Advanced brain imaging detects early dementia changes

An international research team led by the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden has demonstrated that subtle brain changes associated with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) can be detected long before clinical symptoms emerge. Using a new MRI technique, the researchers identified early damage in the brain’s grey matter, potentially offering a way to diagnose the disease earlier and monitor its progression.

FTD is a neurodegenerative disorder that often affects people in middle age and is one of the most common causes of dementia before the age of 65. Because its early symptoms often resemble psychiatric disorders or overlap with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, early diagnosis has been particularly challenging. Roughly one-third of FTD cases are hereditary, making families with known genetic mutations valuable for research.

The study analyzed brain scans from over 700 participants, including individuals carrying FTD-linked gene mutations and healthy control subjects. Researchers used an advanced MRI method that measures how water molecules diffuse within brain tissue, a process that reveals microstructural damage even before the brain begins to shrink.

The results showed that this technique is more sensitive than traditional imaging methods that measure cortical thickness.

• In participants with a C9orf72 mutation, the team detected early brain changes before clinical symptoms appeared.
• In MAPT mutation carriers, differences were observed at mild symptom stages.
• For GRN mutations, alterations were visible only at more advanced disease stages.

“Our findings show that changes in the brain’s microstructure can be detected before visible brain atrophy, and these changes are closely linked to how the disease develops,” says Elena Rodriguez-Vieitez, researcher at the Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet.

This sensitivity could make the method an important tool for early detection and for evaluating new therapies aimed at slowing disease progression.

The study also revealed that individuals who showed greater water molecule diffusion at the start experienced faster cognitive and behavioral decline over time, a trend consistent across all three mutation types.

“Our results suggest that measurements of the brain’s microstructure could become an important tool for identifying individuals at risk of frontotemporal dementia and for monitoring disease progression in clinical trials,” adds Professor Caroline Graff, the study’s senior author.

COMPAMED-tradefair.com; Source: Karolinska Institutet