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Introduction: It has been shown that Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is accompanied by marked structural brain changes that can be detected several years before clinical diagnosis via structural magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. In this study, we developed a structural MR-based biomarker for in vivo detection of AD using a supervised machine learning approach. Based on an individual’s pattern of brain atrophy a continuous AD score is assigned which measures the similarity with brain atrophy patterns seen in clinical cases of AD.
Methods: The underlying statistical model was trained with MR scans of patients and healthy controls from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI-1 screening). Validation was performed within ADNI-1 and in an independent patient sample from the Open Access Series of Imaging Studies (OASIS-1). In addition, our analyses included data from a large general population sample of the Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP-Trend).
Results: Based on the proposed AD score we were able to differentiate patients from healthy controls in ADNI-1 and OASIS-1 with an accuracy of 89% (AUC = 95%) and 87% (AUC = 93%), respectively. Moreover, we found the AD score to be significantly associated with cognitive functioning as assessed by the Mini-Mental State Examination in the OASIS-1 sample after correcting for diagnosis, age, sex, age·sex, and total intracranial volume (Cohen’s f2 = 0.13). Additional analyses showed that the prediction accuracy of AD status based on both the AD score and the MMSE score is significantly higher than when using just one of them. In SHIP-Trend we found the AD score to be weakly but significantly associated with a test of verbal memory consisting of an immediate and a delayed word list recall (again after correcting for age, sex, age·sex, and total intracranial volume, Cohen’s f2 = 0.009). This association was mainly driven by the immediate recall performance.
Discussion: In summary, our proposed biomarker well differentiated between patients and healthy controls in an independent test sample. It was associated with measures of cognitive functioning both in a patient sample and a general population sample. Our approach might be useful for defining robust MR-based biomarkers for other neurodegenerative diseases, too.
Background: Alexithymia is a personality trait characterized by difficulties in identifying and describing emotions and associated with various psychiatric disorders. Neuroimaging studies found evidence for morphological and functional brain alterations in alexithymic subjects. However, the neurobiological mechanisms underlying alexithymia remain incompletely understood. Methods: We study the association of alexithymia with cortical correlation networks in a large community-dwelling sample of the Study of Health in Pomerania. Our analysis includes data of n = 2,199 individuals (49.4% females, age = 52.1 ± 13.6 years) which were divided into a low and high alexithymic group by a median split of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale. Cortical correlation networks were constructed based on the mean thicknesses of 68 regions, and differences in centralities were investigated. Results: We found a significantly increased centrality of the right paracentral lobule in the high alexithymia network after correction for multiple testing. Several other regions with motoric and sensory functions showed altered centrality on a nominally significant level. Conclusions: Finding increased centrality of the paracentral lobule, a brain area with sensory as well as motoric features and involvement in bowel and bladder voiding, may contribute to explain the association of alexithymia with functional somatic disorders and chronic pain syndromes.
Abstract
Objectives
To examine the association between third molars and orofacial pain. We hypothesized that impacted third molars are a cause of orofacial pain.
Methods
Magnetic resonance images of 1808 participants from two population‐based cohorts from Northeastern Germany were analysed to define the status of third molars according to the Pell and Gregory classification. A self‐reported questionnaire and a clinical dental examination were used to detect chronic and acute complaints of orofacial pain, masticatory muscle pain, migraine and other types of headache. Logistic regression models were used to analyse the associations between third molar status and orofacial pain.
Results
Individuals with impacted third molars in the maxilla had a higher chance of chronic orofacial pain than those with erupted third molars (odds ratio 2.19; 95% CI 1.19‐4.02). No such association was detected for third molars in the lower jaw. Third molars were not associated with masticatory muscle pain, migraine or other types of headache.
Conclusions
Impacted maxillary third molars might be a cause of chronic orofacial pain. Thus, physicians should consider the eruption/impaction status of third molars in their decision‐making process when treating patients who complain of orofacial pain.
Deteriorations in slow wave sleep (SWS) have been linked to brain aging and Alzheimer’s disease (AD), possibly due to its key role in clearance of amyloid-beta and tau (Aß/tau), two pathogenic hallmarks of AD. Spermidine administration has been shown to improve sleep quality in animal models. So far, the association between spermidine levels in humans and parameters of SWS physiology are unknown but may be valuable for therapeutic strategies. Data from 216 participants (age range 50–81 years) of the population-based Study of Health in Pomerania TREND were included in our analysis. We investigated associations between spermidine plasma levels, key parameters of sleep macroarchitecture and microarchitecture that were previously associated with AD pathology, and brain health measured via a marker of structural brain atrophy (AD score). Higher spermidine levels were significantly associated with lower coupling between slow oscillations and spindle activity. No association was evident for SWS, slow oscillatory, and spindle activity throughout non-rapid eye movement sleep. Furthermore, elevated spermidine blood levels were significantly associated with a higher AD score, while sleep markers revealed no association with AD score. The association between higher spermidine levels and brain health was not mediated by coupling between slow oscillations and spindle activity. We report that higher spermidine blood levels are associated not only with deteriorated brain health but also with less advantageous markers of sleep quality in older adults. Future studies need to evaluate whether sleep, spermidine, and Aß/tau deposition are interrelated and whether sleep may play a mediating role.
