C-NODDI: a constrained NODDI model for axonal density and orientation determinations in cerebral white matter.

Purpose: Neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI) provides measures of neurite density and dispersion through computation of the neurite density index (NDI) and the orientation dispersion index (ODI). However, NODDI overestimates the cerebrospinal fluid water fraction in white matter (WM) and provides physiologically unrealistic high NDI values. Furthermore, derived NDI values are echo-time (TE)-dependent.

REUSED: A deep neural network method for rapid whole-brain high-resolution myelin water fraction mapping from extremely under-sampled MRI.

Changes in myelination are a cardinal feature of brain development and the pathophysiology of several central nervous system diseases, including multiple sclerosis and dementias. Advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) methods have been developed to probe myelin content through the measurement of myelin water fraction (MWF). However, the prolonged data acquisition and post-processing times of current MWF mapping methods pose substantial hurdles to their clinical implementation.

Lower Myelin Content Is Associated With Lower Gait Speed in Cognitively Unimpaired Adults.

Mounting evidence indicates that abnormal gait speed predicts the progression of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease. Understanding the relationship between white matter integrity, especially myelination, and motor function is crucial to the diagnosis and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. We recruited 118 cognitively unimpaired adults across an extended age range of 22-94 years to examine associations between rapid or usual gait speeds and cerebral myelin content.

Lower myelin content is associated with more rapid cognitive decline among cognitively unimpaired individuals.

Introduction: The influence of myelination on longitudinal changes in cognitive performance remains unclear.

Methods: For each participant (N = 123), longitudinal cognitive scores were calculated. Myelin content was probed using myelin water fraction (MWF) or longitudinal relaxation rate (R ); both are MRI measures sensitive to myelin, with MWF being specific.

Adult lifespan maturation and degeneration patterns in gray and white matter: A mean apparent propagator (MAP) MRI study.

The relationship between brain microstructure and aging has been the subject of intense study, with diffusion MRI perhaps the most effective modality for elucidating these associations. Here, we used the mean apparent propagator (MAP)-MRI framework, which is suitable to characterize complex microstructure, to investigate age-related cerebral differences in a cohort of cognitively unimpaired participants and compared the results to those derived using diffusion tensor imaging. We studied MAP-MRI metrics, among them the non-Gaussianity (NG) and propagator anisotropy (PA), and established an opposing pattern in white matter of higher NG alongside lower PA among older adults, likely indicative of axonal degradation.

Evidence of An Association Between Cerebral Blood Flow and Microstructural Integrity in Normative Aging Using a Holistic MRI Approach.

Background: Cerebral tissue integrity decline and cerebral blood flow (CBF) alteration are major aspects of motor and cognitive dysfunctions and neurodegeneration. However, little is known about the association between blood flow and brain microstructural integrity, especially in normal aging.

Purpose: To assess the association between CBF and cerebral microstructural integrity.

Association of Cerebral Blood Flow With Longitudinal Changes in Cerebral Microstructural Integrity in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study.

Importance: Decreased cerebral tissue integrity and cerebral blood flow (CBF) are features of neurodegenerative diseases. Brain tissue maintenance is an energy-demanding process, making it particularly sensitive to hypoperfusion. However, little is known about the association between blood flow and brain microstructural integrity, including in normative aging.

Differential associations between apolipoprotein E alleles and cerebral myelin content in normative aging.

Mounting evidence indicates that myelin breakdown may represent an early phenomenon in neurodegeneration, including Alzheimer's disease (AD). Understanding the factors influencing myelin synthesis and breakdown will be essential for the development and evaluation of therapeutic interventions. In this work, we assessed associations between genetic variance in apolipoprotein E (APOE) and cerebral myelin content.

Insights into human cerebral white matter maturation and degeneration across the adult lifespan.

White matter (WM) microstructural properties change across the adult lifespan and with neuronal diseases. Understanding microstructural changes due to aging is paramount to distinguish them from neuropathological changes. Conducted on a large cohort of 147 cognitively unimpaired subjects, spanning a wide age range of 21 to 94 years, our study evaluated sex- and age-related differences in WM microstructure.

Cerebral aggregate g-ratio mapping using magnetic resonance relaxometry and diffusion tensor imaging to investigate sex and age-related differences in white matter microstructure.

Axonal demyelination is a cardinal feature of aging and age-related diseases. The g-ratio, mathematically defined as the inner-to-outer diameter of a myelinated axon, is used as a structural index of optimal axonal myelination and has been shown to represent a sensitive imaging biomarker of microstructural integrity. Several magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) methods for whole-brain mapping of aggregate g-ratio have been introduced.

Characterization of Age-Related Differences in the Human Choroid Plexus Volume, Microstructural Integrity, and Blood Perfusion Using Multiparameter Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

The choroid plexus (CP) is an important cerebral structure involved in cerebrospinal fluid production and transport of solutes into the brain. Recent studies have uncovered the involvement of the CP in neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and multiple sclerosis. However, our understanding of human age-related microstructural and functional changes in the CP with aging and neuropathology is limited.

Investigation of the association between cerebral iron content and myelin content in normative aging using quantitative magnetic resonance neuroimaging.

Myelin loss and iron accumulation are cardinal features of aging and various neurodegenerative diseases. Oligodendrocytes incorporate iron as a metabolic substrate for myelin synthesis and maintenance. An emerging hypothesis in Alzheimer's disease research suggests that myelin breakdown releases substantial stores of iron that may accumulate, leading to further myelin breakdown and neurodegeneration.