Title | Nailfold Capillary Morphology in Alzheimer's Disease Dementia. |
Publication Type | Journal Article |
Year of Publication | 2018 |
Authors | Cousins, CC, Alosco, ML, Cousins, HC, Chua, A, Steinberg, EG, Chapman, KR, Bing-Canar, H, Tripodis, Y, Knepper, PA, Stern, RA, Pasquale, LR |
Journal | J Alzheimers Dis |
Volume | 66 |
Issue | 2 |
Pagination | 601-611 |
Date Published | 2018 |
ISSN | 1875-8908 |
Abstract | BACKGROUND: Cerebrovascular disease (CVD) is highly comorbid with Alzheimer's disease (AD), yet its role is not entirely understood. Nailfold video capillaroscopy (NVC) is a noninvasive method of live imaging the capillaries near the fingernail's cuticle and may help to describe further vascular contributions to AD. OBJECTIVE: To examine finger nailfold capillary morphology using NVC in subjects with AD dementia, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and normal cognition (NC). METHODS: We evaluated nailfold capillary hemorrhages, avascular zones ≥100 microns, and degree of tortuosity in 28 NC, 15 MCI, and 18 AD dementia subjects using NVC. Tortuosity was measured with a semi-quantitative rating scale. To assess the relation between nailfold capillary morphological features and diagnostic grouping, univariate and multivariable logistic regression models were fit to the data. RESULTS: 56% of subjects with AD dementia compared to 14% with NC and 13% with MCI displayed moderate to severe tortuosity. Greater severity of tortuosity was associated with 10.6-fold (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.4, 46.2; p = 0.0018) and 7.4-fold (95% CI: 1.3, 41.3; p = 0.023) increased odds of AD dementia relative to NC and MCI, respectively, after adjusting for multiple covariates. CONCLUSION: Greater nailfold capillary tortuosity was found in participants with AD dementia compared to those with MCI or NC. These data provide preliminary evidence of a systemic microvasculopathy in AD that may be noninvasively and inexpensively evaluated through NVC. |
DOI | 10.3233/JAD-180658 |
Alternate Journal | J. Alzheimers Dis. |
PubMed ID | 30320588 |