CHICAGO, Dec. 2, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --
Researchers in the Netherlands
studying thousands of healthy adults have found a connection
between very early stages of brain and heart disease. Results of
their study were presented today at the annual meeting of the
Radiological Society of North
America (RSNA).
"Heart and brain diseases are big problems in aging individuals
and are expected to grow even more," said Hazel Zonneveld, M.D., M.Sc., from the
Department of Epidemiology and Radiology at Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam, Netherlands. "We know that
myocardial infarction, heart failure and atrial fibrillation are
associated with an increased risk of stroke and dementia. Our study
investigates whether the heart-brain link is present at an earlier
stage of disease."
Dr. Zonneveld and colleagues analyzed data from 2,432
participants in the Rotterdam Study (57.4 percent women, mean age
56.6 years), a prospective, population-based study designed to
investigate chronic diseases in Rotterdam's aging population. Participants
with overt heart disease, dementia and brain infarcts (strokes)
were excluded from the analysis.
Participants in the study underwent brain MRI, which included
the use of an advanced technique called diffusion tensor imaging
(DTI), and blood testing to measure levels of N-terminal pro b-type
natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), which is primarily used to help
detect, diagnose and evaluate the severity of heart failure.
"NT-proBNP is released into the bloodstream in response to
myocardial wall stress," Dr. Zonneveld said. "Studies have
demonstrated that NT-proBNP provides information on cardiac
dysfunction even in the absence of overt heart disease."
The researchers evaluated the brain MRI results for markers of
early brain disease, including a loss of brain volume,
microstructural changes and white matter lesions, which indicate
areas of cells that have been damaged by injury or disease.
"Diffusion tensor imaging gives us information on the
microstructural organization of the brain's white matter," Dr.
Zonneveld said. "It is thought that microstructural brain
changes precede brain changes, such as white matter lesions."
The results of DTI showed that participants with higher
NT-proBNP levels had worse microstructural organization within the
white matter. A statistical analysis revealed that higher NT-proBNP
levels were also associated with smaller total brain volume and
larger white matter lesion volume.
"The brain volume loss was predominantly in the gray matter,"
Dr. Zonneveld said.
According to Dr. Zonneveld, this study is the first to
demonstrate an association between NT-proBNP and the microstructure
of the brain.
"This implies that the heart and brain are intimately linked,
even in presumably healthy individuals, and informs us importantly
about development of disease as we age," she said.
Co-authors on the study are Wiro Niessen, Ph.D., Aad Van Der Lugt, M.D., Ph.D., Gabriel P. Krestin, M.D., Ph.D., Oscar H. Franco, M.D. Ph.D., M. Arfan
Ikram, M.D, Ph.D., and Meike W. Vernooij, M.D, Ph.D.
Note: Copies of RSNA 2015 news releases and electronic images
will be available online at RSNA.org/press15 beginning
Monday, Nov. 30.
RSNA is an association of more than 54,000 radiologists,
radiation oncologists, medical physicists and related scientists,
promoting excellence in patient care and health care delivery
through education, research and technologic innovation. The Society
is based in Oak Brook, Ill.
(RSNA.org)
For patient-friendly information on brain MRI, visit
RadiologyInfo.org.
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SOURCE Radiological Society of North
America (RSNA)