Associations between diffusion tensor imaging patterns and cerebrospinal fluid markers in mild cognitive impairment

Abstract

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) can be used to detect early signs of increased water diffusivity in white matter tracts in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). This study examined how DTI, alongside cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers (like tau proteins and amyloid-β), can help identify early brain changes in MCI. We included 159 individuals (92 with MCI and 67 healthy controls) from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) and extracted their demographics, CSF biomarkers, and DTI metrics. We compared the biomarkers (CSF biomarkers and DTI markers in 57 white matter tracts) between the two study groups using a general linear model, adjusting for age, sex, and handedness. CSF biomarker levels showed a statistically significant difference between the two study groups. Also, diffusion properties of left Cingulum and left Uncinate fasciculus in both groups were statistically different. Additionally, we explored possible associations between CSF and DTI markers in the MCI group. Our results indicated several statistically significant associations between DTI metrics and CSF biomarkers within specific white matter tracts. These findings underscore the complexity of imaging and molecular markers associated with MCI.