Longitudinal neuroimaging biomarkers in Huntington's Disease

Abstract

Identifying markers able to characterise the progression of Huntington's Disease (HD) is of great importance to the HD research community, as such markers may provide valuable outcome measures in future clinical trials. Neuroimaging measures are obvious candidates because of their clear relevance to the neuropathology of the disease. Many also show improved precision and sensitivity compared with standard functional scales. This review summarizes findings from the wealth of longitudinal imaging studies in the literature, focusing on the most widely available imaging modalities: structural MRI (volumetric and diffusion imaging), functional MRI and PET. We discuss the longitudinal sensitivity, reproducibility and feasibility of each imaging modality for use in clinical trials.

Keywords: Huntington's disease; biomarkers; diffusion mri; functional mri; longitudinal studies; magnetic resonance imaging; positron emission tomography.