Different patterns of white matter degeneration using multiple diffusion indices and volumetric data in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer patients

PLoS One. 2012;7(12):e52859. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0052859. Epub 2012 Dec 31.

Abstract

Alzheimeŕs disease (AD) represents the most prevalent neurodegenerative disorder that causes cognitive decline in old age. In its early stages, AD is associated with microstructural abnormalities in white matter (WM). In the current study, multiple indices of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and brain volumetric measurements were employed to comprehensively investigate the landscape of AD pathology. The sample comprised 58 individuals including cognitively normal subjects (controls), amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and AD patients. Relative to controls, both MCI and AD subjects showed widespread changes of anisotropic fraction (FA) in the corpus callosum, cingulate and uncinate fasciculus. Mean diffusivity and radial changes were also observed in AD patients in comparison with controls. After controlling for the gray matter atrophy the number of regions of significantly lower FA in AD patients relative to controls was decreased; nonetheless, unique areas of microstructural damage remained, e.g., the corpus callosum and uncinate fasciculus. Despite sample size limitations, the current results suggest that a combination of secondary and primary degeneration occurrs in MCI and AD, although the secondary degeneration appears to have a more critical role during the stages of disease involving dementia.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Alzheimer Disease / pathology*
  • Anisotropy
  • Brain Mapping
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Cognitive Dysfunction / pathology*
  • Corpus Callosum / pathology*
  • Corpus Callosum / physiopathology
  • Diffusion
  • Diffusion Tensor Imaging
  • Female
  • Gyrus Cinguli / pathology
  • Gyrus Cinguli / physiopathology
  • Hippocampus / pathology*
  • Hippocampus / physiopathology
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Multivariate Analysis
  • Organ Size
  • Wallerian Degeneration / pathology

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Fundação Universitária José Bonifácio (Nr. 11112-4). Dr. Jerson Laks received funding as a researcher 2 from the Brazilian National Council of Research (CNPq). Dr. Gilberto Sousa Alves was also supported from the CNPq in exchange cooperation program (Nr. 290012/2009-0) with the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.