Altered locus coeruleus links to atrophy and hypometabolism in individuals with high Alzheimer's disease biomarkers - PubMed
4 hours ago
- #Alzheimer's disease
- #neuroimaging
- #locus coeruleus
- The locus coeruleus (LC) is the first region to show tau pathology in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and releases norepinephrine, which has neuroprotective effects.
- Study examined the relationship between LC integrity and whole-brain integrity, and how AD biomarkers may influence this relationship.
- LC intensity and volume were measured using neuromelanin-sensitive MRI in 71 cognitively unimpaired elderly individuals.
- LC intensity was directly associated with gray matter volume (GMV), while both LC intensity and volume interacted with AD biomarkers to predict GMV and glucose metabolism.
- Findings suggest that LC and gray matter alterations occur together in aging individuals with elevated AD biomarker levels.
- The study is part of the Age-Well randomized controlled trial (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02977819).