Researchers advocate including MRI as diagnostic Alzheimer test
MRI scans that detect shrinkage in specific regions of the mid-brain attacked by Alzheimer's disease accurately diagnose the neurodegenerative disease, even before symptoms interfere with daily function, according to a study results published this month in Neurology.
The study, conducted by the Florida Alzheimer's Disease Research Center in Miami and Tampa, adds to a growing body of evidence indicating MRI brain scans provide diagnostic information about Alzheimer's disease, according to researchers. The findings are important in light of many new disease-modifying drugs in trials, such as treatments that may prevent mild memory loss from advancing to full-blown dementia if administered early enough, according to the study's lead author Ranjan Duara, MD, medical director of the Wien Center for Alzheimer's Disease and Memory Disorders at Mount Sinai Medical Center.
"We advocate, based on these findings, that the criteria for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease should include MRI scans," said Duara, who is affiliated with the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and University of South Florida College of Medicine. "By incorporating MRIs into the assessment of patients with memory problems, early diagnosis can be standardized and done far more accurately."
Researchers used a new visual rating system to evaluate the severity of atrophy in the brain's medial temporal lobe, specifically in three structures essential for the conscious memory of facts and events. They compared the MRI brain scans of 260 people: a group with probable Alzheimer's disease; two groups with varying degrees of mild cognitive impairment; and a control group of normal elderly with no discernable memory loss. They found that the scores generated by the MRI-facilitated test accurately distinguished each group from the other and correlated with the types of memory problems most frequently caused by Alzheimer's disease. The more extensive the brain atrophy, the more advanced the clinical stage of Alzheimer's disease.
The researchers even found brain atrophy in some people without memory complaints at the study's onset who demonstrated memory decline when assessed a year or two later. This suggests MRIs could predict who will get the disease well before signs of dementia become apparent by other diagnostic methods, as well as rule out an Alzheimer's diagnosis in people experiencing memory problems, Duara said.
"If you don't have changes in these three particular areas of the brain, then you don't have Alzheimer's,” Duara said. "Having an accurate diagnosis will allow us to start using drugs earlier. The earlier treatment begins, the more likely you are to stop disease progression and benefit the patient.”
Most participants in the MRI study were enrolled in the clinical arm of the Florida ADRC, which is supported by a grant from the National Institute on Aging, according to the researchers.
The study, conducted by the Florida Alzheimer's Disease Research Center in Miami and Tampa, adds to a growing body of evidence indicating MRI brain scans provide diagnostic information about Alzheimer's disease, according to researchers. The findings are important in light of many new disease-modifying drugs in trials, such as treatments that may prevent mild memory loss from advancing to full-blown dementia if administered early enough, according to the study's lead author Ranjan Duara, MD, medical director of the Wien Center for Alzheimer's Disease and Memory Disorders at Mount Sinai Medical Center.
"We advocate, based on these findings, that the criteria for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease should include MRI scans," said Duara, who is affiliated with the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and University of South Florida College of Medicine. "By incorporating MRIs into the assessment of patients with memory problems, early diagnosis can be standardized and done far more accurately."
Researchers used a new visual rating system to evaluate the severity of atrophy in the brain's medial temporal lobe, specifically in three structures essential for the conscious memory of facts and events. They compared the MRI brain scans of 260 people: a group with probable Alzheimer's disease; two groups with varying degrees of mild cognitive impairment; and a control group of normal elderly with no discernable memory loss. They found that the scores generated by the MRI-facilitated test accurately distinguished each group from the other and correlated with the types of memory problems most frequently caused by Alzheimer's disease. The more extensive the brain atrophy, the more advanced the clinical stage of Alzheimer's disease.
The researchers even found brain atrophy in some people without memory complaints at the study's onset who demonstrated memory decline when assessed a year or two later. This suggests MRIs could predict who will get the disease well before signs of dementia become apparent by other diagnostic methods, as well as rule out an Alzheimer's diagnosis in people experiencing memory problems, Duara said.
"If you don't have changes in these three particular areas of the brain, then you don't have Alzheimer's,” Duara said. "Having an accurate diagnosis will allow us to start using drugs earlier. The earlier treatment begins, the more likely you are to stop disease progression and benefit the patient.”
Most participants in the MRI study were enrolled in the clinical arm of the Florida ADRC, which is supported by a grant from the National Institute on Aging, according to the researchers.