Zoltan Szolnoki1, Marta Szekeres2, Istvan Szaniszlo3, Gyorgy Balda3, Anita Bodor4, Andras Kondacs3, Yvette Mandi2, Ferenc Somogyvari2. 1. Department of Cerebrovascular Diseases, Pándy Kálmán County Hospital, Gyula, Hungary. Electronic address: szolnoki99@hotmail.com. 2. Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary. 3. Department of Cerebrovascular Diseases, Pándy Kálmán County Hospital, Gyula, Hungary. 4. Department of Pathology, Réthy Pál County Hospital, Békéscsaba, Hungary.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Leukoaraiosis (LA), one of the most frequent causes of an age-associated cognitive decline, can be associated with a poor quality of life, leading overall to far-reaching public health problems. Chronic hypoxia of the white matter of the brain may be a factor triggering this entity. LA may develop as a consequence of chronically insufficient cellular energy production and the accumulation of free radicals. METHODS: In this context, after hypothesizing that the number of healthy mitochondria can be crucial in this complex process, a case-control LA study was carried out in which we analyzed the numbers of deleted and non-deleted mitochondria (the common D-loop deletion) per white blood cell. A total of 234 patients with LA and 123 MRI alteration-free subjects served as a control group. RESULTS: Interestingly, it emerged that the ratio of deleted relative to non-deleted mitochondria is strongly associated with the risk of LA. The calculated K ratio in the LA group was significantly lower than the K ratio in the controls (LA: K 0.37 95% CI 0.05; controls: K 0.48, 95% CI 0.076, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that the ratio of the dmDNA and mDNA can be of great importance in the pathogenesis of LA.
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Leukoaraiosis (LA), one of the most frequent causes of an age-associated cognitive decline, can be associated with a poor quality of life, leading overall to far-reaching public health problems. Chronic hypoxia of the white matter of the brain may be a factor triggering this entity. LA may develop as a consequence of chronically insufficient cellular energy production and the accumulation of free radicals. METHODS: In this context, after hypothesizing that the number of healthy mitochondria can be crucial in this complex process, a case-control LA study was carried out in which we analyzed the numbers of deleted and non-deleted mitochondria (the common D-loop deletion) per white blood cell. A total of 234 patients with LA and 123 MRI alteration-free subjects served as a control group. RESULTS: Interestingly, it emerged that the ratio of deleted relative to non-deleted mitochondria is strongly associated with the risk of LA. The calculated K ratio in the LA group was significantly lower than the K ratio in the controls (LA: K 0.37 95% CI 0.05; controls: K 0.48, 95% CI 0.076, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that the ratio of the dmDNA and mDNA can be of great importance in the pathogenesis of LA.
Authors: Brandi L Rollins; Ling Morgan; Brooke E Hjelm; Adolfo Sequeira; Alan F Schatzberg; Jack D Barchas; Francis S Lee; Rick M Myers; Stanley J Watson; Huda Akil; Steven G Potkin; William E Bunney; Marquis P Vawter Journal: Mol Neuropsychiatry Date: 2017-11-30