Rajesh Kumar1, Mary A. Woo2, Paul
M. Macey2,3, Gregg C. Fonarow4, Michele A. Hamilton4,
Ronald M. Harper1,3
1Neurobiology, David Geffen School of
Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, United States; 2School of
Nursing, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, United States; 3Brain Research
Institute, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, United States; 4Cardiology,
UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, United States
Heart
failure (HF) patients show injury in multiple brain sites, which may
represent axonal or myelin injury, or both; however, the nature of the injury
is unclear. We assessed axial and radial diffusivity measures in HF, which
show axonal and myelin changes, respectively. Axonal injury with reduced
axonal density or caliber appeared in internal capsule and cerebellar
regions, and reduced myelin in temporal and frontal areas. Other brain sites,
including internal capsule and dorsomedial medulla showed myelin and axonal
injury. The processes contributing to tissue injury in different brain
regions are unknown, but may include ischemic/hypoxic or inflammatory
processes.