Brain age as a biomarker for pathological versus healthy ageing – a REMEMBER study

Wittens, MM; Denissen, S; Sima, DM; Fransen, E; Niemantsverdriet, E; Bastin, C; Benoit, F; Bergmans, B; Bier, J; de Deyn, PP; Deryck, O; Hanseeuw, B; Ivanoiu, A; Picard, G; Ribbens, A; Salmon, E; Segers, K; Sieben, A; Struyfs, H; Thiery, E; Tournoy, J; van Binst, A; Versijpt, J; Smeets, D; Nagels, G

Journal article

Brain age as a biomarker for pathological versus healthy ageing – a REMEMBER study

Abstract:: Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the potential clinical value of a new brain age prediction model as a single interpretable variable representing the condition of our brain. Among many clinical use cases, brain age could be a novel outcome measure to assess the preventive effect of life-style interventions. Methods: The REMEMBER study population (N = 742) consisted of cognitively healthy (HC,N = 91), subjective cognitive decline (SCD,N = 65), mild cognitive impairment (MCI,N = 319) and AD dementia (ADD,N = 267) subjects. Automated brain volumetry of global, cortical, and subcortical brain structures computed by the CE-labeled and FDA-cleared software icobrain dm (dementia) was retrospectively extracted from T1-weighted MRI sequences that were acquired during clinical routine at participating memory clinics from the Belgian Dementia Council. The volumetric features, along with sex, were combined into a weighted sum using a linear model, and were used to predict ‘brain age’ and ‘brain predicted age difference’ (BPAD = brain age–chronological age) for every subject. Results: MCI and ADD patients showed an increased brain age compared to their chronological age. Overall, brain age outperformed BPAD and chronological age in terms of classification accuracy across the AD spectrum. There was a weak-to-moderate correlation between total MMSE score and both brain age (r = -0.38,p < .001) and BPAD (r = -0.26,p < .001). Noticeable trends, but no significant correlations, were found between BPAD and incidence of conversion from MCI to ADD, nor between BPAD and conversion time from MCI to ADD. BPAD was increased in heavy alcohol drinkers compared to non-/sporadic (p = .014) and moderate (p = .040) drinkers. Conclusions: Brain age and associated BPAD have the potential to serve as indicators for, and to evaluate the impact of lifestyle modifications or interventions on, brain health.

Publication status:: Published

Peer review status:: Peer reviewed

Actions

Email

Email this record

Send the bibliographic details of this record to your email address.

Your Email
Please enter the email address that the record information will be sent to.

-
Your message (optional)
Please add any additional information to be included within the email.
Cite

Cite this record

APA Style

Wittens, M. M., Denissen, S., Sima, D. M., Fransen, E., Niemantsverdriet, E., Bastin, C., Benoit, F., Bergmans, B., Bier, J., de Deyn, P. P., Deryck, O., Hanseeuw, B., Ivanoiu, A., Picard, G., Ribbens, A., Salmon, E., Segers, K., Sieben, A., Struyfs, H., … Nagels, G. (2024). Brain age as a biomarker for pathological versus healthy ageing – a REMEMBER study. Alzheimer's Research and Therapy, 16(1).

MLA Style

Wittens, M. M., et al. “Brain Age as a Biomarker for Pathological versus Healthy Ageing – a REMEMBER Study.” Alzheimer's Research and Therapy, vol. 16, no. 1, BioMed Central, 2024.

Chicago Style

Wittens, MM, S Denissen, DM Sima, E Fransen, E Niemantsverdriet, C Bastin, F Benoit, et al. 2024. “Brain Age as a Biomarker for Pathological versus Healthy Ageing – a REMEMBER Study.” Alzheimer's Research and Therapy 16 (1).
Share
Print