Imaging and Molecular Mechanisms of Alzheimer's Disease: A Review

Int J Mol Sci. 2018 Nov 22;19(12):3702. doi: 10.3390/ijms19123702.

Abstract

Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia and is a significant burden for affected patients, carers, and health systems. Great advances have been made in understanding its pathophysiology, to a point that we are moving from a purely clinical diagnosis to a biological one based on the use of biomarkers. Among those, imaging biomarkers are invaluable in Alzheimer's, as they provide an in vivo window to the pathological processes occurring in Alzheimer's brain. While some imaging techniques are still under evaluation in the research setting, some have reached widespread clinical use. In this review, we provide an overview of the most commonly used imaging biomarkers in Alzheimer's disease, from molecular PET imaging to structural MRI, emphasising the concept that multimodal imaging would likely prove to be the optimal tool in the future of Alzheimer's research and clinical practice.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; magnetic resonance imaging (MRI); positron emission tomography (PET).

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Alzheimer Disease / diagnostic imaging*
  • Alzheimer Disease / metabolism
  • Animals
  • Blood-Brain Barrier / diagnostic imaging
  • Blood-Brain Barrier / metabolism
  • Humans
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging / methods
  • Plaque, Amyloid / diagnostic imaging
  • Plaque, Amyloid / metabolism
  • Positron-Emission Tomography / methods
  • tau Proteins / metabolism

Substances

  • tau Proteins