The Brain Chart of Aging: Machine-learning analytics reveals links between brain aging, white matter disease, amyloid burden, and cognition in the iSTAGING consortium of 10,216 harmonized MR scans

Abstract

Introduction: Relationships between brain atrophy patterns of typical aging and Alzheimer's disease (AD), white matter disease, cognition, and AD neuropathology were investigated via machine learning in a large harmonized magnetic resonance imaging database (11 studies; 10,216 subjects). Methods: Three brain signatures were calculated: Brain-age, AD-like neurodegeneration, and white matter hyperintensities (WMHs). Brain Charts measured and displayed the relationships of these signatures to cognition and molecular biomarkers of AD. Results: WMHs were associated with advanced brain aging, AD-like atrophy, poorer cognition, and AD neuropathology in mild cognitive impairment (MCI)/AD and cogniti..