The Association Between Circulating Lipids and Systemic Inflammation In Individuals With Mild Cognitive Impairment: The Role Of Biological Sex
Date
2021-05
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
As the average life expectancy increases, the incidence of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), an early stage of memory loss, is expected to increase as well. MCI and cardiovascular disease (CVD) share many of the same risk factors, like consuming an unhealthy diet, hypertension, endothelial dysfunction and arterial stiffness. Moreover, previous studies show a relation between vascular risk factors and the incidence of dementia. Aging is also associated with chronic inflammation, which can lead to vascular dysfunction. The upregulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines like tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) play a role in a viscous feed-forward cycle that upregulates the production of damaging reactive oxygen species (ROS) that contribute to vascular dysfunction. Moreover, plasma lipid markers are known to play a role in a mechanism that reduces the microstructural integrity of the hippocampus. Because postmenopausal women are known to have an increased risk of developing CVD and Alzheimer’s disease (AD), sex differences of inflammatory markers and triglyceride concentrations were explored.14 adults between the ages of 61 and 84 participated in this study, consisting of 10 females and 4 males. Blood was collected from all participants and clinical variables were measured. Plasma was isolated to measure the concentrations of inflammatory cytokines, and pulse wave analysis was performed to measure arterial stiffness. Triglycerides were positively associated with markers of inflammation, but no other measured plasma lipid marker had a significant association with a marker of inflammation. There was no significant association between arterial stiffness and markers of inflammation and lipids. Moderate, but non-significant sex differences were observed, and is something worth exploring further with a larger and more evenly distributed sample size. Understanding the relations between risk factors of AD and CVD enhances our ability to slow the progression of these diseases.
Description
Keywords
Alzheimer's disease, Cardiovascular disease, Cytokines