Youngkyoo Jung1, Thomas T. Liu1,
Christina E. Wierenga2,3
1Radiology, University of
California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States; 2Psychiatry,
University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States; 3Veterans
Affairs San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA, United States
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative brain condition with no effective treatment. Although traditionally viewed as a disease of gray matter, increasing evidence indicates that white matter (WM) alteration precedes the medial temporal lobe atrophy seen in the earliest stages of the disease. Here we investigated the potential of arterial spin labeling to detect differences in white matter perfusion between cognitively intact adults, adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and AD. The AD group showed reductions of WM perfusion in posterior regions compared to the MCI and normal control groups.