August 12 - MRI Detects Subtle, Alzheimer’s-Like Structural Changes in Brains

A new, MRI-based technique may detect the progression of Alzheimer’s disease earlier. By catching the disease before symptoms are apparent, physicians can prescribe treatments to slow down the disease progression. Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine identified abnormal structural changes in the brains of seemingly normal elderly people that indicated mild cognitive impairment, a precursor to Alzheimer’s disease. The study was presented this week at the 2008 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease.

“With the development of this technique, we hope clinicians will be able to detect structural brain changes that are typical of Alzheimer’s disease earlier, before individuals present cognitive decline, by measuring levels of brain deterioration,” said Christos Davatzikos, PhD, a professor of radiology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. “We plan to integrate MRI with other biomarkers and especially with imaging of amyloid plaques, the protein deposits in the brain associated with Alzheimer’s disease.”

Davatzikos, Susan Resnick, PhD, of the National Institute on Aging, and colleagues found brain deterioration in elderly adults who were classified as cognitively normal. They used a highly accurate measurement tool, based on MRI images from the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease, to look at the MRI images of normal elderly people and identify any remarkable structural changes. By comparing these images, researchers were able to identify subtle structural changes in the brain tissue of healthy elderly people with no noticeable symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.

Results of the study demonstrated that significant brain deterioration was evident in a number of individuals who had no apparent symptoms when compared to cognitively healthy elderly people. An increase of changes or abnormalities in brain structure was accompanied by a decrease in cognitive performance. There was also an increase in Alzheimer’s-like brain deterioration as people aged. In addition, the researchers uncovered a connection between two risk factors for dementia. Alzheimer’s-like structural changes were accompanied by diseases of small blood vessels in the brain.

— Source: University of Pennsylvania Health System

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