Longitudinal imaging: change and causality

Purpose of reviewLongitudinal studies that use MRI scans performed over multiple time-points have been increasingly employed in the study of different neurological disorders, including degenerative dementia, multiple sclerosis, and epilepsy. Recent findingsAlthough it is well established that increased rates of brain atrophy occur in degenerative dementia and multiple sclerosis, recent data have further described these changes and demonstrated that they correlate with both cognitive and functional decline. Advanced voxel-level techniques have also provided detailed descriptions of regional patterns of change, and a few studies have started to investigate changes over multiple MRI enabling the trajectories of brain loss over time to be determined. Researchers have also started to more thoroughly investigate the underlying causes of brain atrophy. Correlations have been observed between rate of brain atrophy and the presence of abnormal protein deposits in the brain in dementia, and the lesion burden in multiple sclerosis. However, longitudinal studies on epilepsy have been inconsistent, with very little recent data. SummaryRecent data further support the suggestion that longitudinal MRI provides a good biomarker of disease progression in dementia and multiple sclerosis, though more work needs to be performed to define the role of longitudinal imaging in epilepsy.

[1]  Jennifer L. Whitwell,et al.  Rates of brain atrophy over time in autopsy-proven frontotemporal dementia and Alzheimer disease , 2008, NeuroImage.

[2]  Rebecca S. N. Liu,et al.  The structural consequences of newly diagnosed seizures , 2002, Annals of neurology.

[3]  Gary A. Ford,et al.  Brain atrophy and white matter hyperintensity change in older adults and relationship to blood pressure , 2007, Journal of Neurology.

[4]  Hiroaki Kazui,et al.  Does donepezil treatment slow the progression of hippocampal atrophy in patients with Alzheimer's disease? , 2005, The American journal of psychiatry.

[5]  Jan Hillert,et al.  Progression of non-age-related callosal brain atrophy in multiple sclerosis: a 9-year longitudinal MRI study representing four decades of disease development. , 2007, Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry.

[6]  Nick C Fox,et al.  Magnetic resonance imaging measures of brain atrophy in multiple sclerosis , 2006, Journal of magnetic resonance imaging : JMRI.

[7]  Nick C Fox,et al.  Brain atrophy progression measured from registered serial MRI: Validation and application to alzheimer's disease , 1997, Journal of magnetic resonance imaging : JMRI.

[8]  Marco Battaglini,et al.  Association of neocortical volume changes with cognitive deterioration in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. , 2007, Archives of neurology.

[9]  C. Jack,et al.  MR‐based hippocampal volumetry in the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease , 1992, Neurology.

[10]  Alexander Hammers,et al.  Progressive neocortical damage in epilepsy , 2003, Annals of neurology.

[11]  John Ashburner,et al.  A tensor based morphometry study of longitudinal gray matter contraction in FTD , 2007, NeuroImage.

[12]  Marco Rovaris,et al.  Intercenter agreement of brain atrophy measurement in multiple sclerosis patients using manually‐edited SIENA and SIENAX , 2007, Journal of magnetic resonance imaging : JMRI.

[13]  Sharon E. Lee,et al.  Cerebral Ventricular Changes Associated With Transitions Between Normal Cognitive Function, Mild Cognitive Impairment, and Dementia , 2007, Alzheimer disease and associated disorders.

[14]  D. Miller,et al.  Relationship of triple dose contrast enhanced lesions with clinical measures and brain atrophy in early relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis: a two-year longitudinal study , 2007, Multiple sclerosis.

[15]  M. Könönen,et al.  Hippocampal damage in newly diagnosed focal epilepsy , 2005, Neurology.

[16]  J. Carel.  Treatment of Children Born Short for Gestational Age: A European Perspective , 2005, Hormone Research in Paediatrics.

[17]  Martola Juha,et al.  Progression of non-age-related callosal brain atrophy in multiple sclerosis: a 9-year longitudinal MRI study representing four decades of disease development , 2006, Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry.

[18]  C. Jack,et al.  Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative , 2008 .

[19]  C. Jack,et al.  3D maps from multiple MRI illustrate changing atrophy patterns as subjects progress from mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer's disease. , 2007, Brain : a journal of neurology.

[20]  C. Jack,et al.  Longitudinal MRI findings from the vitamin E and donepezil treatment study for MCI , 2008, Neurobiology of Aging.

[21]  S. Schuchmann,et al.  Recurrent seizures do not cause hippocampal damage , 2004, Journal of Neurology.

[22]  V. M. Anderson BSc,et al.  Detecting treatment effects on brain atrophy in relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis: Sample size estimates , 2007, Journal of Neurology.

[23]  Louis Lemieux,et al.  Cerebral Damage in Epilepsy: A Population‐based Longitudinal Quantitative MRI Study , 2005, Epilepsia.

[24]  Aashit Shah,et al.  Hippocampal sclerosis is a progressive disorder: A longitudinal volumetric MRI study , 2003, Annals of neurology.

[25]  J. Ashburner,et al.  Atrophy progression in semantic dementia with asymmetric temporal involvement: A tensor-based morphometry study , 2009, Neurobiology of Aging.

[26]  M. Mintun,et al.  Brain volume decline in aging: evidence for a relation between socioeconomic status, preclinical Alzheimer disease, and reserve. , 2008, Archives of neurology.

