Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Aug;32(8):4797-4806.
doi: 10.1016/j.acra.2025.04.048. Epub 2025 May 20.

Serum Carotenoid Concentrations Are Associated with Enlarged Choroid Plexus, Lateral Ventricular Volume, and Perivascular Spaces on Magnetic Resonance Imaging: A Large Cohort Study

Jusei Kudo  1 , Keita Watanabe  2 , Miho Sasaki  1 , Tomohiro Shintaku  1 , Shinya Kakehata  1 , Sera Kasai  1 , Kana Saito  1 , Tatsuya Mikami  3 , Daichi Kokubu  4 , Yusuke Ushida  4 , Masashi Matsuzaka  5 , Shingo Kakeda  1
Affiliations

Serum Carotenoid Concentrations Are Associated with Enlarged Choroid Plexus, Lateral Ventricular Volume, and Perivascular Spaces on Magnetic Resonance Imaging: A Large Cohort Study

Jusei Kudo et al. Acad Radiol. 2025 Aug.

Abstract

Rationale and objectives: Since carotenoids have various physiological activities, including antioxidant activity, several epidemiological studies have linked the consumption of a carotenoid-rich diet to a decreased risk of neurodegenerative diseases. Increased choroid plexus volume (CPV) and enlarged perivascular spaces (PVS) on brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may be indicators of impaired glymphatic system function. The purpose of this large-scale elderly population study was to assess whether serum concentrations of major carotenoids (α-carotene, β-carotene, cis-lycopene, trans-lycopene, β-cryptoxanthin, zeaxanthin, and lutein) concentrations are associated with CPV, lateral ventricular volume (LVV), and PVS.

Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study included 2050 individuals (median age, 69 years; 61.02% females) who underwent 3 T MRI. The imaging characteristics included total intracranial volume (ICV), CPV, LVV, and basal ganglia-enlarged PVS on T2-weighted images.

Results: Low serum β-carotene concentration was a significant independent predictor of increased CPV/ICV (p=0.046), increased LVV/ICV (p=0.035), and enlarged PVS (p=0.009) after adjusting for potential confounders (age, sex, body mass index, HbA1c level, systolic blood pressure, smoking history, drinking history, educational history, and Mini-Mental State Examination score, CRP level). Low serum α-carotene concentration was also a significant independent predictor of an enlarged PVS (p=0.014).

Conclusion: In this study, β-carotene concentration was associated to the CPV, LVV, and PVS, suggesting that the antioxidant activity of β-carotene may have an important role in maintaining glymphatic system function. Since β-carotene is a dietary carotenoid, our results emphasize the importance of interventions for effective β-carotene intake among elderly people.

Keywords: Carotenoid; Choroid plexus volume; Magnetic resonance imaging; Perivascular spaces; β-carotene.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Daichi Kokubu, Yusuke Ushida report a relationship with KAGOME CO., LTD. that includes: employment. The other authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.