MRI measures of Alzheimer's disease and the AddNeuroMed study

Abstract

Here we describe the AddNeuroMed multicenter magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study for longitudinal assessment in Alzheimer's disease (AD). The study is similar to a faux clinical trial and has been established to assess longitudinal MRI changes in AD, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and healthy control subjects using an image acquisition protocol compatible with the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI). The approach consists of a harmonized MRI acquisition protocol across centers, rigorous quality control, a central data analysis hub, and an automated image analysis pipeline. Comprehensive quality control measures have been established throughout the study. An intelligent web-accessible database holds details on both the raw images and data processed using a sophisticated image analysis pipeline. A total of 378 subjects were recruited (130 AD, 131 MCI, 117 healthy controls) of which a high percentage (97.3%) of the T1-weighted volumes passed the quality control criteria. Measurements of normalized whole brain volume, whole brain cortical thickness, and point-by-point group-based cortical thickness measurements, demonstrating the power of the automated image analysis techniques employed, are reported.