title: Decreased Number of Mitochondria in Leukoaraiosis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Leukoaraiosis (LA), one of the most frequent causes of an age-associated cognitive decline, can be associated with a poor quality of life, leading overall to far-reaching public health problems. Chronic hypoxia of the white matter of the brain may be a factor triggering this entity. LA may develop as a consequence of chronically insufficient cellular energy production and the accumulation of free radicals.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this context, after hypothesizing that the number of healthy mitochondria can be crucial in this complex process, a case-control LA study was carried out in which we analyzed the numbers of deleted and non-deleted mitochondria (the common D-loop deletion) per white blood cell. A total of 234 patients with LA and 123 MRI alteration-free subjects served as a control group.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Interestingly, it emerged that the ratio of deleted relative to non-deleted mitochondria is strongly associated with the risk of LA. The calculated K ratio in the LA group was significantly lower than the K ratio in the controls (LA: K 0.37 95% CI 0.05; controls: K 0.48, 95% CI 0.076, p < 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study suggests that the ratio of the dmDNA and mDNA can be of great importance in the pathogenesis of LA.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cerebrovascular Diseases, Pándy Kálmán County Hospital, Gyula, Hungary. Electronic address: szolnoki99@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Zoltan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Szolnoki
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary.
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Szekeres
authors.affiliation: Department of Cerebrovascular Diseases, Pándy Kálmán County Hospital, Gyula, Hungary.
authors.forename: Istvan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Szaniszlo
authors.affiliation: Department of Cerebrovascular Diseases, Pándy Kálmán County Hospital, Gyula, Hungary.
authors.forename: Gyorgy
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Balda
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Réthy Pál County Hospital, Békéscsaba, Hungary.
authors.forename: Anita
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bodor
authors.affiliation: Department of Cerebrovascular Diseases, Pándy Kálmán County Hospital, Gyula, Hungary.
authors.forename: Andras
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kondacs
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary.
authors.forename: Yvette
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Mandi
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary.
authors.forename: Ferenc
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Somogyvari
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000209:etiology; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D049292:Leukoaraiosis / Q000473:pathology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology*; D011788:Quality of Life
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial
keywords: Energy production; Leukoaraiosis; Mitochondria; White matter damage