Progressive cervical cord atrophy parallels cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s disease

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 14; no. 1; pp. 21595 - 10
• Main Authors: Emmenegger, Tim M., Seiler, Raoul, Unschuld, Paul G., Freund, Patrick, Klohs, Jan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 16.09.2024; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 631/378/1689/1283; 631/378/2612; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Alzheimer Disease - diagnostic imaging; Alzheimer Disease - pathology; Alzheimer's disease; Atrophy; Cervical Cord - diagnostic imaging; Cervical Cord - pathology; Cognitive ability; Cognitive decline; Cognitive Dysfunction - etiology; Cognitive Dysfunction - pathology; Dementia disorders; Disease Progression; Female; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Morphometry; multidisciplinary; Neurodegenerative diseases; Neuroimaging; Pathology; Regression analysis; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Spinal cord; Atrophy; Cognitive decline; Spinal cord; Magnetic resonance imaging; Alzheimer’s disease
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-67389-9

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is characterized by progressive episodic memory dysfunction. A prominent hallmark of AD is gradual brain atrophy. Despite extensive research on brain pathology, the understanding of spinal cord pathology in AD and its association with cognitive decline remains understudied. We analyzed serial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans from the ADNI data repository to assess whether progressive cord atrophy is associated with clinical worsening. Cervical cord morphometry was measured in 45 patients and 49 cognitively normal controls (CN) at two time points over 1.5 years. Regression analysis examined associations between cord atrophy rate and cognitive worsening. Cognitive and functional activity performance declined in patients during follow-up. Compared with controls, patients showed a greater rate of decline of the anterior–posterior width of the cross-sectional cord area per month (− 0.12%, p = 0.036). Worsening in the mini-mental state examination (MMSE), clinical dementia rating (CDR), and functional assessment questionnaire (FAQ) was associated with faster rates of cord atrophy (MMSE: r = 0.320, p = 0.037; CDR: r = − 0.361, p = 0.017; FAQ: r = − 0.398, p = 0.029). Progressive cord atrophy occurs in AD patients; its rate over time being associated with cognitive and functional activity decline.