Loss of connectivity in Alzheimer's disease: an evaluation of white matter tract integrity with colour coded MR diffusion tensor imaging
- Stephen E Rosea,
- Fang Chena,
- Jonathan B Chalkb,
- Fernando O Zelayad,
- Wendy E Strugnellc,
- Mark Bensonc,
- James Semplee,
- David M Doddrella
- aCentre for Magnetic Resonance, University of Queensland, Brisbane 4072, Australia, bDepartment of Medicine, cDepartment of Radiology, Princess Alexandra Hospital, Woolloongabba, Brisbane, Australia, dInstitute of Psychiatry, DeCrespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF, UK, eSmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals, Addenbrooke's Centre for Clinical Investigation, Academic Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 2GG, UK
- Dr Stephen RoseStephen.Rose{at}cmr.uq.edu.au
- Received 23 September 1999
- Revised 5 April 2000
- Accepted 21 May 2000
Abstract
A NOVEL MRI METHOD diffusion tensor imaging—was used to compare the integrity of several white matter fibre tracts in patients with probable Alzheimer's disease. Relative to normal controls, patients with probable Alzheimer's disease showed a highly significant reduction in the integrity of the association white matter fibre tracts, such as the splenium of the corpus callosum, superior longitudinal fasciculus, and cingulum. By contrast, pyramidal tract integrity seemed unchanged. This novel finding is consistent with the clinical presentation of probable Alzheimer's disease, in which global cognitive decline is a more prominent feature than motor disturbance.
