Quantification of Fornix Tracts in MCI and AD

Darryl Hwa Hwang¹, Sinchai Tsao¹, Manbir Singh¹

Alzheimer Disease and Mild Cognitive Impairment are physically manifested in the form of an atrophied hippocampus and degeneration of the fornix tracts. Most previous studies of tract quantification have been based on subjective hippocampal regions of interest. This study uses Freesurfer defined objective hippocampal regions and a novel ICV-based seed distribution normalization method to show the effects of AD and MCI on the fornix tract counts. Results suggest progressive reduction in fornix tracts from MCI to AD.