[27]  J. Ranjeva,et al.  Onset and underpinnings of white matter atrophy at the very early stage of multiple sclerosis - a two-year longitudinal MRI/MRSI study of corpus callosum , 2007, Multiple sclerosis.

[28]  Frederik Barkhof,et al.  Determinants of cerebral atrophy rate at the time of diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. , 2007, Archives of neurology.

[29]  Clifford R Jack,et al.  Rates of cerebral atrophy differ in different degenerative pathologies. , 2006, Brain : a journal of neurology.

[30]  Paul Edison,et al.  Amyloid load and cerebral atrophy in Alzheimer's disease: An 11C‐PIB positron emission tomography study , 2006, Annals of neurology.

[31]  C. Guttmann,et al.  MR Imaging Intensity Modeling of Damage and Repair In Multiple Sclerosis: Relationship of Short-Term Lesion Recovery to Progression and Disability , 2007, American Journal of Neuroradiology.

[32]  Daniel Bandy,et al.  Correlations between apolipoprotein E epsilon4 gene dose and whole brain atrophy rates. , 2007, The American journal of psychiatry.

[33]  C. Jack,et al.  Comparison of different MRI brain atrophy rate measures with clinical disease progression in AD , 2004, Neurology.

[34]  Ari Syngeniotis,et al.  Seizure‐associated hippocampal volume loss: A longitudinal magnetic resonance study of temporal lobe epilepsy , 2002, Annals of neurology.

[35]  Nick C Fox,et al.  Tracking atrophy progression in familial Alzheimer's disease: a serial MRI study , 2006, The Lancet Neurology.

[36]  Nick C. Fox,et al.  Longitudinal and cross-sectional analysis of atrophy in Alzheimer's disease: Cross-validation of BSI, SIENA and SIENAX , 2007, NeuroImage.

[37]  C. Jack,et al.  Atrophy rates accelerate in amnestic mild cognitive impairment , 2008, Neurology.

[38]  Nick C Fox,et al.  Presymptomatic hippocampal atrophy in Alzheimer's disease. A longitudinal MRI study. , 1996, Brain : a journal of neurology.

[39]  Nick C Fox,et al.  Longitudinal Patterns of Regional Change on Volumetric MRI in Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration , 2004, Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders.

[40]  Nick C Fox,et al.  Visualisation and quantification of rates of atrophy in Alzheimer's disease , 1996, The Lancet.

[41]  Owen Carmichael,et al.  TRAJECTORIES OF BRAIN LOSS IN AGING AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT , 2009, Neurology.

[42]  Stephen M. Smith,et al.  Regional brain atrophy development is related to specific aspects of clinical dysfunction in multiple sclerosis , 2007, NeuroImage.

[43]  Clifford R. Jack,et al.  3 D maps frommultiple MRI illustrate changing atrophy patterns as subjects progress from mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer ’ s disease , 2007 .

[44]  Richard J. Caselli,et al.  Correlations Between Apolipoprotein E ε4 Gene Dose and Whole Brain Atrophy Rates , 2007 .

[45]  Karen M Rodrigue,et al.  Vascular health and longitudinal changes in brain and cognition in middle-aged and older adults. , 2007, Neuropsychology.

[46]  Nick C Fox,et al.  Baseline predictors of rates of hippocampal atrophy in mild cognitive impairment , 2007, Neurology.

[47]  Nick C Fox,et al.  Change in rates of cerebral atrophy over time in early-onset Alzheimer's disease: longitudinal MRI study , 2003, The Lancet.

[48]  Nick C Fox,et al.  A longitudinal study of brain volume changes in normal aging using serial registered magnetic resonance imaging. , 2003, Archives of neurology.

[49]  M. Ron,et al.  Cognitive impairment in relapsing—remitting multiple sclerosis can be predicted by imaging performed several years earlier , 2008, Multiple sclerosis.

[50]  Michael W Weiner,et al.  Longitudinal MRI and cognitive change in healthy elderly. , 2007, Neuropsychology.

[51]  C. Jack,et al.  Brain atrophy rates predict subsequent clinical conversion in normal elderly and amnestic MCI , 2005, Neurology.

[52]  Amy J. Jak,et al.  Differential Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Impact of APOE Genotype on Hippocampal Volumes in Nondemented Older Adults , 2007, Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders.

[53]  Owen Carmichael,et al.  Acceleration of cerebral ventricular expansion in the Cardiovascular Health Study , 2007, Neurobiology of Aging.

[54]  R. Buckner,et al.  Normative estimates of cross-sectional and longitudinal brain volume decline in aging and AD , 2005, Neurology.

[55]  C. Jack,et al.  β‐amyloid burden is not associated with rates of brain atrophy , 2008, Annals of neurology.

[56]  J. Quinn,et al.  Changes in premorbid brain volume predict Alzheimer’s disease pathology , 2003, Neurology.

[57]  J. L. Cox,et al.  Evolution of different MRI measures in patients with active relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis over 2 and 5 years: a case–control study , 2007, Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry.

[58]  Chris Frost,et al.  Cerebral Atrophy Measurement in Clinically Isolated Syndromes and Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis: A Comparison of Registration‐Based Methods , 2007, Journal of neuroimaging : official journal of the American Society of Neuroimaging.