Exposure Duration and Cerebral Amyloidosis in the Olfactory Cortex of World Trade Center Responders: A Positron Emission Tomography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study

Details

• Personal Author:
  Bangiyev L ; Carr MA ; Clouston SAP ; Franceschi AM ; Gandy S ; Horton MK ; Huang C ; Islam S ; Kritikos M ; Lucchini RG ; Luft BJ ; Pellecchia AC ; Santiago-Michels S ; Vaska P ; Yang Y ; Zhou J-W
• Description:
  Background: Amyloid-β proteins, a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease, are believed to play an adaptive role in the cerebral immune response. Objective: Amyloid is believed to play a role in cerebral immune response and could play a similar role in response to air pollution exposures. In the present study, we examined whether WTC exposure duration was associated with cerebral amyloidosis in WTC responders. Methods: WTC responders (aged 44-65 years) who varied in exposure duration but did not use personalized protective equipment were assessed using positron-emission tomography with [18F]-Florbetaben. The outcome was the cortical [18F]-Florbetaben burden, measured using regional standardized uptake value ratios (SUVRs) in 34 Desikan-Killiany regions of interest. Spearman's ρ and generalized linear models were used to estimate correlations between WTC exposure duration and cortical [18F]-Florbetaben SUVR. Cognitive and behavioral symptoms were measured. Magnetic resonance imaging was used to measure cortical thickness and diffusivity. Results: The mean age of imaged responders was 56 years old. WTC exposure duration was associated with olfactory [18F]-Florbetaben SUVR (Spearman's ρ = 0.43, p = 0.011), which was in turn associated with elevated [18F]-Florbetaben SUVR in ventral regions (ρ = 0.41, p = 0.016). Cortical [18F]-Florbetaben in ventral regions was associated with reduced response speed (ρ = -0.72, p < 0.001), was co-located with cortical diffusivity across regions in the parietal and frontal lobes and reduced cortical thickness in the isthmus cingulate (ρ = -0.53, p = 0.001). Conclusions: Low-grade amyloidosis in the olfactory and frontal lobes was associated with WTC exposure duration. Future work should examine whether low-grade amyloidosis is correlated with the location or distribution of neurofibrillary tangles in WTC responders. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Dust Immune System Nervous System Occupational Health Particulate Matter Safety September 11 Terrorist Attacks
• Keywords:
  Amyloidosis Author Keywords: Alzheimer's Disease Cognitive Function Cognitive Impairment Dust Exposure First Responders Immune Reaction Magnetic Resonance Imaging MRI Olfactory Disorders Particulate Dust World Trade Center WTC

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• ISSN:
  1387-2877
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement ; Contract ; Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Atlanta Region [OSHA] ; Birmingham Region [OSHA] ; Florida ; Georgia ; New York ; New York City Region [OSHA]
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  383-395
• Volume:
  103
• Issue:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20070574
• Citation:
  J Alzheimers Dis 2025 Jan; 103(2):383-395
• Contact Point Address:
  Sean AP Clouston, Program in Public Health, Health Sciences Center, Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, 101 Nichols Rd., #3-071, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA
• Email:
  sean.clouston@stonybrookmedicine.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2025
• Performing Organization:
  Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20160901
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Alzheimer's Disease
• End Date:
  20200831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:f9ca500dd1909568698ef0778699e316f0ad6ab0d2c56e2f7dfe523d574b39f6f2b8d65ba34497a13af3a9857aae962a66fbc80c54fb654b5077277400734b10
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/208755/cdc_208755_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.15 MB ]