Key Findings
An international team including researchers from the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya has developed an index that quantifies asymmetrical deterioration of grey matter in the brain.
Higher asymmetry correlates with greater neurodegeneration and more severe symptoms in Alzheimer's disease. The index can distinguish between individuals with Alzheimer's disease and healthy individuals.
Background
Alzheimer's disease progresses over 15–20 years before symptoms appear. Traditionally, it was believed that the disease caused symmetrical brain deterioration. However, earlier work by this team found that, unlike healthy aging, Alzheimer's leads to asymmetrical loss of grey matter.
Study Details
The study focused on patients with a genetic form of Alzheimer's (less than 1% of cases), using data from:
- 60 participants from Hospital Clínic in Barcelona
- 564 participants from the DIAN project (Washington University in St. Louis)
Magnetic resonance images were analyzed with software measuring cortical thickness, and an algorithm was applied to calculate differences, yielding an asymmetry index.
Potential Applications
- Monitoring disease progression along the continuum from presymptomatic to advanced stages
- Assessing efficacy of new pharmacological treatments
- Identifying carriers of the APOE4 genotype or genetic mutations who have or lack symptoms
Next Steps
The researchers aim to replicate findings in sporadic Alzheimer's disease (the most common form) to validate the index.