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Musaeus CS, Kjaer TW, Lindberg U, Vestergaard MB, Bo H, Larsson W, Press DZ, Andersen BB, Høgh P, Kidmose P, Hemmsen MC, Rank ML, Hasselbalch SG, Waldemar G, Frederiksen KS. Subclinical epileptiform discharges in Alzheimer's disease are associated with increased hippocampal blood flow. Alzheimers Res Ther 2024; 16:80. [PMID: 38610005 PMCID: PMC11010418 DOI: 10.1186/s13195-024-01432-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2023] [Accepted: 03/19/2024] [Indexed: 04/14/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND In epilepsy, the ictal phase leads to cerebral hyperperfusion while hypoperfusion is present in the interictal phases. Patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) have an increased prevalence of epileptiform discharges and a study using intracranial electrodes have shown that these are very frequent in the hippocampus. However, it is not known whether there is an association between hippocampal hyperexcitability and regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF). The objective of the study was to investigate the association between rCBF in hippocampus and epileptiform discharges as measured with ear-EEG in patients with Alzheimer's disease. Our hypothesis was that increased spike frequency may be associated with increased rCBF in hippocampus. METHODS A total of 24 patients with AD, and 15 HC were included in the analysis. Using linear regression, we investigated the association between rCBF as measured with arterial spin-labelling MRI (ASL-MRI) in the hippocampus and the number of spikes/sharp waves per 24 h as assessed by ear-EEG. RESULTS No significant difference in hippocampal rCBF was found between AD and HC (p-value = 0.367). A significant linear association between spike frequency and normalized rCBF in the hippocampus was found for patients with AD (estimate: 0.109, t-value = 4.03, p-value < 0.001). Changes in areas that typically show group differences (temporal-parietal cortex) were found in patients with AD, compared to HC. CONCLUSIONS Increased spike frequency was accompanied by a hemodynamic response of increased blood flow in the hippocampus in patients with AD. This phenomenon has also been shown in patients with epilepsy and supports the hypothesis of hyperexcitability in patients with AD. The lack of a significant difference in hippocampal rCBF may be due to an increased frequency of epileptiform discharges in patients with AD. TRIAL REGISTRATION The study is registered at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT04436341).
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian Sandøe Musaeus
- Danish Dementia Research Centre (DDRC), Department of Neurology, Copenhagen University Hospital - Rigshospitalet, Inge Lehmanns vej 8, Copenhagen, 2100, Denmark.
| | - Troels Wesenberg Kjaer
- Danish Dementia Research Centre (DDRC), Department of Neurology, Copenhagen University Hospital - Rigshospitalet, Inge Lehmanns vej 8, Copenhagen, 2100, Denmark
| | - Ulrich Lindberg
- Functional Imaging Unit, Department of Clinical Physiology and Nuclear Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Valdemar Hansens Vej 13, Glostrup, 2600, Denmark
| | - Mark B Vestergaard
- Functional Imaging Unit, Department of Clinical Physiology and Nuclear Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Valdemar Hansens Vej 13, Glostrup, 2600, Denmark
| | - Henrik Bo
- Danish Dementia Research Centre (DDRC), Department of Neurology, Copenhagen University Hospital - Rigshospitalet, Inge Lehmanns vej 8, Copenhagen, 2100, Denmark
| | - Wiberg Larsson
- Functional Imaging Unit, Department of Clinical Physiology and Nuclear Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Valdemar Hansens Vej 13, Glostrup, 2600, Denmark
| | - Daniel Zvi Press
- Berenson-Allen Center for Non-invasive Brain Stimulation, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, 330 Brookline Ave, Boston, MA, 02215, USA
| | - Birgitte Bo Andersen
- Danish Dementia Research Centre (DDRC), Department of Neurology, Copenhagen University Hospital - Rigshospitalet, Inge Lehmanns vej 8, Copenhagen, 2100, Denmark
| | - Peter Høgh
- Regional Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurology, Zealand University Hospital, Vestermarksvej 11, Roskilde, 4000, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Blegdamsvej 3B, Copenhagen, 2200, Denmark
| | - Preben Kidmose
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Aarhus University, Finlandsgade 22, Aarhus N, 8200, Denmark
| | | | | | - Steen Gregers Hasselbalch
- Danish Dementia Research Centre (DDRC), Department of Neurology, Copenhagen University Hospital - Rigshospitalet, Inge Lehmanns vej 8, Copenhagen, 2100, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Blegdamsvej 3B, Copenhagen, 2200, Denmark
| | - Gunhild Waldemar
- Danish Dementia Research Centre (DDRC), Department of Neurology, Copenhagen University Hospital - Rigshospitalet, Inge Lehmanns vej 8, Copenhagen, 2100, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Blegdamsvej 3B, Copenhagen, 2200, Denmark
| | - Kristian Steen Frederiksen
- Danish Dementia Research Centre (DDRC), Department of Neurology, Copenhagen University Hospital - Rigshospitalet, Inge Lehmanns vej 8, Copenhagen, 2100, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Blegdamsvej 3B, Copenhagen, 2200, Denmark
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