Choroid plexus volumes and auditory verbal learning scores are associated with conversion from mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer's disease

• Published in: Brain and behavior Vol. 14; no. 7; pp. e3611 - n/a
• Main Authors: Pearson, Michael J., Wagstaff, Ruth, Williams, Rebecca J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.07.2024; John Wiley and Sons Inc; Wiley
• Subjects: Accuracy; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Algorithms; Alzheimer Disease - diagnostic imaging; Alzheimer Disease - physiopathology; Alzheimer's disease; Biomarkers; Brain research; choroid plexus; Choroid Plexus - diagnostic imaging; Choroid Plexus - pathology; Cognitive ability; Cognitive Dysfunction - diagnosis; Cognitive Dysfunction - diagnostic imaging; Cognitive Dysfunction - physiopathology; Dementia; Disease Progression; Education; Female; Humans; Inflammation; Investigations; Longitudinal studies; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Medical imaging; Memory; mild cognitive impairment; MRI; Neuroimaging; Neuropsychological Tests; Neuropsychology; Original; progressive MCI; RAVLT; Rey's Auditory Verbal Learning Test; Verbal learning; Verbal Learning - physiology; magnetic resonance imaging; Rey's Auditory Verbal Learning Test; MRI; progressive MCI; mild cognitive impairment; Alzheimer's disease; RAVLT; choroid plexus
• ISSN: 2162-3279; 2162-3279
• DOI: 10.1002/brb3.3611

Purpose Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) can be the prodromal phase of Alzheimer's disease (AD) where appropriate intervention might prevent or delay conversion to AD. Given this, there has been increasing interest in using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and neuropsychological testing to predict conversion from MCI to AD. Recent evidence suggests that the choroid plexus (ChP), neural substrates implicated in brain clearance, undergo volumetric changes in MCI and AD. Whether the ChP is involved in memory changes observed in MCI and can be used to predict conversion from MCI to AD has not been explored. Method The current study used data from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) database to investigate whether later progression from MCI to AD (progressive MCI [pMCI], n = 115) or stable MCI (sMCI, n = 338) was associated with memory scores using the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT) and ChP volumes as calculated from MRI. Classification analyses identifying pMCI or sMCI group membership were performed to compare the predictive ability of the RAVLT and ChP volumes. Finding The results indicated a significant difference between pMCI and sMCI groups for right ChP volume, with the pMCI group showing significantly larger right ChP volume (p = .01, 95% confidence interval [−.116, −.015]). A significant linear relationship between the RAVLT scores and right ChP volume was found across all participants, but not for the two groups separately. Classification analyses showed that a combination of left ChP volume and auditory verbal learning scores resulted in the most accurate classification performance, with group membership accurately predicted for 72% of the testing data. Conclusion These results suggest that volumetric ChP changes appear to occur before the onset of AD and might provide value in predicting conversion from MCI to AD. Choroid plexus (ChP) volumes and Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test—Immediate (RAVLT‐I) scores were compared between participants who later progressed from MCI to Alzheimer's disease (pMCI) and those who remained stable (sMCI). The right ChP was larger in the pMCI group, and the left ChP and RAVLT‐I were the best‐performing classifiers for predicting group membership.