MRI Assessment of Impaired Glucose Metabolism in Alzheimer's Disease

MRI Assessment of Impaired Glucose Metabolism in Alzheimer's Disease

Diseases of dementia are chronic, untreatable, and cause a massive burden of morbidity. In this proposal, we seek to tackle the problem of better, earlier, and more efficient diagnosis using deuterium metabolic imaging (DMI). The study is divided in two sub-studies: 1) optimization and simplification of DMI protocols, and 2) a cross-sectional study of DMI in Alzheimer's patients and healthy controls.

Inclusion criteria:

AD-patients:

• Aged 55-85 years.
• Male or female.
• AD diagnosis by the NIA-AA 2011 research criteria.8
• Able to give written informed consent.
• Mini-mental state examination (MMSE) equal to or above 18.9
• Brain FDG-PET performed at Aarhus University Hospital consistent with AD.

Healthy participants:

• Aged 18-85 years.
• Male or female.

Exclusion criteria:

All participants:

• Diabetes or any other metabolic disease.

• Other significant brain disease:

  • Strokes.
  • Tumors.
  • Chronic small vessel disease (clinically suspected, or Fazekas ≥ 2 if clinical MRI is available).
  • Epilepsy.
  • Other neurodegenerative or -inflammatory disease.

• Contraindications for MRI:

  • Pacemaker, neurostimulator or cochlear implant.
  • Metal foreign bodies such as fragments and irremovable piercings.
  • Unsafe medical implants (safety of heart valves, hips and the like must be confirmed).
  • Claustrophobia.
  • Largest circumference including arms > 160 cm.

• Pregnant - women must be post-menopausal or confirmed non-pregnant by an onsite test.