Alessandro Galgani, Giovanni Palermo, Francesco Lombardo, Nicola Martini, Luca Bastiani, Andrea Vergallo, Luca Tommasini, Gabriele Bellini, Filippo Baldacci, Daniela Frosini, Gloria Tognoni, Marco Gesi, Filippo Cademartiri, Francesco Fornai, Nicola Pavese, Roberto Ceravolo and Filippo Sean Giorgi* Pages 277 - 288 ( 12 )
<p>Background: The integrity of Locus Coeruleus can be evaluated in vivo using specific Magnetic Resonance Imaging sequences. While this nucleus has been shown to be degenerated both in post-mortem and in vivo studies in Alzheimer’s Disease, for other neurodegenerative dementias such as Dementia with Lewy Bodies this has only been shown ex-vivo. <p> Objective: To evaluate the integrity of the Locus Coeruleus through Magnetic Resonance Imaging in patients suffering from Dementia with Lewy Bodies and explore the possible differences with the Locus Coeruleus alterations occurring in Alzheimer’s Dementia. <p> Methods: Eleven patients with Dementia with Lewy Bodies and 35 with Alzheimer’s Dementia were recruited and underwent Locus Coeruleus Magnetic Resonance Imaging, along with 52 cognitively intact, age-matched controls. Images were analyzed applying an already developed template-based approach; Locus Coeruleus signal was expressed through the Locus Coeruleus Contrast Ratio parameter, and a locoregional analysis was performed. <p> Results: Both groups of patients showed significantly lower values of Locus Coeruleus Contrast Ratio when compared to controls. A different pattern of spatial involvement was found; patients affected by Dementia with Lewy bodies showed global and bilateral involvement of the Locus Coeruleus, whereas the alterations in Alzheimer’s Dementia patients were more likely to be localized in the rostral part of the left nucleus. <p> Conclusions: Magnetic Resonance Imaging successfully detects widespread Locus Coeruleus degeneration in patients suffering from Dementia with Lewy Bodies. Further studies, in larger cohorts and in earlier stages of the disease, are needed to better disclose the potential diagnostic and prognostic role of this neuroradiological tool.</p>
Locus coeruleus, dementia with lewy bodies, Alzheimer’s disease, MRI, synuclein, noradrenaline, dementia.