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Postmortem T2*- Weighted MRI Imaging of Cortical Iron Reflects Severity of Alzheimer's Disease

Marjolein Bulk1,2,3, Boyd Kenkhuis1,2, Linda M van der Graaf2

  • 1Department of Radiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.

Journal of Alzheimer'S Disease : JAD
|August 15, 2018
PubMed

Insights

Iron-sensitive MRI detects Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology distribution in the brain. This study found distinct patterns in late-onset AD and early-onset AD, correlating MRI changes with iron accumulation and AD hallmarks.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroimaging
  • Neuropathology
  • Biomarkers

Background:

  • Cortical iron accumulation is linked to Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology.
  • Iron-based MRI changes may aid in AD diagnosis and staging.
  • Understanding the relationship between MRI contrast and AD pathology is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the cortical distribution of MRI contrast changes in relation to tau pathology.
  • To investigate if MRI contrast changes reflect underlying AD pathology across different brain lobes.
  • To compare MRI findings between late-onset AD (LOAD) and early-onset AD (EOAD).

Main Methods:

  • Ex vivo high-resolution T2*-weighted MRI on postmortem human cortical tissue.
  • Histopathology analysis of the same cortical samples.
  • Correlation analyses between MRI contrast, iron accumulation, and AD pathological hallmarks.

Main Results:

  • LOAD and EOAD exhibit different distribution patterns of AD pathology and MRI contrast changes.
  • EOAD cases showed more severe MRI contrast changes compared to LOAD.
  • Within each lobe, AD pathology severity correlated with iron accumulation and MRI signal changes.

Conclusions:

  • Iron-sensitive MRI sequences can detect the cortical distribution of AD pathology ex vivo.
  • MRI contrast changes reflect the underlying AD pathology and iron accumulation.
  • Distinct MRI-detectable patterns exist for LOAD and EOAD, suggesting potential for differential diagnosis.
Keywords:
Amyloidcortexironmagnetic resonance imagingtau

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