Increased Extra-neurite Conductivity of Brain in Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease

Motivation: The decomposed high-frequency conductivity (HFC) into extra-neurite and intra-neurite components to calculate compartmental conductivities has not been applied to any neurological conditions. Goal(s): To investigate how the separated extra-neurite conductivity (EC) and intra-neurite conductivity (IC) were reflected in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients and to evaluate the association between compartmental conductivities and cognitive declineApproach: A total 66 patients included in 20 AD patients, 25 amnestic MCI patients, and 21 controls were scanned with a multi-echo turbo spin-echo and multi-shell diffusion tensor EPI sequences. Results: The EC value was higher in patients with AD than others and decreased with increasing K-MMSE scores. Impact: The EC value might be used as an imaging biomarker for helping to monitor cognitive function.