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Background: Normal brain aging is associated with dopamine decline, which has been linked to age-related cognitive decline. Factors underlying individual differences in dopamine integrity at older ages remain, however, unclear. Here we aimed at investigating: (i) whether inflammation is associated with levels and 5-year changes of in vivo dopamine D2-receptor (DRD2) availability, (ii) if DRD2-inflammation associations differ between men and women, and (iii) whether inflammation and cerebral small-vessel disease (white-matter lesions) serve as two independent predictors of DRD2 availability.

Methods: Analyses were performed in a sample of healthy adults > 60 years assessed at two measurement occasions separated by 5 years. At both occasions, DRD2 availability was estimated by ¹¹C-raclopride PET, and white-matter lesions by MRI. Inflammation was assessed by two C-reactive protein-associated DNA methylation scores at study baseline.

Results: Individuals with higher DNA methylation scores at baseline showed reduced striatal DRD2 availability. An interaction was found between DNA methylation scores and sex in relation to striatal DRD2 availability, such that associations were found in men but not in women. DNA methylation scores at study entrance were not significantly associated with 5-year striatal DRD2 decline rates. No significant association was found between DNA methylation scores and white-matter lesions, but higher scores as well as higher lesion burden were independently associated with reduced striatal DRD2 availability in men.

Conclusions: These findings suggest negative associations between one proxy of inflammation and DRD2 availability in older adults, selectively for men who had higher DNA methylation scores. Future studies should investigate other inflammatory markers in relation to dopamine integrity.