Multimodal MRI Neuroimaging Biomarkers for Cognitive Normal Adults, Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment, and Alzheimer's Disease

Figure 10

Gray matter deficits spread through the limbic system in moderate AD. Average maps of gray matter density in patients and controls were subtracted at their first scan (A and B) and at their followup scan 1.5 years later (C and D). Colors show the average percentage loss of gray matter relative to the control average. Profound loss engulfs the left medial wall (>15%; B and D). On the right, however, the deficits in temporoparietal and entorhinal territory (A) spread forward into the cingulate gyrus 1.5 years later (C). Limbic and frontal zones clearly show different degrees of impairment (C). MRI-based changes, in living patients, agree strongly with the spatial progression of β-amyloid (Aβ) and NFT pathology observed after mortem (Braak Stages B, C, and III to VI), (adapted with permission from [37, 38]).