Introduction
Supplementation with spermidine may support healthy aging, but elevated spermidine tissue levels were shown to be an indicator of Alzheimer's disease (AD).
Methods
Data from 659 participants (age range: 21–81 years) of the population-based Study of Health in Pomerania TREND were included. We investigated the association between spermidine plasma levels and markers of brain aging (hippocampal volume, AD score, global cortical thickness [CT], and white matter hyperintensities [WMH]).
Results
Higher spermidine levels were significantly associated with lower hippocampal volume (ß = −0.076; 95% confidence interval [CI]: −0.13 to −0.02; q = 0.026), higher AD score (ß = 0.118; 95% CI: 0.05 to 0.19; q = 0.006), lower global CT (ß = −0.104; 95% CI: −0.17 to −0.04; q = 0.014), but not WMH volume. Sensitivity analysis revealed no substantial changes after excluding participants with cancer, depression, or hemolysis.
Discussion
Elevated spermidine plasma levels are associated with advanced brain aging and might serve as potential early biomarker for AD and vascular brain pathology.
Background: The aim of our study was to investigate associations of spleen volume with blood count markers and lipid profile in the general population.
Materials & methods: Cross-sectional data from 1,106 individuals aged 30–90 years from the population-based Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP-START-2) were analyzed. Blood count markers included red blood cell (RBC) counts, hemoglobin, platelet count, and white blood cell (WBC) counts. Lipid profile included total-cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) as well as triglycerides. Linear regression models adjusted for age, sex, body height, and weight were used to associate standardized spleen volume with blood counts and lipid profile markers.
Results: Spleen volume was positively associated with RBC (β = 0.05; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.03 to 0.08) and hemoglobin (β = 0.05; 95% CI = 0.01 to 0.09) but inversely with platelet count (β = −16.3; 95% CI = –20.5 to −12.1) and WBC (β = −0.25; 95% CI = −0.37 to −0.14). Furthermore, spleen volume showed inverse associations with total cholesterol (β = −0.17; 95% CI = −0.24 to −0.09), HDL-C (β = −0.08; 95% CI = −0.10 to −0.05), and LDL-C (β = −0.12; 95% CI = −0.17 to −0.06). There was no significant association of spleen volume with triglycerides.
Conclusion: Our study showed that the spleen volume is associated with markers of the blood count and lipid profile in the general population.
Abstract
Introduction
Transabdominal ultrasound (US) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are commonly used for the examination of the pancreas in clinical routine. We therefore were interested in the concordance of these two imaging methods for the size measurement of the pancreas and how age, gender, and body mass index (BMI) affect the organ size.
Methods
A total of 342 participants from the Study of Health in Pomerania underwent whole‐body MRI and transabdominal US on the same day, and the diameter of the pancreatic head, body, and tail were measured. The agreement between US and MRI measurements was assessed by Bland and Altman plots. Intraclass correlation coefficients were used to compare observers. A multivariable regression model was applied using the independent variables age, gender, and body mass index.
Results
Compared to MRI, abdominal US returned smaller values for each segment of the pancreas, with a high level of inconsistency between these two methods. The mean difference was 0.39, 0.18, and 0.54 cm for the head, body, and tail, respectively. A high interobserver variability was detected for US. Multivariable analysis showed that pancreatic size in all three segments increased with BMI in both genders whereas pancreatic head and tail size decreased with age, an effect more marked in women.
Conclusions
Agreement of pancreatic size measurements is poor between US and MRI. These limitations should be considered when evaluating morphologic features for pathologic conditions or setting limits of normal size. Adjustments for BMI, gender, and age may also be warranted.
The German Consortium Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer (GC-HBOC) consists of 23 academic centers striving to provide high-quality regional care for affected individuals and healthy at-risk family members. According to the standard operating procedures defined by the GC-HBOC, a Familial Breast and Ovarian Cancer Center was implemented at the University Medicine Greifswald over a four-year period from 2018 to 2021, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Genetic analyses were performed in a total of 658 individuals, including 41 males, which paved the way to local annual risk-adapted breast cancer surveillance for 91 women and prophylactic surgery for 34 women in 2021. Our experience in the North Eastern part of Germany demonstrates that it is possible to establish a high-risk breast and ovarian cancer service even in a sparsely populated region. Major facilitators are the interdisciplinary collaboration of dedicated local experts, the support of the GC-HBOC, fruitful clinical and scientific cooperations and the use of technical improvements. As a blueprint, our project report may help to further expand the network of specialized and knowledge-generating care for HBOC families.