Frontiers in Neuroscience (Feb 2023)

Effect of sex on the APOE4-aging interaction in the white matter microstructure of cognitively normal older adults using diffusion-tensor MRI with orthogonal-tensor decomposition (DT-DOME)

  • Patcharaporn Srisaikaew,
  • Patcharaporn Srisaikaew,
  • Jordan A. Chad,
  • Jordan A. Chad,
  • Pasuk Mahakkanukrauh,
  • Pasuk Mahakkanukrauh,
  • Nicole D. Anderson,
  • Nicole D. Anderson,
  • J. Jean Chen,
  • J. Jean Chen,
  • J. Jean Chen

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2023.1049609
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 17

Abstract

Read online

The influence of the apolipoprotein E ε4 allele (APOE4) on brain microstructure of cognitively normal older adults remains incompletely understood, in part due to heterogeneity within study populations. In this study, we examined white-matter microstructural integrity in cognitively normal older adults as a function of APOE4 carrier status using conventional diffusion-tensor imaging (DTI) and the novel orthogonal-tensor decomposition (DT-DOME), accounting for the effects of age and sex. Age associations with white-matter microstructure did not significantly depend on APOE4 status, but did differ between sexes, emphasizing the importance of accounting for sex differences in APOE research. Moreover, we found the DT-DOME to be more sensitive than conventional DTI metrics to such age-related and sex effects, especially in crossing WM fiber regions, and suggest their use in further investigation of white matter microstructure across the life span in health and disease.

Keywords