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The degeneration of locus coeruleus occurring during Alzheimer’s disease clinical progression: a neuroimaging follow-up investigation

Lookup NU author(s): Professor Nicola PaveseORCiD

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

Abstract

© The Author(s) 2024.The noradrenergic nucleus Locus Coeruleus (LC) is precociously involved in Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) pathology, and its degeneration progresses during the course of the disease. Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), researchers showed also in vivo in patients the disruption of LC, which can be observed both in Mild Cognitively Impaired individuals and AD demented patients. In this study, we report the results of a follow-up neuroradiological assessment, in which we evaluated the LC degeneration overtime in a group of cognitively impaired patients, submitted to MRI both at baseline and at the end of a 2.5-year follow-up. We found that a progressive LC disruption can be observed also in vivo, involving the entire nucleus and associated with clinical diagnosis. Our findings parallel neuropathological ones, which showed a continuous increase of neuronal death and volumetric atrophy within the LC with the progression of Braak’s stages for neurofibrillary pathology. This supports the reliability of MRI as a tool for exploring the integrity of the central noradrenergic system in neurodegenerative disorders.

Publication metadata

Author(s): Galgani A, Lombardo F, Frijia F, Martini N, Tognoni G, Pavese N, Giorgi FS

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Brain Structure and Function

Year: 2024

Pages: epub ahead of print

Online publication date: 16/04/2024

Acceptance date: 29/03/2024

Date deposited: 30/04/2024

ISSN (print): 1863-2653

ISSN (electronic): 1863-2661

Publisher: Springer

URL: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-024-02797-1

DOI: 10.1007/s00429-024-02797-1

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