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cardiovascular risk factors linked to frontal lobe glucose metabolism

An inverse association of cardiovascular risk and frontal lobe glucose metabolism 

 Neurology. 2009 February 24; 72(8): 738–743. doi: 10.1212/01.wnl.0000343005.35498.e5. PMCID: PMC2677543 Copyright © 2009 by AAN Enterprises, Inc. An inverse association of cardiovascular risk and frontal lobe glucose metabolism B Kuczynski, PhD, W Jagust, MD, H C. Chui, MD, and B Reed, PhD From the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (B.K., W.J.); the Department of Neurology (H.C.C.), University of Southern California, Los Angeles; and University of California, Davis, Alzheimer’s Center and Northern California Veterans Affairs Health Care System (B.R.).

 Abstract Objective: To investigate associations between vascular risk profile and cerebral glucose metabolism. Methods: Subjects ranged from normal to having dementia (age >55 years) and underwent neuropsychological testing, MRI, and FDG PET scanning (n = 58). The Framingham Cardiovascular Risk Profile (FCRP) and its individual components were used as covariates in regression analyses with each PET scan using SPM2. Results: Analyses revealed broad areas of the frontal lobe in which higher FCRP was associated with lower normalized glucose metabolism including the superior medial frontal, superior frontal and superior orbital frontal cortex and the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex. Significant associations were predominately found in the left hemisphere. Independent component analyses revealed interesting regions but further confirm the relevance of the integrative measure of coronary risk. Conclusions: Although the mechanism of this association bears further investigation, this finding provides further evidence that vascular risk factors have malignant effects on the brain, particularly in the prefrontal cortex. 

Frontal lobe dysfunction is associated with attention deficit disorder. Not mentioned here, but these cardiac risk factors are also associated with depression, a condition known as vascular depression.

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