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Mild Cognitive Impairment is Associated With White Matter Integrity Changes in Late-Myelinating Regions Within the

Nikki H Stricker1, David H Salat2, Taylor P Kuhn3

  • 1Psychology Service, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA Department of Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA nikki.stricker@va.gov.

American Journal of Alzheimer'S Disease and Other Dementias
|April 24, 2015
PubMed

Insights

Alzheimer's disease may involve reverse brain development. This study found evidence supporting reverse myelination in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) within the corpus callosum, aligning with the retrogenesis model.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Neurodegenerative Diseases
  • Brain Development

Background:

  • Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by progressive brain degeneration.
  • The retrogenesis model proposes that AD-related brain changes mirror the reverse of normal development.
  • Myelination, crucial for brain function, follows a specific developmental trajectory.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if mild cognitive impairment (MCI) exhibits signs of reverse myelination.
  • To test the retrogenesis model in the context of early neurodegeneration.
  • To analyze diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data for evidence of altered myelination patterns.

Main Methods:

  • Acquired whole-brain high-resolution diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) scans.
  • Analyzed data from 31 individuals with MCI and 79 healthy older adults.
  • Utilized corpus callosum (CC) regions of interest (ROIs) and voxelwise comparisons.

Main Results:

  • Decreased fractional anisotropy (FA) was observed in the body of the CC in MCI patients.
  • Late-myelinating ROIs within the CC showed reduced FA, supporting reverse myelination.
  • Whole-brain voxelwise differences in FA were distributed across all myelination timelines.

Conclusions:

  • Findings within the corpus callosum support the retrogenesis model in mild cognitive impairment.
  • Evidence suggests a potential reversal of myelination patterns in early stages of neurodegeneration.
  • Generalizing these findings beyond the corpus callosum requires further investigation.
Keywords:
Alzheimer’s diseasecorpus callosumdiffusion tensor imagingmagnetic resonance imagingmild cognitive impairment

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