemplating Alzheimer’s Disease and the Contribution of White Matter Hyperintensities. Curr Neurol Neurosci Rep 13, 415 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11910-013-0415-7

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