2 results
9 Serum Neurofilament is Associated with Diffusion Kurtosis Imaging in Chronic Mild-Moderate Traumatic Brain Injury
- Erin R Trifilio, Robert D Claar, Aditi Venkatesh, Sarah Bottari, David Barton, Claudia S Robertson, Richard Rubenstein, Amy K Wagner, Kevin K W Wang, Damon G Lamb, John B Williamson
-
- Journal:
- Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society / Volume 29 / Issue s1 / November 2023
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 21 December 2023, p. 121
-
- Article
-
- You have access Access
- Export citation
-
Objective:
To determine the association between blood markers of white matter injury (e.g., serum neurofilament light and phosphorylated neurofilament heavy) and a novel neuroimaging technique measuring microstructural white matter changes (e.g., diffusion kurtosis imaging) in regions (e.g., anterior thalamic radiation and uncinate fasciculus) known to be impacted in traumatic brain injury (TBI) and associated with symptoms common in those with chronic TBI (e.g., sleep disruption, cognitive and emotional disinhibition) in a heterogeneous sample of Veterans and non-Veterans with a history of remote TBI (i.e., >6 months).
Participants and Methods:Participants with complete imaging and blood data (N=24) were sampled from a larger multisite study of chronic mild-moderate TBI. Participants ranged in age from young to middle-aged (mean age = 34.17, SD age = 10.96, range = 19-58) and primarily male (66.7%). The number of distinct TBIs ranged from 1-5 and the time since most recent TBI ranged from 0-30 years. Scores on a cognitive screener (MoCA) ranged from 22-30 (mean = 26.75). We performed bivariate correlations with mean kurtosis (MK) in the anterior thalamic radiation (ATR; left, right) uncinate fasciculus (UF; left, right), and serum neurofilament light (NFL), and phosphorylated neurofilament heavy (pNFH). Both were log transformed for non-normality. Significance threshold was set at p<0.05.
Results:pNFH was significantly and negatively correlated to MK in the right (r=-0.446) and left (r=-0.599) UF and right (r=-0.531) and left (r=-0.469) ATR. NFL showed moderate associations with MK in the right (r=-0.345) and left (r=-0.361) UF and little to small association in the right (r=-0.063) and left (r=-0.215) ATR. In post-hoc analyses, MK in both the left (r=0.434) and right (r=0.514) UF was positively associated with performance on a frontally-mediated list-learning task (California Verbal Learning Test, 2nd Edition; Trials 1-5 total).
Conclusions:Results suggest that serum pNFH may be a more sensitive blood marker of microstructural complexity in white matter regions frequently impacted by TBI in a chronic mild-moderate TBI sample. Further, it suggests that even years after a mild-moderate TBI, levels of pNFH may be informative regarding white matter integrity in regions related to executive functioning and emotional disinhibition, both of which are common presenting problems when these patients are seen in a clinical setting.
53 Change in Cerebral Metabolite Concentrations Following Bariatric Surgery
- Sarah Bottari, Ronald Cohen, Jeffrey Friedman, Eric Porges, Alexa Chen, John Gunstad, Adam Woods, John Williamson
-
- Journal:
- Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society / Volume 29 / Issue s1 / November 2023
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 21 December 2023, pp. 462-463
-
- Article
-
- You have access Access
- Export citation
-
Objective:
Obesity is associated with adverse effects on brain health, including increased risk for neurodegenerative diseases. Changes in cerebral metabolism may underlie or precede structural and functional brain changes. While bariatric surgery is known to be effective in inducing weight loss and improving obesity-related medical comorbidities, few studies have examined whether it may be able to improve brain metabolism. In the present study, we examined change in cerebral metabolite concentrations in participants with obesity who underwent bariatric surgery.
Participants and Methods:35 patients with obesity (BMI > 35 kg/m2) were recruited from a bariatric surgery candidate nutrition class. They completed single voxel 1H-proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy at baseline (pre-surgery) and within one year post-surgery. Spectra were obtained from a large medial frontal brain region. Tissue-corrected absolute concentrations for metabolites including choline-containing compounds (Cho), myo-inositol (mI), N-acetylaspartate (NAA), creatine (Cr), and glutamate and glutamine (Glx) were determined using Osprey. Paired t-tests were used to examine within-subject change in metabolite concentrations, and correlations were used to relate these changes to other health-related outcomes, including weight loss and glycemic control.
Results:Bariatric surgery was associated with a reduction in cerebral Cho (f[34j = -3.79, p < 0.001, d = -0.64) and mI (f[34] = -2.81, p < 0.01, d = -0.47) concentrations. There were no significant changes in NAA, Glx, or Cr concentrations. Reductions in Cho were associated with greater weight loss (r = 0.40, p < 0.05), and reductions in mI were associated with greater reductions in HbA1c (r = 0.44, p < 0.05).
Conclusions:Participants who underwent bariatric surgery exhibited reductions in cerebral Cho and mI concentrations, which were associated with improvements in weight loss and glycemic control. Given that elevated levels of Cho and mI have been implicated in neuroinflammation, reduction in these metabolites after bariatric surgery may reflect amelioration of obesity-related neuroinflammatory processes. As such, our results provide evidence that bariatric surgery may improve brain health and metabolism in individuals with obesity.