Hippocampal volume, DTI parameters, and relaxation time T1 in postmortem patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and healthy controls

Motivation: MRI parameters of the hippocampus could serve as an imaging biomarker for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Goal(s): To compare hippocampal volume, fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), and T1 between ALS and healthy controls (HC). Approach: Postmortem in situ MRI scans at 3 Tesla were performed on five deceased ALS patients and seven deceased neurologically healthy controls (HC). MP2RAGE and DTI sequences were employed. Results: A potentially significant difference between ALS and HC was found for T1 in the right hippocampus and for MD in the left, right, and total hippocampus. Further research is needed to confirm this outcome. Impact: The potential effect of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis on the hippocampal mean diffusivity and T1 might lead to the development of new MRI biomarkers. This could improve diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment strategies. Larger sample sizes are needed to validate the results.