Joseph Mettenburg1, David N. Daniels1,
Yvette I. Sheline, 12, Beau Ances3, Huiling Peng3,
Abraham Z. Snyder1, John C. Morris3, Mark A. Mintun1,
Tammie L.S. Benzinger4
1Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology,
Washington University in Saint Louis; 2Psychiatry, Washington
University in Saint Louis; 3Neurology, Washington University in
Saint Louis; 4Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington
University in Saint Louis, St. Louis, MO, United States
Amyloid
plaque deposition in the brain is one of the key pathological hallmarks of
Alzheimers disease. Recently, CSF
amyloid beta42 peptide levels and PET scans using C-11 Pittsburgh Compound B
(PIB) have been established as potential biomarkers for dementia of the
Alzheimers type (DAT). Using DTI, we
evaluated white matter microstructure in subjects with and without
established DAT and identified differences in both the corpus callosum and
precuneus. The same white matter
findings were identified in non-demented subjects with positive CSF and
PIB-PET, suggesting that microstructural abnormalities in white matter
integrity may precede cognitive changes in DAT.
Keywords