Prediction of Alzheimer’s Disease in Mild Cognitive Impairment Using Sulcal Morphology and Cortical Thickness

Abstract In Alzheimer’s disease (AD), neurodegenerative processes are ongoing for years prior to the time that cortical atrophy can be reliably detected using conventional neuroimaging techniques. Recent advances in diffusion-weighted imaging have provided new techniques to study neural microstructure, which may provide additional information regarding neurodegeneration. In this study, we used neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI), a multi-compartment diffusion model, in order to investigate cortical microstructure along the clinical continuum of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and AD dementia. Using gray matter-based spatial statistics (GBSS), we demonstrated that neurite density index (NDI) was significantly lower throughout temporal and parietal cortical regions in MCI, while both NDI and orientation dispersion index (ODI) were lower throughout parietal, temporal, and frontal regions in AD dementia. In follow-up ROI analyses comparing microstructure and cortical thickness (derived from T1-weighted MRI) within the same brain regions, differences in NODDI metrics remained, even after controlling for cortical thickness. Moreover, for participants with MCI, gray matter NDI—but not cortical thickness—was lower in temporal, parietal, and posterior cingulate regions. Taken together, our results highlight the utility of NODDI metrics in detecting cortical microstructural degeneration that occurs prior to measurable macrostructural changes and overt clinical dementia.

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Independent morphological variables correlate with Aging, Mild Cognitive Impairment, and Alzheimer's Disease

10.1101/2022.01.10.22268812 ◽

2022 ◽

Author(s):

Fernanda Hansen Pacheco de Moraes ◽

Felipe Sudo ◽

Marina Monteiro Carneiro ◽

Bruno R. P. de Melo ◽

Paulo Mattos ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Alzheimer’S Disease ◽

Alzheimer's Disease ◽

Cognitive Impairment ◽

Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽

Cortical Thickness ◽

Healthy Aging ◽

Brain Morphology ◽

Elderly Subjects ◽

Csf Biomarkers ◽

Morphological Criteria

This manuscript presents a study with recruited volunteers that comprehends three sorts of events present in Alzheimer's Disease (AD) evolution (structural, biochemical, and cognitive) to propose an update in neurodegeneration biomarkers for AD. The novel variables, K, I, and S, suggested based on physics properties and empirical evidence, are defined by power-law relations between cortical thickness, exposed and total area, and natural descriptors of brain morphology. Our central hypothesis is that variable K, almost constant in healthy human subjects, is a better discriminator of a diseased brain than the current morphological biomarker, Cortical Thickness, due to its aggregated information. We extracted morphological features from 3T MRI T1w images of 123 elderly subjects: 77 Healthy Cognitive Unimpaired Controls (CTL), 33 Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) patients, and 13 Alzheimer's Disease (AD) patients. Moreover, Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) biomarkers and clinical data scores were correlated with K, intending to characterize health and disease in the cortex with morphological criteria and cognitive-behavioral profiles. K distinguishes Alzheimer's Disease, Mild Cognitive Impairment, and Healthy Cognitive Unimpaired Controls globally and locally with reasonable accuracy (CTL-AD, 0.82; CTL-MCI, 0.58). Correlations were found between global and local K associated with clinical behavioral data (executive function and memory assessments) and CSF biomarkers (t-Tau, Aβ-40, and Aβ-42). The results suggest that the cortical folding component, K, is a premature discriminator of healthy aging, Mild Cognitive Impairment, and Alzheimer's Disease, with significant differences within diagnostics. Despite the non-concomitant events, we found correlations between brain structural degeneration (K), cognitive tasks, and biochemical markers.

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Reduced Thickness of the Anterior Cingulate Cortex as a Predictor of Amnestic-Mild Cognitive Impairment Conversion to Alzheimer’s Disease with Psychosis

Journal of Alzheimer s Disease ◽

10.3233/jad-215005 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-9

Author(s):

Hee-Jeong Jeong ◽

Young-Min Lee ◽

Je-Min Park ◽

Byung-Dae Lee ◽

Eunsoo Moon ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Alzheimer’S Disease ◽

Alzheimer's Disease ◽

Cognitive Impairment ◽

Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽

Cortical Thickness ◽

Cingulate Cortex ◽

Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽

Anterior Cingulate ◽

Prospective Longitudinal Study ◽

Prospective Longitudinal

Background: A long-term follow-up study in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) is needed to elucidate the association between regional brain volume and psychopathological mechanisms of Alzheimer’s disease with psychosis (AD + P). Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the thickness of the angular cingulate cortex (ACC) on the risk of AD + P conversion in patients with aMCI. Methods: This was a hospital-based prospective longitudinal study including 174 patients with aMCI. The main outcome measure was time-to-progression from aMCI to AD + P. Subregions of the ACC (rostral ACC, rACC; caudal ACC, cACC) and hippocampus (HC) were measured as regions of interest with magnetic resonance imaging and the Freesurfer analysis at baseline. Survival analysis with time to incident AD + P as an event variable was calculated with Cox proportional hazards models using the subregions of the ACC and HC as a continuous variable. Results: Cox proportional hazard analyses showed that the risk of AD + P was associated with sub-regional ACC thickness but not HC volume: reduced cortical thickness of the left cACC (HR [95%CI], 0.224 [0.087–0.575], p = 0.002), right cACC (HR [95%CI], 0.318 [0.132–0.768], p = 0.011). This association of the cACC with the risk of AD also remained significant when adjusted for HC volume. Conclusion: We found that reduced cortical thickness of the cACC is a predictor of aMCI conversion to AD + P, independent of HC, suggesting that the ACC plays a vital role in the underlying pathogenesis of AD + P.

