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Abstract #4252

Early and Late Onset Alzheimers Disease Patients Have Distinct Patterns of White Matter Damage

Elisa Canu1, Federica Agosta1, Michela Pievani1,2, Giovanni B. Frisoni3, Massimo Filippi1

1Neuroimaging Research Unit, Institute of Experimental Neurology, Division of Neuroscience, Scientific Institute and University Hospital San Raffaele, Milan, Italy; 2LENITEM, IRCCS S.Giovanni di Dio, Fatebenefratelli, Brescia, Italy; 3LENITEM, IRCCS Centro San Giovanni di Dio - FatebenefratelliIRCCS Centro San Giovanni di Dio, Fatebenefratell, Brescia, Italy


SPM5 and the DARTEL method were used to perform a VBM analysis to assess WM differences in 14 early onset AD (EOAD) and 15 late onset AD (LOAD) vs. age- and gender-matched healthy controls (HC). Compared to HC, in EOAD patients, WM loss was mapped mainly to the posterior regions such as the posterior cingulum and the lateral parietal regions, bilaterally. In LOAD patients, WM loss was confined to the medial temporal lobe in the parahippocampal regions. Our findings indicate that EOAD and LOAD patients differ in the topography of WM damage, which reflects the pattern of cortical loss.