Declines in inflammation predict greater white matter microstructure in older adults

Protracted systemic inflammation has been associated with adverse effects on cognition and brain structure and may accelerate neurodegenerative disease processes; however, it is less clear whether changes in inflammation are associated with brain structure. We studied 276 black and white older adults (mean age = 83 years at time of imaging) enrolled in a prospective study of aging. Inflammation (measured with c-reactive protein, CRP) was assessed repeatedly over 6 years (i.e., year 2, 4, 6, and 8). Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRIs) were obtained at years 10-11 with diffusion tensor imaging; regions of interest included late-myelinating areas vulnerable to aging, including frontal-parietal (superior longitudinal fasciculus [SLF]-dorsal) and temporal (SLF-temporal; uncinate) white matter tracts. Mean CRP values significantly declined (t = −5.54, p < 0.0001) over 6 years, and subject-specific slopes (best linear unbiased predictors of slopes) all showed a decline (mean = −0.57, standard deviation = 0.53) for our participant sample. More than 50% of study participants were still in the moderate to high cardiovascular risk range based on CRP values at year 8. After controlling for demographics, vascular risk factors and MRI white matter hyperintensities, larger decreases in CRP values over time were significantly associated with higher fractional anisotropy in the SLF-dorsal (beta = −0.0052, standard error [SE] = 0.003; 95% confidence interval [CI] = −0.0103 to −0.0025, p = 0.04), SLF-temporal (beta = −0.0109, SE = 0.004; 95% CI = −0.0189 to −0.0029, p = 0.008), and uncinate (beta = −0.0067, SE = 0.003; 95% CI = −0.0132 to −0.0001, p = 0.05) fasciculi. Results suggest that in a prospective cohort of older individuals, faster declines in inflammation over time are related to indicators of white matter health, even after accounting for vascular risk factors.