Harmonizing brain magnetic resonance imaging methods for vascular contributions to neurodegeneration

Abstract

Introduction Many consequences of cerebrovascular disease are identifiable by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), but variation in methods limits multicenter studies and pooling of data. The European Union Joint Program on Neurodegenerative Diseases (EU JPND) funded the HARmoNizing Brain Imaging MEthodS for VaScular Contributions to Neurodegeneration (HARNESS) initiative, with a focus on cerebral small vessel disease. Methods Surveys, teleconferences, and an in-person workshop were used to identify gaps in knowledge and to develop tools for harmonizing imaging and analysis. Results A framework for neuroimaging biomarker development was developed based on validating repeatability and reproducibility, biological principles, and feasibility of implementation. The status of current MRI biomarkers was reviewed. A website was created at www.harness-neuroimaging.org with acquisition protocols, a software database, rating scales and case report forms, and a deidentified MRI repository. Conclusions The HARNESS initiative provides resources to reduce variability in measurement in MRI studies of cerebral small vessel disease.

Diffuse white matter loss in a transgenic rat model of cerebral amyloid angiopathy

“…9 cSVD are diagnosed by distinct pathologies detected by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) including white matter (WM) hyperintensities, diffuse WM loss, enlarged perivascular spaces (ePVS), lacunar infarcts, cerebral microbleeds (CMB), microinfarcts and global brain atrophy. 5,[10][11][12][13] Several different subtypes of cSVD that often overlap in human brain are observed based on the cerebral vessel bed impacted. 14 The most common cSVD subtypes are arteriolosclerosis, cerebral small vascular atherosclerosis and cerebral amyloid angiopathies.…”

Triplanar ensemble U-Net model for white matter hyperintensities segmentation on MR images

“…In turn, this helps to identify patterns of normal and pathological ageing (Rostrup et al, 2012;Biesbroek et al, 2013). Hence, location and volume-based lesion characterisation are being increasingly considered in clinical setting (Wardlaw et al, 2013;Smith et al, 2019). Given the importance of analysing the clinical impact of WMHs, especially in large cohorts, manual segmentation of WMHs is time consuming and is prone to intra/inter-rater variability.…”

Vascular contributions to cognitive impairment and dementia: Research consortia that focus on etiology and treatable targets to lessen the burden of dementia worldwide

“…The multinational Joint Programme for Neurodegenerative Diseases have funded efforts to catalog (https://www.neurodegenerationresearch.eu/ jpnd-global-cohort-portal/) completed and ongoing population and cohort observational studies and clinical trial data sets with data relevant to vascular cognitive impairment that are available for secondary analyses and meta-analyses and also created a searchable portal hosting studies relevant to neurodegenerative disease research including VCID [28]. In addition to the consortia and cohort efforts mentioned in this study, there are many other international collaborative activities aimed at understanding, diagnosing, or ameliorating the effects of VCID, including the Joint Programme for Neurodegenerative Diseases-funded HARNESS initiative (https://harness-neuroimaging.org/) to disseminate standardized image acquisition and analysis tools to advance research in the field [10]. Furthermore, there is ample scientific space and need for new VCID consortia and cohorts to move the community forward.…”

“…This analysis highlights the multidisciplinary scientific nature of the field, but also, underscores the vast and, at times, separated nature of the research. However, there have been efforts to enhance the field of VCID research by harmonizing terminology, methodology and coming together to form multidisciplinary research teams and consortia [10,11]. These groups are well‐positioned to address some of the more complex questions in VCID.…”