Abstract #0019

The Role of the Uncinate Fasciculus in the Development of Dementia: A DTI-Tractography Study

Laura Serra¹, Mara Cercignani¹, Roberta Perri², Barbara Span¹, Lucia Fadda^2,3, Camillo Marra⁴, Franco Giubilei⁵, Carlo Caltagirone^2,6, Marco Bozzali¹

¹Neuroimaging laboratory, Fondazione IRCCS Santa Lucia, Roma, Italy; ²Department of Clinical and Behavioural Neurology, Fondazione IRCCS Santa Lucia, Roma, Italy; ³Department of Neuroscience, , University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy; ⁴Institute of Neurology, Universit Cattolica, Roma, Italy; ⁵Department of Neurology, II Faculty of Medicine University of Rome, Sapienza, Rome, Italy; ⁶Department of Neuroscience, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy

The uncinate fasciculus (UF) connects temporal and frontal regions, traditionally implicated by pathological damage in dementia. We aimed at assessing, using DTI and tractography, the role of UF damage in the progression from mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to Alzheimers disease (AD), and whether its involvement could distinguish between patients with AD and patients with dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB). Fractional anisotropy was significantly reduced only in the UF of demented patients as compared to both, HS and a-MCI patients. This suggests that UF involvement is relevant for the development dementia, but it does not distinguish between AD and DLB.