PURPOSE: To evaluate the feasibility of multicenter tractography of the cingulate bundle (CB) in Alzheimer's disease (AD). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Automated deterministic tractography of the CB was applied to scans of 45 patients with probable AD and 58 healthy controls (HC) acquired with Siemens Sonata (1.5T; 60 gradients), Trio (3T; 61 gradients), and Avanto (1.5T; 30 gradients). Diagnosis and center effects on the tracking indices fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), track density, and volume were estimated with analysis of variance. RESULTS: The multicenter coefficients of variance (CVs) in HC and AD patients were 7% and 7% for FA, 10% and 8% for MD, 18% and 20% for density, and 21% and 21% for volume. Multicenter and single-center CVs were within a similar range. Significant center effects declined in the order MD > FA > density > volume. After adjustment for center and age, the AD group showed significantly higher MD (P < 0.001) and lower FA (P < 0.05) as compared with the HC group. CONCLUSION: Despite strong center effects, we detected significantly altered microstructural integrity of the CB in AD patients. Diffusion-tensor imaging indices of the CB as obtained by automated tractography might qualify as a biologically sustained surrogate marker for diagnostic and monitoring purposes in multicenter AD trials.
PURPOSE: To evaluate the feasibility of multicenter tractography of the cingulate bundle (CB) in Alzheimer's disease (AD). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Automated deterministic tractography of the CB was applied to scans of 45 patients with probable AD and 58 healthy controls (HC) acquired with Siemens Sonata (1.5T; 60 gradients), Trio (3T; 61 gradients), and Avanto (1.5T; 30 gradients). Diagnosis and center effects on the tracking indices fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), track density, and volume were estimated with analysis of variance. RESULTS: The multicenter coefficients of variance (CVs) in HC and ADpatients were 7% and 7% for FA, 10% and 8% for MD, 18% and 20% for density, and 21% and 21% for volume. Multicenter and single-center CVs were within a similar range. Significant center effects declined in the order MD > FA > density > volume. After adjustment for center and age, the AD group showed significantly higher MD (P < 0.001) and lower FA (P < 0.05) as compared with the HC group. CONCLUSION: Despite strong center effects, we detected significantly altered microstructural integrity of the CB in ADpatients. Diffusion-tensor imaging indices of the CB as obtained by automated tractography might qualify as a biologically sustained surrogate marker for diagnostic and monitoring purposes in multicenter AD trials.
Authors: Kilian M Pohl; Edith V Sullivan; Torsten Rohlfing; Weiwei Chu; Dongjin Kwon; B Nolan Nichols; Yong Zhang; Sandra A Brown; Susan F Tapert; Kevin Cummins; Wesley K Thompson; Ty Brumback; Ian M Colrain; Fiona C Baker; Devin Prouty; Michael D De Bellis; James T Voyvodic; Duncan B Clark; Claudiu Schirda; Bonnie J Nagel; Adolf Pfefferbaum Journal: Neuroimage Date: 2016-02-10 Impact factor: 6.556
Authors: Junling Gao; Raymond T F Cheung; Ying-Shing Chan; Leung-Wing Chu; Henry K F Mak; Tatia M C Lee Journal: PLoS One Date: 2014-04-02 Impact factor: 3.240
Authors: Yu Zhang; Andrei A Vakhtin; Jennifer S Jennings; Payam Massaband; Max Wintermark; Patricia L Craig; J Wesson Ashford; J David Clark; Ansgar J Furst Journal: PLoS One Date: 2020-02-18 Impact factor: 3.240