Brain imaging

Question 1

What are the 4 different types of MRI and what do they highlight on the brain?

Answer 1

1. T1: highlights gray matter (dark)
2. T2: highlights white matter (dark)
3. PD: distinction between gray matter (bright) and white matter (dark), but little contrast between brain and cerebrospinal fluid
4. FLAIR: imaging to suppress cerebrospinal fluid effects on the image

Question 2

What should a radiological report describe?

Answer 2

• Medial temporal lobe atrophy
• Width of ventricles
• White matter changes
• Comparison with previous examinations
  …

Question 3

What is medial temporallobsatrofi (MTA)?

Answer 3

Scale for visual MTA assessment that is based on the evaluation of a number of anatomical features (width of choroid fissure, width of temporal horns and hippocampus thickness)
Scoring goes from 0 to 4

Question 4

What is the difference between a MRI and a CT scan?

Answer 4

Not much, basically shows the same thing

Useful for patients who can’t go into MRI machine (claustrophobic)

Question 5

Why is it important to unravel the heterogeneity of Alzheimer’s disease in brain imaging?

Answer 5

Because the global cognitive functions are similar but the patterns of atrophy are very different
Depending on the pattern of atrophy, disease progression can be different
=> important for personalized medicine

Question 6

What is graph theory in brain imaging?

Answer 6

Mathematical framework that allows exploring network organization in normal and pathological conditions => emerge from the network organization of the brain as a whole and its interactions (not only based on individual brain areas or individual brain connections)

Question 7

What did graph theory find in Alzheimer’s disease?

Answer 7

Abnormal structural brain connectome in individuals with preclinical Alzheimer’s disease
=> suggested that amyloid pathology is not sufficient to disrupt structural network topology, whereas neurodegeneration is

Question 8

What does FDG scan measure and what did it find for Alzheimer’s disease in brain imaging?

Answer 8

It measures glucose uptake (metabolism) which is an important marker for neurodegeneration
It found that there is less glucose uptake (hypometabolic) in the brain of Alzheimer’s disease patients