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Abstract #1004

Systemic Inflammation in Non-Demented Elderly Human Subjects Is Associated with Altered Diffusion Characteristics of Brain White Matter

Giorgia Grisot1, Debra A. Fleischman2, Anil K. Vasireddi1, Christopher M. Bart1, Lisa L. Barnes2, David A. Bennett2, Kostantinos Arfanakis1, 2

1Biomedical Engineering, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL, United States; 2Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, United States


The purpose of this work was to test the hypothesis that, high levels of systemic inflammation in a community sample of non-demented elderly individuals are associated with altered diffusion characteristics of brain white matter. C-reactive protein and tumor necrosis factor-alpha were measured in serum from 97 non-demented elderly subjects (age = 85.3 5.7 years). All subjects were imaged with diffusion tensor MRI. Significant negative correlations between FA and systemic inflammation, and significant positive correlations between trace and inflammation, were detected in several white matter structures, primarily driven by higher radial diffusivity for higher inflammation levels.