Abstract #0330

Age-related microstructural and physiological changes in normal brain assessed via anomalous diffusion derived γ, DTI, DKI and NODDI metrics

Michele Guerreri^1,2, Marco Palombo³, Alessandra Caporale⁴, Emiliano Macaluso⁵, Marco Bozzali⁶, and Silvia Capuani²

¹SAIMLAL, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy, ²Institute for Complex Systems, CNR, Rome, Italy, ³Department of Computer Science & Centre for Medical Image Computing, University College London, London, United Kingdom, ⁴Laboratory for Structural, Physiologic and Functional Imaging, Perelman School of Medicine University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States, ⁵ImpAct Team, Neuroscience Research Center, Lyon, France, ⁶Neuroimaging Laboratory, Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy

In this study we used γ-metrics, derived from anomalous diffusion signal representation, as well as DTI, NODDI, DKI derived parameters to assess physiological (i.e. the iron content) and microstructural (myelin damage, axonal disintegration, neuron cell loss) modifications in cerebral WM and scGM of middle- and older-aged subjects. We found that γ-metrics are remarkably sensitive and provide complementary information compared to DTI-metrics, MK and NODDI to detect modifications in frontal WM, where substantial changes are expected with aging. Also, the combined use of these techniques may unravel different patterns of modifications of the ageing brain.

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