Giovanni Giulietti1, Marco Bozzali1, Laura Serra1, Barbara Spano'1, Barbara Basile1, Roberta Perri2, Camillo Marra3, Carlo Caltagirone2, 4, Mara Cercignani5
1Neuroimaging Laboratory, Foundation IRCCS Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy; 2Department of Clinical and Behavioural Neurology, Foundation IRCCS Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy; 3Institute of Neurology, Universit Cattolica, Rome, Italy; 4Department of Neuroscience, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy; 5Clinical Imaging Sciences Centre, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Brighton, United Kingdom
This study evaluate the sensitivity of quantitative magnetization transfer (qMT) imaging to the subtle tissue changes expected in subjects with amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (aMCI), a condition considered as a prodromal stage of AD. To this purpose, a multimodal image analysis was used to take into account grey matter (GM) atrophy. The results confirm that among qMT parameters, RM0B is the most sensitive to AD pathology. Additionally, this parameter appears to be already reduced in some GM areas of patients with aMCI. These changes are likely to precede the appearance of macroscopic atrophy.