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Updated: May 24, 2026
Diffusion Tensor Magnetic Resonance Imaging in the Analysis of Neurodegenerative Diseases
Published on: July 28, 2013
Automated tractography of the cingulate bundle in Alzheimer's disease: a multicenter DTI study
Florian U Fischer1, Armin Scheurich, Martin Wegrzyn
1Department of Psychiatry, University Medical Center of Mainz, Mainz, Germany.
Purpose:
To evaluate the feasibility of multicenter tractography of the cingulate bundle (CB) in Alzheimer's disease (AD).
Materials And Methods:
Automated deterministic tractography of the CB was applied to scans of 45 patients with probable AD and 58 healthy controls (HC) acquired with Siemens Sonata (1.5T; 60 gradients), Trio (3T; 61 gradients), and Avanto (1.5T; 30 gradients). Diagnosis and center effects on the tracking indices fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), track density, and volume were estimated with analysis of variance.
Results:
The multicenter coefficients of variance (CVs) in HC and AD patients were 7% and 7% for FA, 10% and 8% for MD, 18% and 20% for density, and 21% and 21% for volume. Multicenter and single-center CVs were within a similar range. Significant center effects declined in the order MD > FA > density > volume. After adjustment for center and age, the AD group showed significantly higher MD (P < 0.001) and lower FA (P < 0.05) as compared with the HC group.
Conclusion:
Despite strong center effects, we detected significantly altered microstructural integrity of the CB in AD patients. Diffusion-tensor imaging indices of the CB as obtained by automated tractography might qualify as a biologically sustained surrogate marker for diagnostic and monitoring purposes in multicenter AD trials.
