Single time point high-dimensional morphometry in Alzheimer's disease: group statistics on longitudinally acquired data

Abstract

Quantitative assessment of medial temporal lobe atrophy has been proposed as a biomarker for Alzheimer's disease (AD) diagnostic and prognostic in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) due to AD. We present the first results of our high-dimensional morphometry technique, tracking tissue composition, and atrophy changes on T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging at various time points. We selected 187 control subjects, 17 control subjects having progressed to MCI and/or AD, 178 subjects with stable MCI, 165 subjects with MCI having progressed to AD, and 147 AD subjects from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative study. Results show statistically significant differences between almost every diagnostic and time point comparison pairs (0-12, 12-24, and 24-36 months), including controls having progressed to either MCI or AD and trajectory dynamics that demonstrate the algorithm's ability at tracking specific pathology-related neurodegeneration.

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease; High-dimensional morphometry; Magnetic resonance imaging; Medial temporal lobe atrophy; Mild cognitive impairment; Transverse analysis.