Cobalt and titanium levels in the brain are associated with Alzheimer’s disease pathology but not cognition: A study of older adults with and without total joint replacement

Abstract

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and total joint arthroplasty are prevalent and often concomitant in older adults, but an etiologic link is debated. Since wear particles are an inevitable side product of total joint arthroplasty (TJA), we hypothesized that older adults with TJA agglomerate higher-than-normal concentrations of implant alloy elements caused by the dissemination of debris from the implants, resulting in a pathological reaction. A cross-sectional analysis was conducted among 701 autopsied participants of an ongoing longitudinal cohort (Memory and Aging Project (MAP)) of whom postmortem neuropathologic data was available and implant-related metals (cobalt, titanium) were quantified in fo..