Imaging biomarkers in neurodegeneration: current and future practices

Abstract

There is an increasing role for biological markers (biomarkers) in the understanding and diagnosis of neurodegenerative disorders. The application of imaging biomarkers specifically for the in vivo investigation of neurodegenerative disorders has increased substantially over the past decades and continues to provide further benefits both to the diagnosis and understanding of these diseases. This review forms part of a series of articles which stem from the University College London/University of Gothenburg course "Biomarkers in neurodegenerative diseases". In this review, we focus on neuroimaging, specifically positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), giving an overview of the current established practices clinically and in research as well as new techniques being developed. We will also discuss the use of machine learning (ML) techniques within these fields to provide additional insights to early diagnosis and multimodal analysis.

Quantitative Assessment of Resting-State for Mild Cognitive Impairment Detection: A Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy and Deep Learning Approach

“…In comparison to subjective characteristics (i.e., the medical history and mental status examination), biomarker tests such as brain imaging have the potential to provide a quantitative clinical determination for suspected MCI. In particular, when assisted by computer science and mathematics, the use of brain imaging has provided the ability to understand the neural destruction caused by MCI in vivo [7].…”

Direct cortical thickness estimation using deep learning‐based anatomy segmentation and cortex parcellation

“…The human cerebral cortex, a thin ribbon of gray matter constituting the outer layer of the cerebrum, is on average about 2.5 mm thick (Fischl & Dale, 2000). Cortical thickness decreases with normal aging (Salat et al, 2004), a process that is known to be accelerated in neurodegenerative diseases including dementia (Young et al, 2020). The pattern of atrophy progression may enable to differentiate the underlying form of dementia, but also to characterize mild cognitive impairment (Karas et al, 2004).…”

“…Numerous studies have demonstrated that cortical thickness can serve as a surrogate marker for the underlying pathological changes (Frisoni, Fox, Jack, Scheltens, & Thompson, 2010; Lerch et al, 2005; Singh et al, 2006; Whitwell et al, 2008). Quantitative morphometry and its regional patterns of atrophy are therefore considered a potential biomarker of clinical interest (Dickerson et al, 2009; Young et al, 2020).…”

11C- and 18F-Radiotracers for In Vivo Imaging of the Dopamine System: Past, Present and Future

“…The field of in vivo imaging of dopamine receptors remains exciting and very productive: as a research tool, PET imaging of the dopamine receptors is widely employed for clinical studies in neurology [ 35 , 36 , 37 ], psychiatry [ 38 ], or drug abuse and addiction [ 39 , 40 ]. Receptor imaging radiotracers are most often used to understand the underlying differences in receptor densities in different pathologies, to evaluate the functional differences in dopaminergic neurotransmission in disease, or to measure the occupancy of newly developed therapeutic drugs.…”