Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 16, 2025

Abbiategrasso Brain Bank Protocol for Collecting, Processing and Characterizing Aging Brains
12:28

Abbiategrasso Brain Bank Protocol for Collecting, Processing and Characterizing Aging Brains

Published on: June 3, 2020

17.5K

Structural Cerebral Network Differences in Prodromal Alzheimer's Disease and Prodromal Dementia with Lewy Bodies

Miho Ota1, Kiyotaka Nemoto1, Miyuki Nemoto2

  • 1Division of Clinical Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan.

Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders
|December 27, 2022
PubMed
Abstract

Insights

Early Alzheimer's disease (AD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) show altered brain network degrees in specific regions. These cerebral network changes may help detect AD and DLB early.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Medical Imaging
  • Neurology

Background:

  • Alzheimer's disease (AD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) have extended prodromal stages.
  • Cerebral network alterations during these early, pre-dementia phases are not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate and clarify patterns of cerebral network changes in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) associated with AD (MCI-AD) and DLB (MCI-LB).
  • To identify potential early biomarkers for AD and DLB based on neural network differences.

Main Methods:

  • Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to analyze cerebral networks in 48 MCI-AD patients, 18 MCI-LB patients, and 23 healthy controls.
  • Network metrics, including degree, betweenness centrality, and clustering coefficient, were extracted from T1-weighted images.
  • Whole-brain analyses were conducted using SPM8 software.

Main Results:

  • MCI-LB patients exhibited reduced degree in the right putamen compared to controls.
  • MCI-AD patients showed significantly lower degrees in the left insula and bilateral posterior cingulate cortices versus controls.
  • No significant differences were found in small-world properties or regional gray matter volume among the groups.

Conclusions:

  • Cerebral network degree alterations were observed in both MCI-AD and MCI-LB patients compared to healthy individuals.
  • These findings align with previous studies using single-photon emission computed tomography.
  • Disease-related changes in cerebral neural networks could serve as adjunct biomarkers for early AD and DLB detection.
Keywords:
Magnetic resonance imagingMild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer’s diseaseMild cognitive impairment with Lewy bodiesNeural networkSmall-world property

More Related Videos

Studying Pre-formed Fibril Induced α-Synuclein Accumulation in Primary Embryonic Mouse Midbrain Dopamine Neurons10:03

Studying Pre-formed Fibril Induced α-Synuclein Accumulation in Primary Embryonic Mouse Midbrain Dopamine Neurons

Published on: August 16, 2020

10.7K
Symmetric Bihemispheric Postmortem Brain Cutting to Study Healthy and Pathological Brain Conditions in Humans08:29

Symmetric Bihemispheric Postmortem Brain Cutting to Study Healthy and Pathological Brain Conditions in Humans

Published on: December 18, 2016

14.1K

Related Concept Videos

Alzheimer's Disease: Overview01:26

Alzheimer's Disease: Overview

Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is a continually advancing neurodegenerative disorder, distinguished by escalating memory loss, cognitive dysfunction, and dementia. The disease unfolds in three stages: preclinical, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and dementia. Its onset is insidious, and the progression gradual, with the cause not well explained by other disorders.
The clinical diagnosis of AD hinges on the presence of memory and other cognitive impairments. Biomarkers, such as changes in Aβ...
602
Neural Regulation01:37

Neural Regulation

Digestion begins with a cephalic phase that prepares the digestive system to receive food. When our brain processes visual or olfactory information about food, it triggers impulses in the cranial nerves innervating the salivary glands and stomach to prepare for food.
39.7K
Dementia01:30

Dementia

Dementia is a collective term for cognitive disorders primarily affecting memory, thinking, and reasoning. It is not a specific disease but a syndrome, with Alzheimer's disease being the most common cause, accounting for approximately 60-80% of cases. Other types include vascular dementia, Lewy body dementia, and frontotemporal dementia. Dementia affects millions worldwide, particularly older adults, though it is not a normal part of aging.
The progression of dementia is generally gradual....
153
Parkinson's Disease: Overview01:15

Parkinson's Disease: Overview

Neurodegenerative disorders are progressive diseases that cause irreversible damage and loss to neurons in specific brain areas. Examples of these disorders include Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, Multiple Sclerosis (MS), and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). These disorders share characteristics such as proteinopathies, selective neuronal vulnerability, and a complex interplay between genetic and environmental factors. The primary therapeutic goal for these conditions is...
647