title: Diffusion characteristics of the fornix in patients with Alzheimer's disease.
abstract: White matter degradation is a major part of the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The fornix is the predominant outflow tract from the hippocampus, and alterations to its microstructure in patients with AD are still being explored. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is an in vivo neuroimaging technique that can provide unique information about alterations in tissue microstructure, which can indicate underlying neurobiological process at the microstructural level. In this prospective study, DTI was used to assess and analyze the microstructural features of the fornix in subjects with AD (n = 17), mild cognitive impairment (MCI; n = 12) and healthy controls (n = 17). DTI was performed using Explore DTI software and the FSL package. Within the fornix, patients with AD showed decreased fractional anisotropy values and length of fiber tracts of the fornix relative to healthy controls, but higher mean diffusivity values. MCI subjects showed a trend towards elevated mean diffusivity values in the fornix. The data suggest that DTI provides supporting information on the microstructural alteration of the fornix in patients with AD, and that these diffusion characteristics of the fornix may be helpful for the clinical diagnosis of AD.
authors.affiliation: Neuroimaging center, Department of Radiology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University,6 Tiantan Xili, Dongcheng District, Beijing 100050, China.
authors.forename: Shou Xian
authors.initials: SX
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Linyi Central Hospital, 17 Kangfu Lu Linyi Shandong, 276400, China.
authors.forename: Qing Liang
authors.initials: QL
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Department of Neurology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, 6 Tiantan Xili, Dongcheng District, Beijing 100050, China.
authors.forename: Gui Hong
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Division of Nuclear Technology and Applications, Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
authors.forename: Shaofeng
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Duan
authors.affiliation: Division of Nuclear Technology and Applications, Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
authors.forename: Bao Ci
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Shan
authors.affiliation: Neuroimaging center, Department of Radiology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University,6 Tiantan Xili, Dongcheng District, Beijing 100050, China. Electronic address: 18310585304@163.com.
authors.forename: Jian Ping
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Dai
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D016880:Anisotropy; D060825:Cognitive Dysfunction / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D020712:Fornix, Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
keywords: Alzheimer’s Disease; Fornix; Fractional anisotropy; Mean diffusion