Diffusion-MRI in neurodegenerative disorders.
The ability to image the whole brain through ever more subtle and specific methods/contrasts has come to play a key role in understanding the basis of brain abnormalities in several diseases. In magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), "diffusion" (i.e. the random, thermally-induced displacements of water molecules over time) represents an extraordinarily sensitive contrast mechanism, and the exquisite structural detail it affords has proven useful in a vast number of clinical as well as research applications. Since diffusion-MRI is a truly quantitative imaging technique, the indices it provides can serve as potential imaging biomarkers which could allow early detection of pathological alterations as well as tracking and possibly predicting subtle changes in follow-up examinations and clinical trials. Accordingly, diffusion-MRI has proven useful in obtaining information to better understand the microstructural changes and neurophysiological mechanisms underlying various neurodegenerative disorders. In this review article, we summarize and explore the main applications, findings, perspectives as well as challenges and future research of diffusion-MRI in various neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Huntington's disease and degenerative ataxias.
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, and Institute for Health and Society, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA.
Joseph
J
Goveas
Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany.
Laurence
L
O'Dwyer
Department of Experimental and Clinical Biomedical Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, Italy; Quantitative and Functional Neuroradiology Research Program at Meyer Children and Careggi Hospitals of Florence, Florence, Italy.
Mario
M
Mascalchi
Department of Translational Research and New Surgical and Medical Technologies, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy; Unit of Neuroradiology, Pisa University Hospital "Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Pisana", Pisa, Italy.
Mirco
M
Cosottini
Department of Electrical, Electronic, and Information Engineering "Guglielmo Marconi", University of Bologna, Cesena, Italy.
Stefano
S
Diciotti
Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
Silvia
S
De Santis
Institute of Bioimaging and Molecular Physiology, National Research Council, Catanzaro, Italy; Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
Luca
L
Passamonti
Division of Radiology, "Versilia" Hospital, AUSL 12 Viareggio, Lido di Camaiore, Italy.
Carlo
C
Tessa
Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, Medical Physics Section, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Rome, Italy; Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Boston, MA, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Nicola
N
Toschi
Unit of Medical Physics, Pisa University Hospital "Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Pisana", Pisa, Italy. Electronic address: m.giannelli@ao-pisa.toscana.it.
Marco
M
Giannelli
D000465:Algorithms; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D003287:Contrast Media; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods*; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D019636:Neurodegenerative Diseases / Q000473:pathology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
D003287:Contrast Media
Alzheimer’s disease; Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; Degenerative ataxias; Diffusion-MRI; Huntington’s disease; Parkinson’s disease