Alzheimer’s disease and the fornix
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of neurodegenerative dementia. Researchers have long been focused on the cortical pathology of AD, since the most important pathologic features are the senile plaques found in the cortex, and the neurofibrillary tangles and neuronal loss that begin in...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2014-09-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnagi.2014.00241/full |
| _version_ | 1819021579435114496 |
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| author | Kenichi eOishi Constantine eLyketsos Constantine eLyketsos Constantine eLyketsos |
| author_facet | Kenichi eOishi Constantine eLyketsos Constantine eLyketsos Constantine eLyketsos |
| author_sort | Kenichi eOishi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of neurodegenerative dementia. Researchers have long been focused on the cortical pathology of AD, since the most important pathologic features are the senile plaques found in the cortex, and the neurofibrillary tangles and neuronal loss that begin in the entorhinal cortex and the hippocampus. In addition to these gray matter structures, histopathological studies indicate that the white matter is also a good target for both the early diagnosis of AD and for monitoring disease progression. The fornix is a white matter bundle that constitutes a core element of the limbic circuits, and is one of the most important anatomical structures related to memory. Functional and anatomical features of the fornix have naturally captured researchers’ attention as possible diagnostic and prognostic markers of AD. Indeed, neurodegeneration of the fornix has been histologically observed in AD, and growing evidence indicates that the alterations seen in the fornix are potentially a good marker to predict future conversion from mild cognitive impairment to AD, and even from cognitively normal individuals to AD. The degree of alteration is correlated with the degree of memory impairment, indicating the potential for the use of the fornix as a functional marker. Moreover, there have been attempts to stimulate the fornix using deep brain stimulation (DBS) to augment cognitive function in AD, and ongoing research has suggested positive effects of DBS on brain glucose metabolism in AD patients. On the other hand, disease specificity for fornix degeneration, methodologies to evaluate fornix degeneration, and the clinical significance of the fornix DBS, especially for the long-term impact on the quality of life, are mostly unknown and need to be elucidated. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-21T04:09:21Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d8614296a3de47699611d2ca87764fa1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1663-4365 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T04:09:21Z |
| publishDate | 2014-09-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience |
| spelling | doaj.art-d8614296a3de47699611d2ca87764fa12022-12-21T19:16:31ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience1663-43652014-09-01610.3389/fnagi.2014.00241108744Alzheimer’s disease and the fornixKenichi eOishi0Constantine eLyketsos1Constantine eLyketsos2Constantine eLyketsos3Johns Hopkins UniversityJohns Hopkins UniversityJohns Hopkins HospitalJohns Hopkins Bayview Medical CenterAlzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of neurodegenerative dementia. Researchers have long been focused on the cortical pathology of AD, since the most important pathologic features are the senile plaques found in the cortex, and the neurofibrillary tangles and neuronal loss that begin in the entorhinal cortex and the hippocampus. In addition to these gray matter structures, histopathological studies indicate that the white matter is also a good target for both the early diagnosis of AD and for monitoring disease progression. The fornix is a white matter bundle that constitutes a core element of the limbic circuits, and is one of the most important anatomical structures related to memory. Functional and anatomical features of the fornix have naturally captured researchers’ attention as possible diagnostic and prognostic markers of AD. Indeed, neurodegeneration of the fornix has been histologically observed in AD, and growing evidence indicates that the alterations seen in the fornix are potentially a good marker to predict future conversion from mild cognitive impairment to AD, and even from cognitively normal individuals to AD. The degree of alteration is correlated with the degree of memory impairment, indicating the potential for the use of the fornix as a functional marker. Moreover, there have been attempts to stimulate the fornix using deep brain stimulation (DBS) to augment cognitive function in AD, and ongoing research has suggested positive effects of DBS on brain glucose metabolism in AD patients. On the other hand, disease specificity for fornix degeneration, methodologies to evaluate fornix degeneration, and the clinical significance of the fornix DBS, especially for the long-term impact on the quality of life, are mostly unknown and need to be elucidated.http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnagi.2014.00241/fullDiffusion Tensor ImagingLimbic SystemMagnetic Resonance ImagingMild Cognitive ImpairmentAlzheimer’s diseasedeep brain stimulation (DBS) |
| spellingShingle | Kenichi eOishi Constantine eLyketsos Constantine eLyketsos Constantine eLyketsos Alzheimer’s disease and the fornix Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience Diffusion Tensor Imaging Limbic System Magnetic Resonance Imaging Mild Cognitive Impairment Alzheimer’s disease deep brain stimulation (DBS) |
| title | Alzheimer’s disease and the fornix |
| title_full | Alzheimer’s disease and the fornix |
| title_fullStr | Alzheimer’s disease and the fornix |
| title_full_unstemmed | Alzheimer’s disease and the fornix |
| title_short | Alzheimer’s disease and the fornix |
| title_sort | alzheimer s disease and the fornix |
| topic | Diffusion Tensor Imaging Limbic System Magnetic Resonance Imaging Mild Cognitive Impairment Alzheimer’s disease deep brain stimulation (DBS) |
| url | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnagi.2014.00241/full |
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