Aging
Cognition function and its relationship with cerebral ageing signs detected by high-resolution magnetic resonance: preliminary findings from the ELSA-Brasil Alessandra C Goulart* Alessandra C Goulart Isabela M Benseñor Claudia C Leite Claudia k Suemoto Maria CG Otaduy Arão B Oliveira Itamar S santos Paulo A Lotufo Isabela M Benseñor
The brain aging process, which is highly heterogeneous and multifactorial, determines structural differences that can influence cognitive status. Therefore, in a preliminary analysis of an ongoing large neuroimaging sub-study in the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil), it was assessed the integrity of brain structures by 3 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (ongoing since April 2023) and its association with, the performance in ELSA-Brasil cognition tests (the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer’s Disease – Word List, semantic and phonemic verbal fluency and the Trail-Making Test B), occurred 4 years (Wave 3) before MRI. We performed an exploratory analysis by partial correlation (adjusted by sex, age, educational level, and estimated total intracranial volume for volumetry analyses) between cognition function and brain structural regions of interest (ROI) related to cortex thickness and volume analyzed by volumetry (FreeSurfer® version 7.3.2) in both hemispheres. Among 89 participants (60.7% women, median age 63 years), cognitive performances at Wave 3 were diversely associated with structural brain markers of aging. White matter hypointensities (WMH) were inversely associated with global memory z-score (r = -0.274, p = 0.023), while the cortical thickness in the right superior frontal lobe was positively associated with verbal fluency (semantic and phonemic) (r = 0.261, p = 0.02) but not left (r = 0.188, p = 0.096). Other ROIs were not significantly associated with cognitive function. Preliminary data revealed some brain structural markers related to brain aging, such as the degree of WMH and frontal cortical thickness associated with worse memory and better verbal fluency scores, respectively. A larger sample and longer follow-up time with upcoming data on cognition, mental health, and risk factors will help to unravel the meaning of high-resolution cerebral markers findings in the aging process.