Multiple indices of diffusion identifies white matter damage in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease
PLoS ONE. 2011-06-30; 6(6): e21745
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0021745
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1. PLoS One. 2011;6(6):e21745. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0021745. Epub 2011 Jun 30.
Multiple indices of diffusion identifies white matter damage in mild cognitive
impairment and Alzheimer’s disease.
O’Dwyer L(1), Lamberton F, Bokde AL, Ewers M, Faluyi YO, Tanner C, Mazoyer B,
O’Neill D, Bartley M, Collins DR, Coughlan T, Prvulovic D, Hampel H.
Author information:
(1)Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Goethe
University, Frankfurt, Germany.
The study of multiple indices of diffusion, including axial (DA), radial (DR) and
mean diffusion (MD), as well as fractional anisotropy (FA), enables WM damage in
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) to be assessed in detail. Here, tract-based spatial
statistics (TBSS) were performed on scans of 40 healthy elders, 19 non-amnestic
MCI (MCIna) subjects, 14 amnestic MCI (MCIa) subjects and 9 AD patients.
Significantly higher DA was found in MCIna subjects compared to healthy elders in
the right posterior cingulum/precuneus. Significantly higher DA was also found in
MCIa subjects compared to healthy elders in the left prefrontal cortex,
particularly in the forceps minor and uncinate fasciculus. In the MCIa versus
MCIna comparison, significantly higher DA was found in large areas of the left
prefrontal cortex. For AD patients, the overlap of FA and DR changes and the
overlap of FA and MD changes were seen in temporal, parietal and frontal lobes,
as well as the corpus callosum and fornix. Analysis of differences between the AD
versus MCIna, and AD versus MCIa contrasts, highlighted regions that are
increasingly compromised in more severe disease stages. Microstructural damage
independent of gross tissue loss was widespread in later disease stages. Our
findings suggest a scheme where WM damage begins in the core memory network of
the temporal lobe, cingulum and prefrontal regions, and spreads beyond these
regions in later stages. DA and MD indices were most sensitive at detecting early
changes in MCIa.
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0021745
PMCID: PMC3128090
PMID: 21738785 [Indexed for MEDLINE]