Diagonal Earlobe Crease is a Visible Sign for Cerebral Small Vessel Disease and Amyloid-β. Issue 1 (December 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Lee, Jin; Park, Seongbeom; Kim, Hee; Kim, Yeshin; Jang, Hyemin; Kim, Ko; Rhee, Hak; Yoon, Sung; Hwang, Kyoung; Park, Key-Chung; Moon, Seung; Kim, Sung; Lockhart, Samuel; Na, Duk; Seo, Sang
• Is Part Of: Scientific reports. Volume 7:Issue 1(2017)
• Page Start: 1
• Page End: 7
• Publication Date: 2017-12
• Subjects: Natural history -- Research -- Periodicals; Biology -- Research -- Periodicals; Physical sciences -- Research -- Periodicals; Earth sciences -- Research -- Periodicals; Environmental sciences -- Research -- Periodicals; 502.85
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-13370-8
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2045-2322

Abstract

Abstract We investigated the frequency and clinical significance of diagonal earlobe crease (DELC) in cognitively impaired patients using imaging biomarkers, such as white matter hyperintensities (WMH) on MRI and amyloid-β (Aβ) PET. A total of 471 cognitively impaired patients and 243 cognitively normal (CN) individuals were included in this study. Compared with CN individuals, cognitively impaired patients had a greater frequency of DELC (OR 1.6, 95% CI 1.1–2.2, P = 0.007). This relationship was more prominent in patients with dementia (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.2–2.7, P = 0.002) and subcortical vascular cognitive impairment (OR 2.4, 95% CI 1.6–3.6, P < 0.001). Compared with Aβ-negative cognitively impaired patients with minimal WMH, Aβ-positive patients with moderate to severe WMH were significantly more likely to exhibit DELC (OR 7.3, 95% CI 3.4–16.0, P < 0.001). We suggest that DELC can serve as a useful supportive sign, not only for the presence of cognitive impairment, but also for cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) and Aβ-positivity. The relationship between DELC and Aβ-positivity might be explained by the causative role of CSVD in Aβ accumulation.