title: Subregional basal forebrain atrophy in Alzheimer's disease: a multicenter study.
abstract: Histopathological studies in Alzheimer's disease (AD) suggest severe and region-specific neurodegeneration of the basal forebrain cholinergic system (BFCS). Here, we studied the between-center reliability and diagnostic accuracy of MRI-based BFCS volumetry in a large multicenter data set, including participants with prodromal (n = 41) or clinically manifest AD (n = 134) and 148 cognitively healthy controls. Atrophy was determined using voxel-based and region-of-interest based analyses of high-dimensionally normalized MRI scans using a newly created map of the BFCS based on postmortem in cranio MRI and histology. The AD group showed significant volume reductions of all subregions of the BFCS, which were most pronounced in the posterior nucleus basalis Meynert (NbM). The mild cognitive impairment-AD group showed pronounced volume reductions in the posterior NbM, but preserved volumes of anterior-medial regions. Diagnostic accuracy of posterior NbM volume was superior to hippocampus volume in both groups, despite higher multicenter variability of the BFCS measurements. The data of our study suggest that BFCS morphometry may provide an emerging biomarker in AD.
authors: German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) Rostock/Greifswald, Rostock, Germany Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, Rostock University Medical Center, Rostock, Germany.
authors: Ingo
authors: I
authors: Kilimann
authors: German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) Rostock/Greifswald, Rostock, Germany.
authors: Michel
authors: M
authors: Grothe
authors: Laboratory of Morphological Brain Research, Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
authors: Helmut
authors: H
authors: Heinsen
authors: Laboratory of Morphological Brain Research, Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
authors: Eduardo Joaquim Lopez
authors: EJ
authors: Alho
authors: Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, USA Aging Brain Study Group, LIM-22, Department of Pathology, University of Sao Paulo Medical School, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
authors: Lea
authors: L
authors: Grinberg
authors: Department of Radiology, University of Sao Paulo, Medical School, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
authors: Edson
authors: E
authors: Amaro
authors: Department of Radiology, University of Sao Paulo, Medical School, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
authors: Gláucia Aparecida Bento
authors: GA
authors: Dos Santos
authors: Department of Radiology, University of Sao Paulo, Medical School, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
authors: Rafael Emídio
authors: RE
authors: da Silva
authors: Department of Psycho-oncology, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.
authors: Alex J
authors: AJ
authors: Mitchell
authors: LENITEM Laboratory of Epidemiology, Neuroimaging and Telemedicine, IRCCS Centro San Giovanni di Dio, FBF, Brescia, Italy.
authors: Giovanni B
authors: GB
authors: Frisoni
authors: Cognitive Systems Group, Discipline of Psychiatry, School of Medicine and Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience (TCIN), Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
authors: Arun L W
authors: AL
authors: Bokde
authors: Department of Psychiatry, University Medical Center of Mainz, Mainz, Germany.
authors: Andreas
authors: A
authors: Fellgiebel
authors: Neuroimaging Research Unit, Institute of Experimental Neurology, Division of Neuroscience, Scientific Institute and University "Vita-Salute" San Raffaele, Mailand, Italy.
authors: Massimo
authors: M
authors: Filippi
authors: Department of Psychiatry, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany.
authors: Harald
authors: H
authors: Hampel
authors: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Freiburg Brain Imaging, University Medical Center Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
authors: Stefan
authors: S
authors: Klöppel
authors: German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) Rostock/Greifswald, Rostock, Germany Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, Rostock University Medical Center, Rostock, Germany.
authors: Stefan J
authors: SJ
authors: Teipel
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001284:Atrophy / Q000209:etiology; D066187:Basal Forebrain / Q000473:pathology*; D060825:Cognitive Dysfunction / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008609:Mental Status Schedule; D008875:Middle Aged; D011180:Postmortem Changes
keywords: Atrophy; European DTI Study on Dementia; biomarker; cholinergic system; dementia