Physical Activity and Cerebral Small Vein Integrity in Older Adults

Identifying promoters of cerebral small vein integrity is important to counter vascular contributions to cognitive impairment and dementia. Purpose In this preliminary investigation, the effects of a randomized 24-month physical activity (PA) intervention on changes in cerebral small vein integrity were compared to those of a health education (HE) control. Methods Cerebral small vein integrity was measured in 24 older adults (n=8, PA; n=16, HE) using ultra-high field MRI before and at the end of the 24-month intervention. Deep medullary veins were defined as straight or tortuous; percent change in straight length, tortuous length, and tortuosity ratio were computed. Microbleed count and white matter hyperintensities were also rated. Results Accelerometry-based values of PA increased by 17.2% in the PA group but declined by 28.0% in the HE group. The PA group, but not the HE group, had a significant increase in straight vein length from baseline to 24-month follow-up (p=.02 and p=.21, respectively); the between group difference in percent change in straight length was significant (median (IQR) increase: 93.6%(112.9) for PA, 28.4%(90.6) for HE; p=.07). Between group differences in other markers were non-significant. Conclusion Increasing PA in late-life may promote cerebral small vein integrity. This should be confirmed in larger studies. Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01072500. Corresponding author: C. Elizabeth Shaaban PhD, MPH; Department of Epidemiology, Graduate School of Public Health, 130 DeSoto Street, 5121B Public Health Building, Pittsburgh, PA 15261; Phone: (412)-383-2623; E-mail: Beth.Shaaban@pitt.edu This work was supported by the National Institute on Aging [Grant Numbers U01 AG022376, F31 AG054084 (CES), R01 AG044474 (CR), and P30 AG024827 and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences [Grant Number T32 GM081760]. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. The Authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest. The results of the present study do not constitute endorsement by the American College of Sports Medicine. The results of the study are presented clearly, honestly, and without fabrication, falsification, or inappropriate data manipulation. Accepted for Publication: 5 February 2019 © 2019 American College of Sports Medicine

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