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P3-110: Neuropsychological evaluation and cortical thickness analysis of anasognosia in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer s & Dementia ◽

10.1016/j.jalz.2013.05.1181 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

pp. P592-P592

Author(s):

Gulben Senturk ◽

Basar Bilgic ◽

Cagdas Kenar ◽

Hasmet Hanagasi ◽

Hakan Gurvit ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Alzheimer’S Disease ◽

Alzheimer's Disease ◽

Cognitive Impairment ◽

Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽

Cortical Thickness ◽

Neuropsychological Evaluation

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P3-232: REGIONAL BRAIN DIFFERENCES IN CORTICAL THICKNESS BETWEEN PATIENTS WITH AMNESTIC MILD COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT AND ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE DEMENTIA

Alzheimer s & Dementia ◽

10.1016/j.jalz.2014.05.1323 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 10 ◽

pp. P716-P716 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Ignacio Demey ◽

Fernando Ventrice ◽

Galeno Rojas ◽

Veronica Somale ◽

Ricardo Francisco Allegri ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Alzheimer’S Disease ◽

Alzheimer's Disease ◽

Cognitive Impairment ◽

Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽

Cortical Thickness ◽

Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽

Regional Brain ◽

Alzheimer’S Disease Dementia

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Small-World Properties in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Early Alzheimer’s Disease: A Cortical Thickness MRI Study

ISRN Geriatrics ◽

10.1155/2013/542080 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 2013 ◽

pp. 1-11 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Yongxia Zhou ◽

Yvonne W. Lui

Keyword(s):

Alzheimer’S Disease ◽

Alzheimer's Disease ◽

Cognitive Impairment ◽

Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽

Cortical Thickness ◽

Small World ◽

Small World Network ◽

Global Integration ◽

Global Efficiency ◽

Early Alzheimer’S Disease

Background. Small-world network consists of networks with local specialization and global integration. Our objective is to detect small-world properties alteration based on cortical thickness in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) including stables and converters, and early Alzheimer's disease (AD) compared to controls. Methods. MRI scans of 13 controls, 10 MCI, and 10 with early AD were retrospectively analyzed; 11 MCI converters, 11 MCI stables, and 10 controls from the ADNI website were also included. Results. There were significantly decreased local efficiencies in patients with MCI and AD compared to controls; and MCI patients showed increased global efficiency compared to AD and controls. The MCI converters experience the worst local efficiency during the converting period to AD; the stables, however, have highest local and global efficiency. Conclusions. The abnormal cortical thickness-based small-world properties in MCI and AD as well as the distinct patterns between two MCI subtypes suggest that small-world network analysis has the potential to better differentiate different stages of early dementia.

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Study of brain morphology change in Alzheimer’s disease and amnestic mild cognitive impairment compared with normal controls

General Psychiatry ◽

10.1136/gpsych-2018-100005 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 32 (2) ◽

pp. e100005 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Huanqing Yang ◽

Hua Xu ◽

Qingfeng Li ◽

Yan Jin ◽

Weixiong Jiang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Alzheimer’S Disease ◽

Alzheimer's Disease ◽

Cognitive Impairment ◽

Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽

Surface Area ◽

Cortical Thickness ◽

Right Hemisphere ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Left And Right ◽

Normal Controls

BackgroundWith an aggravated social ageing level, the number of patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is gradually increasing, and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is considered to be an early form of Alzheimer’s disease. How to distinguish diseases in the early stage for the purposes of early diagnosis and treatment is an important topic.AimsThe purpose of our study was to investigate the differences in brain cortical thickness and surface area among elderly patients with AD, elderly patients with amnestic MCI (aMCI) and normal controls (NC).Methods20 AD patients, 21 aMCIs and 25 NC were recruited in the study. FreeSurfer software was used to calculate cortical thickness and surface area among groups.ResultsThe patients with AD had less cortical thickness both in the left and right hemisphere in 17 of the 36 brain regions examined than the patients with aMCI or NC. The patients with AD also had smaller cerebral surface area both in the left and right hemisphere in 3 of the 36 brain regions examined than the patients with aMCI or NC. Compared with the NC, the patients with aMCI only had slight atrophy in the inferior parietal lobe of the left hemisphere, and no significant difference was found.ConclusionAD, as well as aMCI (to a lesser extent), is associated with reduced cortical thickness and surface area in a few brain regions associated with cognitive impairment. These results suggest that cortical thickness and surface area could be used for early detection of AD.

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