Brain atrophy on MRI could help predict Alzheimer’s progression

Mass General Brigham Neuroscience Institute researchers have found that a pattern of brain atrophy visible on MRI could help predict how quickly people with early-onset Alzheimer's disease progress from mild cognitive impairment to dementia. This could help patients, families, and clinicians know what to expect and plan future caregiving and living arrangements. Results are published in Neurology®, an official journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Early-onset Alzheimer's disease is a rare type of Alzheimer's disease that begins before age 65. Although early-onset Alzheimer's progresses faster on average than later-onset Alzheimer's, progression varies substantially from person to person, making prognosis difficult.

Early-onset Alzheimer's disease is a challenging diagnosis, worsened by the fact that patients, their caregivers and clinicians don't know what to expect in the years after the diagnosis. If we can use an MRI that is already part of the diagnostic process to better estimate how quickly someone's disease may progress, we could help patients and families plan ahead and help clinicians make more personalized decisions about care."

Researchers analyzed data from 130 people between the ages of 40 and 64 with mild cognitive impairment due to early-onset Alzheimer's disease and 97 cognitively normal age-matched controls from the Longitudinal Early-Onset Alzheimer's Disease Study (LEADS), a United States multi-center consortium that is the largest study of early-onset Alzheimer's disease globally.