TY - JOUR
T1 - Regionally-specific diffusion tensor imaging in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease
AU - Mielke, M. M.
AU - Kozauer, N. A.
AU - Chan, K. C.G.
AU - George, M.
AU - Toroney, J.
AU - Zerrate, M.
AU - Bandeen-Roche, K.
AU - Wang, M. C.
AU - vanZijl, P.
AU - Pekar, J. J.
AU - Mori, S.
AU - Lyketsos, C. G.
AU - Albert, M.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was funded in part by grants from GlaxoSmithKline, the National Institute on Aging (P50-AG005146 and P50-AG 021334) and the National Institute of Research Resources (NCRR, P41-RR15241). NCRR is a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official view of NCRR or NIH. Equipment used in this study was manufactured by Philips. Dr. van Zijl is a paid lecturer for Philips Medical Systems and is the inventor of technology that is licensed to Philips. This arrangement has been approved by Johns Hopkins University in accordance with its conflict of interest policies.
PY - 2009/5/15
Y1 - 2009/5/15
N2 - Background: Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies have shown significant cross-sectional differences among normal controls (NC) mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients in several fiber tracts in the brain, but longitudinal assessment is needed. Methods: We studied 75 participants (25 NC, 25 amnestic MCI, and 25 mild AD) at baseline and 3 months later, with both imaging and clinical evaluations. Fractional anisotropy (FA) was analyzed in regions of interest (ROIs) in: (1) fornix, (2) cingulum bundle, (3) splenium, and (4) cerebral peduncles. Clinical data included assessments of clinical severity and cognitive function. Cross-sectional and longitudinal differences in FA, within each ROI, were analyzed with generalized estimating equations (GEE). Results: Cross-sectionally, AD patients had lower FA than NC (p < 0.05) at baseline and 3 months in the fornix and anterior portion of the cingulum bundle. Compared to MCI, AD cases had lower FA (p < 0.05) in these regions and the splenium at 0 and 3 months. Both the fornix and anterior cingulum correlated across all clinical cognitive scores; lower FA in these ROIs corresponded to worse performance. Over the course of 3 months, when the subjects were clinically stable, the ROIs were also largely stable. Conclusions: Using DTI, findings indicate FA is decreased in specific fiber tracts among groups of subjects that vary along the spectrum from normal to AD, and that this measure is stable over short periods of time. The fornix is a predominant outflow tract of the hippocampus and may be an important indicator of AD progression.
AB - Background: Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies have shown significant cross-sectional differences among normal controls (NC) mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients in several fiber tracts in the brain, but longitudinal assessment is needed. Methods: We studied 75 participants (25 NC, 25 amnestic MCI, and 25 mild AD) at baseline and 3 months later, with both imaging and clinical evaluations. Fractional anisotropy (FA) was analyzed in regions of interest (ROIs) in: (1) fornix, (2) cingulum bundle, (3) splenium, and (4) cerebral peduncles. Clinical data included assessments of clinical severity and cognitive function. Cross-sectional and longitudinal differences in FA, within each ROI, were analyzed with generalized estimating equations (GEE). Results: Cross-sectionally, AD patients had lower FA than NC (p < 0.05) at baseline and 3 months in the fornix and anterior portion of the cingulum bundle. Compared to MCI, AD cases had lower FA (p < 0.05) in these regions and the splenium at 0 and 3 months. Both the fornix and anterior cingulum correlated across all clinical cognitive scores; lower FA in these ROIs corresponded to worse performance. Over the course of 3 months, when the subjects were clinically stable, the ROIs were also largely stable. Conclusions: Using DTI, findings indicate FA is decreased in specific fiber tracts among groups of subjects that vary along the spectrum from normal to AD, and that this measure is stable over short periods of time. The fornix is a predominant outflow tract of the hippocampus and may be an important indicator of AD progression.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=62749122900&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=62749122900&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2009.01.054
DO - 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2009.01.054
M3 - Article
C2 - 19457371
AN - SCOPUS:62749122900
SN - 1053-8119
VL - 46
SP - 47
EP - 55
JO - NeuroImage
JF - NeuroImage
IS - 1
ER -