Introduction: Cerebral small vessel disease (SVD) is common in patients with cognitive impairment and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. This study investigated the burden of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based markers of SVD in patients with neurodegenerative diseases as a function of rare genetic variant carrier status.
Methods: The Ontario Neurodegenerative Disease Research Initiative study included 520 participants, recruited from 14 tertiary care centers, diagnosed with various neurodegenerative diseases and determined the carrier status of rare non-synonymous variants in five genes (ABCC6, COL4A1/COL4A2, NOTCH3/HTRA1).
Results: NOTCH3/HTRA1 were found to significantly influence SVD neuroimaging outcomes; however, the mechanisms by which these variants contribute to disease progression or worsen clinical correlates are not yet understood.
Discussion: Further studies are needed to develop genetic and imaging neurovascular markers to enhance our understanding of their potential contribution to neurodegenerative diseases.
Keywords: HTRA1; NOTCH3; ONDRI; WMH; neurodegeneration; small vessel disease.
© 2023 The Authors. Alzheimer's & Dementia published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Alzheimer's Association.