Cited by 2,113Dementia and Cognitive Impairment ResearchAlzheimer's disease research and treatmentsCancer-related cognitive impairment studies

The clinical use of structural MRI in Alzheimer disease

Open access
Frisoni, Giovanni B., Fox, Nick C., Jack, Clifford R., Scheltens, Philip, Thompson, Paul M.·2010·Nature Reviews Neurology

Abstract

Structural imaging based on magnetic resonance is an integral part of the clinical assessment of patients with suspected Alzheimer dementia. Prospective data on the natural history of change in structural markers from preclinical to overt stages of Alzheimer disease are radically changing how the disease is conceptualized, and will influence its future diagnosis and treatment. Atrophy of medial temporal structures is now considered to be a valid diagnostic marker at the mild cognitive impairment stage. Structural imaging is also included in diagnostic criteria for the most prevalent non-Alzheimer dementias, reflecting its value in differential diagnosis. In addition, rates of whole-brain and hippocampal atrophy are sensitive markers of neurodegeneration, and are increasingly used as outcome measures in trials of potentially disease-modifying therapies. Large multicenter studies are currently investigating the value of other imaging and nonimaging markers as adjuncts to clinical assessment in diagnosis and monitoring of progression. The utility of structural imaging and other markers will be increased by standardization of acquisition and analysis methods, and by development of robust algorithms for automated assessment.

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Crossref · 10.1038/nrneurol.2009.215

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147 of 147 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • AD pathology spreads from the entorhinal cortex and hippocampus to other connected medial temporal lobe regions and eventually throughout the brain, including the CBE in late clinical stages.

    “Neuroimaging studies have suggested that the pathology spreads from these regions to the other connected medial temporal lobe regions and eventually throughout the brain, including the CBE in late clinical stages (71–73).”

    From Comprehensive characterization of the transcriptional landscape in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) brains (2025) · cites this paper as [73]

    The Introduction (page unavailable) describes early involvement of the entorhinal cortex and hippocampus followed by progressive neocortical damage. The 'Atrophy as a neurodegeneration marker' section describes later atrophy in temporal, parietal and frontal neocortices. Our copy does not establish the claimed spread through other connected medial temporal regions or into the CBE in late-stage AD; its mention of cerebellar atrophy concerns multiple system atrophy, not AD. (LLM, conf=0.87)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Structural MRI has established itself as a reliable biomarker in the clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease.

    “Structural MRI has already established itself as a reliable biomarker in the clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (Dubois et al., 2007, Frisoni et al., 2010, Jack et al., 1997); characteristic grey matter reduction and ventricular enlargement can be visualised using standard T1-weighted sequences.”

    From In vivo imaging of tau pathology using multi-parametric quantitative MRI (2015) · cites this paper as Frisoni et al., 2010

  • MRI can overcome the weaknesses of positron emission tomography for Aβ plaque imaging.

    “These weaknesses can be overcome with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).5”

    From Amyloid Plaque Imaging with a Targeted MRI Contrast Agent in a Transgenic Mouse Model of Alzheimer’s Disease (2022) · cites this paper as [5]

    The ‘Atrophy as a neurodegeneration marker’ section describes structural MRI as measuring atrophy and distinguishes those measures from markers of Aβ deposition. The ‘Conclusions and future perspectives’ section discusses MRI alongside PET amyloid imaging, but does not identify weaknesses of PET plaque imaging or say MRI overcomes them. The available passages have no page numbers. (LLM, conf=0.74)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Hippocampal atrophy is more noticeable in demented subjects with AD than in non-demented subjects.

    “Hippocampal atrophy is more noticeable in demented subjects with AD than it is in non-demented subjects [41].”

    From Brain aging, Alzheimer's disease, and mitochondria (2011) · cites this paper as [41]

  • Neuroradiological indexes of hippocampal atrophy and episodic memory deficits are among the most powerful diagnostic indexes of AD from the very early phases.

    “neuroradiological indexes of hippocampal atrophy [3], [4] and, consistent with the well-known role of the hippocampus in human declarative memory [5], episodic memory deficits [6], [7] are among the most powerful diagnostic indexes of AD from the very early phases, corresponding to the clinical condition of amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI).”

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Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. [100]Ridha BH Tracking atrophy progression in familial Alzheimer's disease: a serial MRI study Lancet Neurol 5 828 834 2006 16987729

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Authors
Frisoni, G. B., Fox, N. C., Jack, C. R., Scheltens, P., & Thompson, P. M.
Affiliations
  • Centro San Giovanni di Dio Fatebenefratelli (IT)
  • UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology (GB)
  • Mayo Clinic (US)
  • Amsterdam UMC Location Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (NL)
  • University of California, Los Angeles (US)
Venue
Nature Reviews Neurology
Published
2010-02
Volume
6
Issue
2
Pages
67-77
ISSN
  • 1759-4758 (ISSN-L)
  • 1759-4766
OpenAlex
W2038003677
Cited by
2,113
References
147
Citations by year
2026: 193 · 2025: 195 · 2024: 160 · 2023: 161 · 2022: 150 · 2021: 157 · 2020: 163 · 2019: 114 · 2018: 138 · 2017: 122 · 2016: 88 · 2015: 102 · 2014: 100 · 2013: 89 · 2012: 85
FWCI
11.97
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Nature Reviews Neurology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Amsterdam UMC (VU Amsterdam) - Institutional Repository (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
  • Pure Amsterdam UMC (submittedVersion)
  • Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institute for Health and Care Research (NF-SI-0508-10123)
  • National Institutes of Health (5u01ag024904-10)
  • National Institute on Aging (U01-AG-024904, R01AG020098, R01AG011378, AG-11378, R56AG020098, AG020098, R37AG011378)
  • National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (R01EB008432, R01EB008281, R01EB007813, EB008281, EB 007813, EB008432)
  • National Center for Research Resources (P41RR013642, M01RR000865)
  • Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (HD 050735, R01HD050735)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Alzheimer's disease research and treatments
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine › Cancer-related cognitive impairment studies
Keywords
Alzheimer's disease, structural MRI, medial temporal lobe atrophy, mild cognitive impairment, non-Alzheimer's dementia, differential diagnosis, hippocampal atrophy, whole brain atrophy, neurodegeneration, disease progression, biomarkers, automated image analysis, clinical trial outcome measures
MeSH terms
Alzheimer Disease, Brain, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging

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