title: Magnetic resonance elastography of frontotemporal dementia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the feasibility of utilizing brain stiffness as a potential biomarker for behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) patients. Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) is a noninvasive technique for evaluating the mechanical properties of brain tissue in vivo. MRE has demonstrated decreased brain stiffness in patients with Alzheimer's disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  We examined five male subjects with bvFTD and nine cognitively normal age-matched male controls (NC) with brain 3T MRE. Stiffness was calculated in nine regions of interest (ROIs): whole brain (entire cerebrum excluding cerebellum), frontal lobes, occipital lobes, parietal lobes, temporal lobes, deep gray matter / white matter (GM/WM; insula, deep gray nuclei and white matter tracts), cerebellum, sensorimotor cortex (pre- and postcentral gyri), and a composite region labeled FT (frontal and temporal lobes excluding the pre- and postcentral gyri).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Significantly lower stiffness values were observed in the whole brain (P = 0.007), frontal lobe (P = 0.001), and temporal lobes (P = 0.005) of bvFTD patients compared to NC. No significant stiffness differences were observed in any other ROIs of bvFTD patients compared to NC (P > 0.05). These results demonstrate that statistically significant brain softening occurs in the frontal and temporal lobes of bvFTD patients, which corresponds to the expected pathophysiology of bvFTD.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Future studies evaluating the feasibility of brain MRE for early disease detection and monitoring disease progression could shed new insights into understanding the mechanisms involved in bvFTD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huston
authors.affiliation: Schools of the Health Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
authors.forename: Matthew C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Murphy
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA.
authors.forename: Bradley F
authors.initials: BF
authors.lastname: Boeve
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA.
authors.forename: Nikoo
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Fattahi
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA.
authors.forename: Arvin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Arani
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA.
authors.forename: Kevin J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Glaser
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Biomedical Engineering, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA.
authors.forename: Armando
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Manduca
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA.
authors.forename: David T
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA.
authors.forename: Richard L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Ehman
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods; D054459:Elasticity Imaging Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D057180:Frontotemporal Dementia / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
keywords: behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD); brain stiffness; frontotemporal dementia (FTD); magnetic resonance elastography (MRE)