Amyloid-related imaging abnormalities-haemosiderin (ARIA-H) in patients with Alzheimer's disease treated with bapineuzumab: a historical, prospective secondary analysis

BACKGROUND: Amyloid-related imaging abnormalities due to haemosiderin deposition (ARIA-H) occur in patients with mild to moderate dementia due to Alzheimer's disease (AD) and have been reported with increased incidence in clinical trials of amyloid-lowering therapies under development for AD. OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to explore the relationship between the incidences of ARIA-H during treatment with placebo and different doses of bapineuzumab, a humanised monoclonal antibody directed against amyloid β. METHODS: Two neuroradiologists independently reviewed 2572 GRE/T2* MRI sequences from 262 participants in two phase two clinical trials of bapineuzumab and an open-label extension study. Readers were blinded to the participant's therapy, APOE ε4 genotype and medical history. RESULTS: Several risk factors for small ARIA-H <10 mm (microhaemorrhages) were identified: APOE ε4, bapineuzumab treatment, pre-existing small ARIA-H and use of antithrombotics. The HR (95%CI) for incident ARIA-H <10 mm associated with the number of APOE ε4 alleles was 11.9 (3.3 to 42.5) for 2 versus no alleles and 3.5 (1.0 to 12.0) for 1 versus no allele. The HR for bapineuzumab therapy was 3.5 (1.0 to 12.0); for the presence of baseline ARIA-H <10 mm, it was 3.5 (1.6 to 7.8), and for the use of antithrombotic agents it was 2.2 (1.0 to 4.8). The incidence rate for ARIA-H <10 mm was elevated only in the initial 6 months of active treatment and declined after this interval to a rate similar to that observed in the group treated with placebo. CONCLUSIONS: ARIA-H represents a spectrum of MRI findings due to haemosiderin deposition that appears to be related to impaired vascular integrity. The increased risk for ARIA-H associated with APOE ε4 allele frequency, pre-existing ARIA-H, treatment with bapineuzumab and use of antithrombotic agents provides additional support for this hypothesis of loss of integrity of cerebral vessels due to amyloid burden. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT00112073 and NCT00606476.