The cross-sectional association between amyloid burden and white matter hyperintensities in older adults without cognitive impairment: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia, characterized by the aggregation of amyloid-beta (A beta) proteins into plaques. Individuals with AD frequently show mixed pathologies, often caused by cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD), resulting in lesions such as white matter hyperintensities (WMH). The current systematic review and meta-analysis investigated the cross-sectional relationship between amyloid burden and WMH in older adults without objective cognitive impairment. A systematic search performed in PubMed, Embase, and PsycINFO yielded 13 eligible studies. A beta was assessed using PET, CSF, or plasma measurements. Two meta-analyses were performed: one on Cohen's d metrics and one on correlation coefficients. The meta-analyses revealed an overall weighted small-to-medium Cohen's d of 0.55 (95% CI: 0.31-0.78) in CSF, an overall correlation of 0.31 (0.09-0.50) in CSF, and a large Cohen's d of 0.96 (95% CI: 0.66-1.27) in PET. Only two studies assessed this relationship in plasma, with an effect size of -0.20 (95% CI:-0.75 to 0.34). These findings indicate a relationship between both amyloid and vascular pathologies in cognitively normal adults in PET and CSF. Future studies should assess the possible relationship of blood amyloid-beta and WMH for broader identification of at risk individuals showing mixed pathology in preclinical stages.

Automated summary

This systematic review and meta-analysis investigated the relationship between amyloid burden and white matter hyperintensities (WMH) in older adults without cognitive impairment. The findings revealed an association between amyloid pathology and WMH in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and positron emission tomography (PET), but the relationship in plasma remains unclear. Further studies should explore the relationship between plasma amyloid-beta and WMH to identify at-risk individuals in preclinical stages.