Researchers at Konkuk University Medical Center have confirmed that people with large choroid plexus in the brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) experience a fall in cognitive functions, one of the symptoms of Alzheimer’s.
The choroid plexus is a network of blood vessels and cells in the ventricle, very important for maintaining brain health and forms a blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier.
It acts as a gateway for immune cells from the blood to the brain and a major site for producing cerebrospinal fluid, removing waste products and toxic proteins from brain cells. Unlike blood vessels in the brain, the blood vessels in the choroid plexus do not have a blood-brain barrier, allowing the supply of nutrients to the brain while discharging wastes and toxic proteins.
The team, led by Professor Moon Won-jin of the Department of Radiology, obtained 3Tesla brain MRI images of 532 participants patients with cognitive setbacks to confirm the relationship between choroid plexus size and cognitive function, including 147 patients with Alzheimer's disease.
The researchers found that in patients with Alzheimer's spectrum, the choroid plexus size on brain MRI was related to the degree of cognitive impairment.
The choroid plexus volume of patients with Alzheimer's disease was larger than that of normal people, and a larger choroid plexus volume lowered the memory and self-control.
The team also confirmed that the permeability of the choroid plexus was lower in Alzheimer's than in mild cognitive impairment.
"We could establish that the choroid plexus volume was independently associated with the degree of cognitive impairment," Professor Moon said. "The results of this study are significant, providing a new possibility of showing abnormalities in the choroid plexus with MRI."
If hospitals evaluate the choroid plexus volume and hippocampal volume in the screening stage, they will also distinguish the patient's vulnerability to Alzheimer's disease.
Professor Moon stressed that her team plans to conduct a longitudinal study on how the volume of the choroid plexus changes as the disease progresses.
The study results were published in this month’s online edition of Radiology.