The Role of Neuroimaging Biomarkers in the Early Diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease

Introduction: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a brain disorder that slowly destroys memory and thinking skillsand ultimately the ability to do simple things. The disease is incurable, degenerative and fatal. Six out of every۱۰۰ people who have passed the age of ۶۰ are at risk of developing the disease. Therefore, it is necessary to takethe diagnostic biomarkers of this disease seriously and take action to detect it early. MRI-based brain atrophyassessment is considered a valid method for staging and evaluating disease progression, and brain morphometricstudies using MRI imaging have been conducted by many researchers.Methods: For this study, platforms such as Scopus, Google Scholar, and PubMed were used to collect articlesrelated to the role of biomarkers in the early diagnosis of AD. We have presented a summary of the results ofthese articles.Results: According to our studies, white matter abnormalities occur in early AD and may actively contribute tothe progression of AD; on the other hand, functional and structural gray matter abnormalities parallel changesin the white matter of the brain, often associated with the destruction of tissue cells, resulting in smaller brainregions and widening of cerebral fissures. Both are potential biomarkers for early diagnosis of AD. Biomarkersare useful in the diagnosis of AD using various imaging techniques, including PET, resting-state fMRI (rsfMRI),and structural MRI (sMRI). The researchers evaluated the size of the hippocampus, amygdala, andfrontal and temporal lobes in three groups of people: AD, age-matched controls, and healthy young volunteers.Compared to young volunteers, brain atrophy occurred in both elderly groups, but it was more pronounced inAD patients: hippocampus ۳۸%, amygdala ۱۸%, frontal lobe ۱۶%, and temporal lobe ۷%. Changing the volumeof the hippocampus, amygdala, and frontal lobe alone yielded correct classifications in ۸۸%, ۵۸%, and ۶۵%,respectively. The data suggest that measuring hippocampal volume may be useful in the early diagnosis of ADusing neuroimaging biomarkers.Conclusion: Neuroimaging biomarkers promise to become important tools for the early detection of AD, so wesuggest further research on the detection of AD using different MRI techniques

کلیدواژه ها:

Alzheimer's disease ، MRI ، Hippocampus ، Amygdala ، Brain