Longitudinal functional alterations in asymptomatic women at risk for Alzheimer's disease.
OBJECTIVE
The authors sought to determine whether known alterations of brain function in normal individuals who are at high risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD) worsen or stay the same after a significant interval of time.


METHODS
The authors used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to observe cortical activation during confrontation naming in 14 women with high AD risk and 10 with low risk, based on family history and apolipoprotein-E4 allele status. They repeated the identical scan protocol in the same patients after 4 years.


RESULTS
fMRI activation in high-AD-risk participants was found to be further diverged from that of their low-AD-risk counterparts over this period.


CONCLUSIONS
fMRI may report on the presence and progression of neuropathology in the ventral temporal cortex or in functionally connected regions in presymptomatic AD.
Smith
C D
CD
Department of Neurology, Magnetic Resonance Imaging Spectrometry Center (Davis-Mills) Room 62, University of Kentucky Medical Center, 800 Rose Street, Lexington, KY 40536, USA. csmith@mri.uky.edu
Kryscio
R J
RJ
Schmitt
F A
FA
Lovell
M A
MA
Blonder
L X
LX
Rayens
W S
WS
Andersen
A H
AH
D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000503:physiopathology; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D017352:Echo-Planar Imaging; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008875:Middle Aged; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013997:Time Factors