7T MRI在阿尔茨海默病中的研究进展

Recent advance in 7T MRI in Alzheimer's disease

阿尔茨海默病(AD)是机体认知功能障碍最常见的病因。除临床诊断之外,AD的病理改变也被认为是其发病机制研究及新药开发研究的"金标准"。根据AD研究框架,神经退行性变发生在β-淀粉样蛋白和Tau蛋白沉积之后、认知功能下降之前。但因中低场强MRI技术的局限性,目前所能确定的神经退行性变的影像学特征大多出现在AD病程中晚期,难以成为早期预警信号。7T MRI是目前可用的最高场强的MRI技术,其高分辨率和高灵敏度使得早期检测神经退行性变成为可能。本文现围绕7T MRI在AD疾病谱中及与AD相关的脑结构中的最新研究进展进行综述,以期帮助临床同道进一步探索和完善7T MRI在AD研究中的应用。

Alzheimer's disease(AD)is the most common cause of cognitive impairment.Beyond clinical diagnosis,AD pathologic changes are considered as"gold standard"for mechanistic research or new drug development studies.According to AD research framework,neurodegeneration occurs after amyloid-β and Tau protein deposition and before cognitive decline.Due to lower-and medium-field MRI limitation,most of these neurodegenerative characteristics identified at present appear at middle or late stage of AD,hardly being an early warning signal.7T MRI system,representing the most advanced field strength MRI presently,is characterized by its exceptional resolution and sensitivity that facilitate the early identification of neurodegeneration.This article reviews the recent advance in 7T MRI in AD spectrum and brain structures associated with AD,aiming to enhance the utilization of 7T MRI in this field.