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- Title
Increased water diffusion in cerebral white matter in Alzheimer's disease.
- Authors
Hanyu, Haruo; Shindo, Hiroaki; Kakizaki, Dai; Abe, Kimihiko; Iwamoto, Toshihiko; Takasaki, Masaru; Hanyu, H; Shindo, H; Kakizaki, D; Abe, K; Iwamoto, T; Takasaki, M
- Abstract
We investigated the changes in water diffusion in the cerebral white matter in 19 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), including 11 without and 8 with periventricular hyperintensity (PVH) lesions, using diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The apparent diffusion coefficients in the anterior and posterior white matter were significantly higher in the 19 AD patients than in the 10 age-matched controls. The apparent diffusion coefficients were higher in patients with PVH than in those without. The anisotropic ratios, defined as diffusion restricted perpendicular to the direction of the nerve fibers, were significantly higher in AD patients, even in those without PVH, than in the controls. Our results suggest that mild myelin loss occurs in AD patients even in the apparently normal white matter. A definite loss of myelin and axons, including incomplete infarction, occurs in the white matter, as seen on T2-weighted images as PVH. Studies with diffusion-weighted MRI may allow the characterization of different pathological processes and enable the demonstration of underlying white matter lesions in AD that cannot be visualized by conventional MRI.
- Subjects
ALZHEIMER'S disease diagnosis; ALZHEIMER'S disease; CEREBRAL cortex; MAGNETIC resonance imaging; NEURONS; WATER
- Publication
Gerontology, 1997, Vol 43, Issue 6, p343
- ISSN
0304-324X
- Publication type
journal article
- DOI
10.1159/000213874