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Updated: Sep 9, 2025
Diffusion Tensor Magnetic Resonance Imaging in the Analysis of Neurodegenerative Diseases
Published on: July 28, 2013
DTI versus NODDI White Matter Microstructural Biomarkers of Alzheimer's Disease
Kenny Liou1, Sophia I Thomopoulos1, Hannah Yoo1
1Imaging Genetics Center, Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Marina del Rey, CA, USA.
Abstract:
Diffusion MRI (dMRI) is a powerful tool to assess white matter (WM) microstructural abnormalities in Alzheimer's disease (AD). The fourth phase of the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) now includes multiple multishell dMRI protocols, enabling both traditional and advanced dMRI model analyses. There is a need to evaluate whether multishell data offer deeper insights into WM pathology in AD than more widely available single-shell data by overcoming single-shell model limitations. Here, we fit single-shell DTI and multishell NODDI to dMRI data from 533 ADNI3/4 participants to assess their sensitivity to key clinical indicators of AD such as cognitive impairment, amyloid-beta and tau PET burden. Overall, we found that NODDI offered no major advantages in detecting cognitive impairment and tau pathology, but NODDI was marginally more sensitive to amyloid pathology.
Insights
Multishell diffusion MRI (dMRI) models like NODDI showed limited advantages over single-shell DTI for detecting Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology. While NODDI was slightly better for amyloid burden, neither model excelled at identifying cognitive decline or tau pathology.
Area of Science:
- Neuroimaging
- Neurodegeneration
- White Matter Imaging
Background:
- Diffusion MRI (dMRI) assesses white matter (WM) integrity, crucial in Alzheimer's Disease (AD).
- Advanced dMRI models using multishell data may offer greater insight into AD-related WM pathology than traditional single-shell methods.
- The Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) now collects multishell dMRI data.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the sensitivity of single-shell Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) and multishell Neurite Orientation Dispersion and Density Imaging (NODDI) models.
- To evaluate if multishell NODDI provides deeper insights into WM pathology in AD compared to single-shell DTI.
- To assess the models' ability to detect key AD indicators: cognitive impairment, amyloid-beta, and tau PET burden.
Main Methods:
- dMRI data from 533 participants in ADNI3/4 were analyzed.
- Single-shell DTI and multishell NODDI models were fitted to the dMRI data.
- Model sensitivity was assessed against clinical cognitive scores and amyloid-beta/tau PET burden.
Main Results:
- NODDI showed no significant advantage over DTI in detecting cognitive impairment associated with AD.
- Neither model demonstrated a major advantage in identifying tau PET burden.
- NODDI exhibited a marginal increase in sensitivity to amyloid-beta PET burden compared to DTI.
Conclusions:
- Multishell NODDI offers limited additional value over single-shell DTI for assessing cognitive and tau pathologies in AD.
- NODDI may provide a slight benefit in detecting amyloid pathology in AD.
- Further research is needed to fully elucidate the utility of advanced dMRI models in AD.
