Impairment of brain short association fibers across clinical stages in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a new biomarker mirroring disease progression - PubMed
4 days ago
- #Biomarker
- #NODDI
- #ALS
- The study evaluates microstructural impairment in brain short association fibers (SAFs) in ALS patients using NODDI.
- 87 ALS patients (categorized into four King's stages) and 37 healthy controls underwent diffusion-weighted imaging.
- Seven SAFs showed significant NDI differences across groups, correlating with disease severity.
- Progressive NDI reduction and ISO increase were observed at higher ALS stages.
- NDI values of SAFs were positively correlated with disease severity scores.
- Combining NDI and ISO showed moderate classification potential for ALS (AUC = 0.780).
- Neurite injury in SAFs worsened with clinical staging and motor disability in ALS.
- NODDI provides quantitative biomarkers for assessing ALS severity.