Abstract #0172
Diffusion Tensor Imaging Detects White Matter Changes in Preclinical Stages of Alzheimer Disease
Qing Wang 1 , Yong Wang 1 , Joshua S. Shimony 1 , Anne M. Fagan 2 , John C. Morris 2 , and Tammie L.S. Benzinger 1,3
1
Radiology, Washington University School of
Medicine, St. Louis, MO, United States,
2
Neurology,
Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO,
United States,
3
Neurological
Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St.
Louis, MO, United States
Alzheimer disease (AD) affects 20-30 million people
worldwide. DTI was utilized on 144 normal participants,
30 and 18 in preclinical stage1 and 2 respectively. DTI
radial, axial and mean diffusivities significantly
decreased in multiple white matter regions in stage1,
and pseudo-normalized at stage 2. One explanation would
be an early stage of microglia cell activation after
amyloid deposition and BBB disruption and later
concurrent involvement of axon damage, cell infiltration
and edema. Monte Carlo simulation confirmed DTI
findings. This study suggested that advanced diffusion
MRI can potentially be used to improve risk
stratification and early treatment efficacy for
preclinical AD.
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