Title:Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Alzheimer’s Disease: from Diagnosis to Monitoring Treatment Effect
Volume: 9
Issue: 10
Author(s): M. Filippi, F. Agosta, G.B. Frisoni, N. De Stefano, A. Bizzi, M. Bozzali, A. Falini, M.A. Rocca, S. Sorbi, C. Caltagirone and G. Tedeschi
Affiliation:
Keywords:
Alzheimer’s disease, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), medial temporal lobe (MTL) atrophy, voxel-based morphometry, proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS), diffusion tensor MRI (DT MRI), functional MRI (fMRI), resting
state fMRI, MTL atrophy
Abstract: Quantitative outcome variables in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are of interest because of their low longitudinal
variability compared with that of repeated clinical and cognitive measurements. Conventional MR-based volumetry of
structures within and beyond the medial temporal lobe has proven to be useful in the diagnostic work up of early AD patients,
and measures of atrophy have the potential to monitor the efficacy of disease-modifying agents. The extensive application
of new non-conventional MR-based techniques to the study of AD, such as proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy,
diffusion tensor MRI, and functional MRI, has undoubtedly improved our understanding of the pathophysiology of
the disease, and might lead to the identification of additional useful markers of disease progression. This review summarizes
the main results obtained from the application of conventional and non-conventional MRI in AD patients, and supports
their more extensive use in studies of disease evolution and clinical trials.
