Medical Physics Seminar – Monday, February 14, 2022
Characterizing Deterioration in White Matter Microstructure Associated with Aging and Alzheimers Disease Dementia
Jason Frank Moody, MS
Graduate Research Assistant - Alexander Lab
White matter deterioration is a hallmark of cognitive decline and Alzheimers disease (AD) dementia in aging adults. Recent evidence suggests that alterations in white matter microstructure are a critical component of early AD pathophysiology, with some studies suggesting that white matter degeneration may precede cortical gray matter atrophy. Using several diffusion-weighted MRI models and associated biomarkers of neurodegeneration, we assessed the relationships between changes in white matter microstructure, age, cerebrospinal fluid markers of AD pathology, and AD clinical status in hundreds of late-middle-aged adults along the AD continuum.