Diffusion weighted magnetic resonance spectroscopy revealed neuronal specific microstructural alterations in Alzheimer’s disease
Brain Communications, vol. 6, pp. fcae026
Abstract
Abstract In Alzheimer’s disease, reconfiguration and deterioration of tissue microstructure occur before substantial degeneration become evident. We explored the diffusion properties of both water, a ubiquitous marker measured by diffusion MRI, and N-acetyl-aspartate, a neuronal metabolite probed by diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance spectroscopy, for investigating cortical microstructural changes downstream of Alzheimer’s disease pathology. To this aim, 50 participants from the Swedish BioFINDER-2 study were scanned on both 7 and 3 T MRI systems. We found that in cognitively impaired participants with evidence of both abnormal amyloid-beta (CSF amyloid-beta42/40) and tau accumulation (tau-PET), the N-acetyl-aspartate diffusion rate was significantly lower than in cognitively unimpaired participants (P < 0.05). This supports the hypothesis that intraneuronal tau accumulation hinders diffusion in the neuronal cytosol. Conversely, water diffusivity was higher in cognitively impaired participants (P < 0.001) and was positively associated with the concentration of myo-inositol, a preferentially astrocytic metabolite (P < 0.001), suggesting that water diffusion is sensitive to alterations in the extracellular space and in glia. In conclusion, measuring the diffusion properties of both water and N-acetyl-aspartate provides rich information on the cortical microstructure in Alzheimer’s disease, and can be used to develop new sensitive and specific markers to microstructural changes occurring during the disease course.
Authors 8
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Nicola Spotorno corresponding
Affiliation as printed
Clinical Memory Research Unit, Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University , Malmö, Lund 22184 , Sweden
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Leiden University Medical Center
Affiliation as printed
Department of Radiology, C.J. Gorter MRI Center, Leiden University Medical Center , Leiden 2333 , The Netherlands
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Affiliation as printed
Clinical Memory Research Unit, Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University , Malmö, Lund 22184 , Sweden
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Lund University · Skåne University Hospital
Affiliation as printed
Clinical Memory Research Unit, Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University , Malmö, Lund 22184 , Sweden
Memory Clinic, Skåne University Hospital , Malmö 20502 , Sweden
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Lund University · Skåne University Hospital
Affiliation as printed
Diagnostic Radiology, Institution for Clinical Sciences, Lund University , Lund 22185 , Sweden
Image and Function, Skane University Hospital , Lund 22185 , Sweden
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Affiliation as printed
Diagnostic Radiology, Institution for Clinical Sciences, Lund University , Lund 22185 , Sweden
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Brighton and Sussex Medical School
Affiliation as printed
Clinical Imaging Sciences Centre, Brighton and Sussex Medical School , Falmer BN1 9RR , UK
Clinical Imaging Sciences Centre, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Falmer, United Kingdom
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Lund University · Skåne University Hospital
Affiliation as printed
Clinical Memory Research Unit, Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University , Malmö, Lund 22184 , Sweden
Memory Clinic, Skåne University Hospital , Malmö 20502 , Sweden
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