Cerebral Blood Flow Associations with Apolipoprotein E4 and Cerebral Amyloid Burden in Cognitively Intact Individuals

Motivation: Understanding how cerebral perfusion can inform mechanisms behind amyloid plaque accumulation, aiding early intervention strategies for Alzheimer's disease. Goal(s): To investigate the differences in cerebral perfusion in cognitively intact individuals with and without positive amyloid-PET and create a predictive model of amyloid plaque deposition. Approach: Utilizing neuroimaging techniques, we calculated cerebral perfusion metrics and compared them among amyloid positive vs negative individuals compensating for age, sex, APOE4 carriage and vascular comorbidities. Results: A predictive model that includes cerebral perfusion and APOE4 has increased sensitivity and specificity of amyloid burden prediction, proposing potential vascular targets for therapeutic interventions in neurodegeneration. Impact: Our results will impact researchers and clinicians, enhancing early Alzheimer's diagnosis and intervention. Future research may explore lifestyle and other vascular-targeting modifications for APOE4 carriers, allowing for personalized treatment strategies, and improving patient outcomes.