Using Fractional Anisotropy Imaging to Detect Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer's Disease among Mexican Americans and Non-Hispanic Whites: A HABLE Study

James R Hall; Leigh A Johnson; Fan Zhang; Melissa Petersen; Arthur W Toga; Yonggang Shi; David Mason; Robert A Rissman; Kristine Yaffe; Sid E O'Bryant; HABLE Study

doi:10.1159/000518102

Using Fractional Anisotropy Imaging to Detect Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer's Disease among Mexican Americans and Non-Hispanic Whites: A HABLE Study

Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord. 2021;50(3):266-273. doi: 10.1159/000518102. Epub 2021 Sep 17.

Authors

James R Hall^{1

2}, Leigh A Johnson^{1

2}, Fan Zhang^{1

3}, Melissa Petersen^{1

3}, Arthur W Toga⁴, Yonggang Shi⁴, David Mason², Robert A Rissman^{5

6}, Kristine Yaffe^{7

8}, Sid E O'Bryant^{1

2}; HABLE Study

Affiliations

¹ Institute for Translational Research, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, Texas, USA.
² Department of Pharmacology and Neuroscience, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, Texas, USA.
³ Department of Family Medicine, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, Texas, USA.
⁴ Laboratory of Neuro Imaging, USC Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, Keck School of Medicine of USC, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA.
⁵ Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, California, USA.
⁶ Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, California, USA.
⁷ Department of Psychiatry, Neurology, and Epidemology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA.
⁸ San Francisco VA Medical Center, San Francisco, California, USA.

Abstract

Introduction: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most frequently occurring neurodegenerative disease; however, little work has been conducted examining biomarkers of AD among Mexican Americans. Here, we examined diffusion tensor MRI marker profiles for detecting mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia in a multi-ethnic cohort.

Methods: 3T MRI measures of fractional anisotropy (FA) were examined among 1,636 participants of the ongoing community-based Health & Aging Brain among Latino Elders (HABLE) community-based study (Mexican American n = 851; non-Hispanic white n = 785).

Results: The FA profile was highly accurate in detecting both MCI (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve [AUC] = 0.99) and dementia (AUC = 0.98). However, the FA profile varied significantly not only between diagnostic groups but also between Mexican Americans and non-Hispanic whites.

Conclusion: Findings suggest that diffusion tensor imaging markers may have a role in the neurodiagnostic process for detecting MCI and dementia among diverse populations.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; Diffusion tensor imaging; Fractional anisotropy; Mexican American; Mild cognitive impairment.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

Aged
Aging
Alzheimer Disease* / diagnostic imaging
Anisotropy
Brain / diagnostic imaging
Cognitive Dysfunction* / diagnostic imaging
Diffusion Tensor Imaging
Humans
Mexican Americans
Neurodegenerative Diseases*

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding