Aging brain

About: Aging brain is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 1255 publications have been published within this topic receiving 66405 citations.

The Cerebrovascular Basement Membrane: Role in the Clearance of β-amyloid and Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy

Abstract: Cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA), the accumulation of β-amyloid (Aβ) peptides in the walls of cerebral blood vessels, is observed in the majority of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) brains and is thought to be due to a failure of the aging brain to clear Aβ. Perivascular drainage of Aβ along cerebrovascular basement membranes (CVBMs) is one of the mechanisms by which Aβ is removed from the brain. CVBMs are specialized sheets of extracellular matrix that provide structural and functional support for cerebral blood vessels. Changes in CVBM composition and structure are observed in the aged and AD brain and may contribute to the development and progression of CAA. This review summarizes the properties of the CVBM, its role in mediating clearance of interstitial fluids and solutes from the brain, and evidence supporting a role for CVBM in the etiology of CAA.

Neuropathologic Basis of Age-Associated Brain Atrophy

Abstract: Importance While brain volume changes are used as surrogate markers for Alzheimer disease neuropathology in clinical studies, the extent to which these changes are due to pathologic features of Alzheimer disease in the aging brain is not well established. This study aims to clarify the neuropathologic correlates of longitudinal brain atrophy. Objective To examine the association between brain atrophy during life and neuropathology in an elderly population. Design Autopsy study of a cohort of elderly individuals. Setting Community-based population. Participants Seventy-one healthy elderly individuals were selected from participants of the Oregon Brain Aging Study for having an autopsy, more than 1 magnetic resonance imaging scan, and the last magnetic resonance imaging scan within 36 months of death. Main Outcomes and Measures The associations between brain volume trajectories (ventricular, total brain, and hippocampal) and time interaction terms for neurofibrillary tangles, neuritic plaques, gross infarcts, microinfarcts, amyloid angiopathy, Lewy bodies, APOE ϵ4 presence, and clinical diagnosis (no cognitive impairment, mild cognitive impairment, or dementia as time-varying covariates) were examined in mixed-effects models, adjusting for duration of follow-up and age at death. Results Ventricular volume trajectory was significantly associated with age, presence of infarcts, neurofibrillary tangle and neuritic plaque scores, APOE ϵ4 allele presence, and dementia diagnosis. Total brain volume trajectory was significantly associated with age and mild cognitive impairment diagnosis. Hippocampal volume trajectory was significantly associated with amyloid angiopathy. Conclusions and Relevance Ventricular volume trajectory is more sensitive than total brain and hippocampal volume trajectories as a marker of accruing Alzheimer disease and vascular pathology in elderly individuals. The association between brain volume trajectories and cognitive impairment (mild cognitive impairment and dementia) remained after controlling for the degree of neuropathology and other covariates. This suggests that there may be other factors not measured in this study that could be contributing to brain atrophy in those with cognitive impairment.

Role of Prenatal Hypoxia in Brain Development, Cognitive Functions, and Neurodegeneration.

Abstract: This review focuses on the role of prenatal hypoxia in the development of brain functions in the postnatal period and subsequent increased risk of neurodegenerative disorders in later life. Accumulating evidence suggests that prenatal hypoxia in critical periods of brain formation results in significant changes in development of cognitive functions at various stages of postnatal life which correlate with morphological changes in brain structures involved in learning and memory. Prenatal hypoxia also leads to a decrease in brain adaptive potential and plasticity due to the disturbance in the process of formation of new contacts between cells and propagation of neuronal stimuli, especially in the cortex and hippocampus. On the other hand, prenatal hypoxia has a significant impact on expression and processing of a variety of genes involved in normal brain function and their epigenetic regulation. This results in changes in the patterns of mRNA and protein expression and their post-translational modifications, including protein misfolding and clearance. Among proteins affected by prenatal hypoxia are a key enzyme of the cholinergic system-acetylcholinesterase, and the amyloid precursor protein (APP), both of which have important roles in brain function. Disruption of their expression and metabolism caused by prenatal hypoxia can also result, apart from early cognitive dysfunctions, in development of neurodegeneration in later life. Another group of enzymes affected by prenatal hypoxia are peptidases involved in catabolism of neuropeptides, including amyloid-β peptide (Aβ). The decrease in the activity of neprilysin and other amyloid-degrading enzymes observed after prenatal hypoxia could result over the years in an Aβ clearance deficit and accumulation of its toxic species which cause neuronal cell death and development of neurodegeneration. Applying various approaches to restore expression of neuronal genes disrupted by prenatal hypoxia during postnatal development opens an avenue for therapeutic compensation of cognitive dysfunctions and prevention of Aβ accumulation in the aging brain and the model of prenatal hypoxia in rodents can be used as a reliable tool for assessment of their efficacy.