Blood-brain barrier (BBB) disruption is assumed to increase with age, but this has not been demonstrated assessing gadolinium leakage using dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI.
We determined BBB leakage rate in healthy middle-aged to elderly individuals (47 - 91 years) combining DCE MRI with pharmacokinetic modeling. Results demonstrated BBB leakage in white and gray matter increased with age. However, this effect was not independent of white matter lesions or cortical thinning, so other physiological changes may influence the age and leakage association.Our study demonstrates that BBB disruption manifests in normal aging, before the emergence of neuropathology.
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