Comorbidity of Cerebrovascular and Alzheimer's Disease in Aging.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Cerebrovascular disease often coexists with Alzheimer's disease (AD). While both diseases share common risk factors, their interrelationship remains unclear. Increasing the understanding of how cerebrovascular changes interact with AD is essential to develop therapeutic strategies and refine biomarkers for early diagnosis. OBJECTIVE: We investigate the prevalence and risk factors for the comorbidity of amyloid-ß (Aß) and cerebrovascular disease in the Australian Imaging, Biomarkers and Lifestyle Study of Ageing, and further examine their cross-sectional association. METHODS: A total of 598 participants (422 cognitively normal, 89 with mild cognitive impairment, 87 with AD) underwent positron emission tomography and structural magnetic resonance imaging for assessment of Aß deposition and cerebrovascular disease. Individuals were categorized based on the comorbidity status of Aß and cerebrovascular disease (V) as Aß-V-, Aß-V+, Aß+V-, or Aß+V+. RESULTS: Advancing age was associated with greater likelihood of cerebrovascular disease, high Aß load and their comorbidity. Apolipoprotein E ɛ4 carriage was only associated with Aß positivity. Greater total and regional WMH burden were observed in participants with AD. However, no association were observed between Aß and WMH measures after stratification by clinical classification, suggesting that the observed association between AD and cerebrovascular disease was driven by the common risk factor of age. CONCLUSION: Our observations demonstrate common comorbid condition of Aß and cerebrovascular disease in later life. While our study did not demonstrate a convincing cross-sectional association between Aß and WMH burden, future longitudinal studies are required to further confirm this.