summary: Researchers found that increased blood flow is associated with increased stiffness in the hippocampus, a brain area that is essential for memory and learning. This is important as the hippocampus is one of the first areas affected by Alzheimer’s disease.
Using magnetic resonance elastography (MRE), a technique that measures tissue stiffness, scientists scanned the brains of young adults and found that only the hippocampus showed this link between blood flow and stiffness. These findings may help pave the way for early detection of Alzheimer’s disease by identifying brain changes before memory loss begins.
Important facts:
- Advanced Imaging: MRE can accurately measure brain tissue stiffness and the effects of blood vessels.
- Hippocampal sensitivity: Increased blood flow causes stiffness, especially in the hippocampus.
- Diagnosis potential: Brain stiffness may be an early marker of Alzheimer’s disease.
sauce: University of Washington
My researchers have found that increased blood flow leads to stiffness in the hippocampus, an area of the brain that plays an important role in learning and memory. The hippocampus is one of the first regions of the brain affected by Alzheimer’s disease, a brain disorder that erodes memory and thought skills, and the ability to perform daily tasks.
“For the first time, I found out that blood flow is excellent, and that the hippocampal area becomes stiff,” says Professor Mehmet Kurt, director of Kurtlab.
“This study suggests that one factor affecting hippocampal health can be reduced blood flow. This finding opens up new potential ways to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease before memory loss occurs.”
At the UW Center for Human Neuroscience and the ICAHN School of Medicine in Mount Sinai, researchers scanned the brains of 17 volunteers between the ages of 22 and 35 using magnetic resonance elastography (MRE). MRE, which combines magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and sound waves, provides researchers with information to create detailed images of different levels of stiffness in the brain.
“We wanted to know that blood flow could potentially affect brain stiffness through MRE,” says the doctorate. Caitlyn Neher, a student who led the research.
“The hippocampus is just part of the brain that shows this relationship between blood flow and stiffness. This may be because the hippocampus is a region with strong metabolic demand.”
The use of factors such as blood flow and rigid components to quantify brain health can lead to early detection of neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, which currently have no treatment.
Several studies have revealed that people with Alzheimer’s disease are softened in the hippocampus. One hypothesis is that in early Alzheimer’s disease, a decrease in blood flow can lead to this change in the brain, says Neher.
“This study focused on basic science issues regarding how blood flow and brain stiffness are related,” she says.
“It would be interesting to finally apply this to a patient population by working with UW Medicine. We would like to better understand this link between brain stiffness and blood flow and come up with diagnostic criteria.”
About this neurology research news
author: Mehmet Kurt
sauce: University of Washington
contact: Mehmet Kurt – University of Washington
image: This image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original research: Closed access.
“Perfusion – Mechanical hippocampal binding“Mehmet Kurt et al. Interface focus
Abstract
Perfusion – Mechanical hippocampal binding
The hippocampus is a highly scrutinized brain structure due to its vulnerability to multiple neuropathology entanglement and metabolic insults.
The purpose of this study is to non-invasively assess the relationship between perfusion and mechanics of the healthy brain via magnetic resonance imaging sequences and magnetic field strengths.
In total, 17 subjects (ages 22-35, 7/10 males) were scanned with magnetic resonance elastography and arterial spin label acquisition at 3T and 7T at baseline physiological conditions.
No significant differences in perfusion or stiffness were observed between magnetic field strength or acquisition. The hippocampus was the most vascular in the deep gray matter, with close caudate nuclei and putamen.
A correlation between positive perfusion and mechanical in the hippocampus was found in both the 3T and 7T groups, and overall, with a very significant correlation;r = 0.71, p = 0.0019). This was not observed in the caudate nucleus, which is similarly the vascular area.
Furthermore, we supported the hypothesis that increased hippocampal perfusion leads to greater pulsating displacement in small cohorts (n = 10).
Given that the hippocampus is a highly vulnerable structure and has the perfusion disorders that are common in learning and memory-related diseases, our results suggest a unique mechanical link between metabolic health and rigid biomarkers for the first time in this important region.
