White matter tract integrity in aging and Alzheimer's disease.

The pattern of degenerative changes in the brain white matter (WM) in aging, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and Alzheimer's disease (AD) has been under debate. Methods of image analysis are an important factor affecting the outcomes of various studies. Here we used diffusion tensor imaging (D...

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Main Authors: Damoiseaux, J, Smith, S, Witter, M, Sanz-Arigita, E, Barkhof, F, Scheltens, P, Stam, C, Zarei, M, Rombouts, SA
Format: Journal article
Language:English
Published: 2009
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author Damoiseaux, J
Smith, S
Witter, M
Sanz-Arigita, E
Barkhof, F
Scheltens, P
Stam, C
Zarei, M
Rombouts, SA
author_facet Damoiseaux, J
Smith, S
Witter, M
Sanz-Arigita, E
Barkhof, F
Scheltens, P
Stam, C
Zarei, M
Rombouts, SA
author_sort Damoiseaux, J
collection OXFORD
description The pattern of degenerative changes in the brain white matter (WM) in aging, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and Alzheimer's disease (AD) has been under debate. Methods of image analysis are an important factor affecting the outcomes of various studies. Here we used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to obtain fractional anisotropy (FA) measures of the WM in healthy young (n = 8), healthy elderly (n = 22), MCI (n = 8), and AD patients (n = 16). We then applied "tract-based spatial statistics" (TBSS) to study the effects of aging, MCI, and AD on WM integrity. Our results show that changes in WM integrity (that is, decreases in FA) are different between healthy aging and AD: in healthy older subjects compared with healthy young subjects decreased FA was primarily observed in frontal, parietal, and subcortical areas whereas in AD, compared with healthy older subjects, decreased FA was only observed in the left anterior temporal lobe. This different pattern of decreased anatomical connectivity in normal aging and AD suggests that AD is not merely accelerated aging.
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spelling oxford-uuid:7bb70d5c-1d85-430a-b3b7-f1123597e4b92022-03-26T20:52:25ZWhite matter tract integrity in aging and Alzheimer's disease.Journal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:7bb70d5c-1d85-430a-b3b7-f1123597e4b9EnglishSymplectic Elements at Oxford2009Damoiseaux, JSmith, SWitter, MSanz-Arigita, EBarkhof, FScheltens, PStam, CZarei, MRombouts, SAThe pattern of degenerative changes in the brain white matter (WM) in aging, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and Alzheimer's disease (AD) has been under debate. Methods of image analysis are an important factor affecting the outcomes of various studies. Here we used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to obtain fractional anisotropy (FA) measures of the WM in healthy young (n = 8), healthy elderly (n = 22), MCI (n = 8), and AD patients (n = 16). We then applied "tract-based spatial statistics" (TBSS) to study the effects of aging, MCI, and AD on WM integrity. Our results show that changes in WM integrity (that is, decreases in FA) are different between healthy aging and AD: in healthy older subjects compared with healthy young subjects decreased FA was primarily observed in frontal, parietal, and subcortical areas whereas in AD, compared with healthy older subjects, decreased FA was only observed in the left anterior temporal lobe. This different pattern of decreased anatomical connectivity in normal aging and AD suggests that AD is not merely accelerated aging.
spellingShingle Damoiseaux, J
Smith, S
Witter, M
Sanz-Arigita, E
Barkhof, F
Scheltens, P
Stam, C
Zarei, M
Rombouts, SA
White matter tract integrity in aging and Alzheimer's disease.
title White matter tract integrity in aging and Alzheimer's disease.
title_full White matter tract integrity in aging and Alzheimer's disease.
title_fullStr White matter tract integrity in aging and Alzheimer's disease.
title_full_unstemmed White matter tract integrity in aging and Alzheimer's disease.
title_short White matter tract integrity in aging and Alzheimer's disease.
title_sort white matter tract integrity in aging and alzheimer s disease
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