Introduction: White matter hyperintensities (WMHs) increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Whether WMHs are associated with the decline of functional neural networks in AD is debated.
Method: Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging and WMH were assessed in 78 subjects with increased amyloid levels on AV-45 positron emission tomography (PET) in different clinical stages of AD. We tested the association between WMH volume in major atlas-based fiber tract regions of interest (ROIs) and changes in functional connectivity (FC) between the tracts' projection areas within the default mode network (DMN).
Results: WMH volume within the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFOF) was the highest among all tract ROIs and associated with reduced FC in IFOF-connected DMN areas, independently of global AV-45 PET. Higher AV-45 PET contributed to reduced FC in IFOF-connected, temporal, and parietal DMN areas.
Conclusions: High fiber tract WMH burden is associated with reduced FC in connected areas, thus adding to the effects of amyloid pathology on neuronal network function.
Keywords: Alzheimer's disease; Amyloid-beta; Fiber tract; Functional connectivity; Resting-state fMRI; Vascular; White matter hyperintensities.
Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.