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Abstract #0402

Combined functional and tractography connectome to investigate Alzheimer brain networks

Fulvia Palesi 1,2 , Gloria Castellazzi 2,3 , Elena Sinforiani 4 , Paolo Vitali 5,6 , Claudia A. M. Wheeler-Kingshott 7 , and Egidio D'Angelo 2,6

1 Department of Physics, University of Pavia, Pavia, PV, Italy, 2 Brain Connectivity Center, C. Mondino National Neurological Institute, Pavia, PV, Italy, 3 Department of Electrical, Computer and Biomedical Engineering, University of Pavia, Pavia, PV, Italy, 4 Neurology Unit, C. Mondino National Neurological Institute, Pavia, PV, Italy, 5 Brain MRI 3T Mondino Research Center, C. Mondino National Neurological Institute, Pavia, PV, Italy, 6 Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, PV, Italy, 7 NMR Research Unit, Department of Neuroinflammation, Queen Square MS Centre​, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, England, United Kingdom

Several resting-state fMRI studies have revealed a generalized alteration of the resting state networks (RSNs) in patients affected by Alzheimers disease but few studies have focused on the interaction between functional and structural global connectivity. We developed a small-world approach combining RSNs (nodes) and probabilistic tractography (edges) to investigate structural alterations inside those networks that were functionally impaired by the pathology. Our findings suggest that mean diffusivity is the best marker for graph-theory calculations and that it is essential to assess both functional and structural connectivity of RSNs to understand different stages of brain pathology and their evolution.

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