Michela
Pievani1,2, Federica Agosta1, Elisabetta Pagani1,
Elisa Canu3, Stefania Sala1, Martina Absinta1,
Cristina Geroldi3, Rossana Ganzola3, Giovanni B.
Frisoni3, Massimo Filippi1
1Neuroimaging
Research Unit, Institute of Experimental Neurology, Division of Neuroscience,
Scientific Institute and University Hospital San Raffaele, Milan, Italy; 2IRCCS
Centro San Giovanni di Dio - Fatebenefratelli, Brescia, Italy; 3IRCCS
Centro San Giovanni di Dio - FatebenefratelliIRCCS Centro San Giovanni di Dio
- Fatebenefratel, Brescia, Italy
DT-MRI
tractography was used to investigate MD, FA, axial (DA) and radial (DR)
diffusivities changes in limbic and cortico-cortical (CCT) WM tracts in 25
patients with Alzheimers disease (AD), 19 with amnestic mild cognitive
impairment (aMCI), and 15 controls. AD
showed increased MD in CCT and cingulum, and reduced FA in fornix. Both
patient groups showed increased DA in CCT and DR in the fornix. In AD and
aMCI, limbic tracts showed a greater increase in DR vs. DA. Hippocampal
volumes correlated with fornix DA. This study suggests different pattern of
WM involvement in the limbic and CCT in AD.