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Amygdala atrophies in specific subnuclei in preclinical Alzheimer's disease

Yasmine Salman1, Thomas Gérard1,2, Lara Huyghe1

  • 1Louvain Aging Brain Lab, Institute of Neuroscience, UCLouvain, Brussels, Belgium.

Alzheimer'S & Dementia : the Journal of the Alzheimer'S Association
|September 10, 2024
PubMed
Abstract

Insights

Specific amygdala subnuclei atrophy, not global volumes, indicates early Alzheimer's disease (AD) tau pathology. This finding may help identify individuals at risk for preclinical AD progression.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroimaging
  • Neuropathology
  • Biomarker Discovery

Background:

  • Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) enables detailed medial temporal lobe (MTL) substructure analysis, crucial for identifying preclinical Alzheimer's disease (AD) biomarkers.
  • Studying hippocampal subfields and amygdala subnuclei offers insights into early AD pathology.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify specific MTL substructures associated with tau pathology in non-demented individuals.
  • To investigate the potential of amygdala subnuclei atrophy as an early biomarker for preclinical AD.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized MRI segmentation to analyze MTL substructures in 581 non-demented individuals from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI-3).
  • Correlated MTL substructure volumes with tau-positron emission tomography (PET) signals.
  • Confirmed findings in a separate cohort (UCLouvain, 110 individuals) using visual Braak's staging and clinical diagnosis.

Main Results:

  • Four amygdala subnuclei (cortical, central, medial, accessory basal) showed significant association with tau in amyloid beta-positive (Aβ+) clinically normal (CN) individuals.
  • Global amygdala and hippocampal volumes were not associated with tau.
  • Atrophy in these specific amygdala subnuclei was observed in individuals with early Braak stages (I-II) and Aβ+ CN status.

Conclusions:

  • Atrophy in specific amygdala subnuclei, rather than global volumes, serves as a potential marker for temporal tauopathy in preclinical AD.
  • This targeted measurement can help identify individuals at higher risk of AD progression.
  • Amygdala atrophy is heterogeneous in preclinical AD, with tau pathology specifically affecting certain subnuclei.
Keywords:
AV1451Alzheimer's diseaseMK6240amygdala subnucleibiomarkerflorquinitauflortaucipirpreclinical ADstructural magnetic resonance imagingtauopathytau‐positron emission tomography

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