Compositional brain scores capture Alzheimer's disease–specific structural brain patterns along the disease continuum
Compositional data analysis (CoDA) revealed the relative variation of brain region volumes, captured in compositional brain scores, capable of discerning between cognitively unimpaired amyloid-β-negative individuals and subjects within other disease-stage groups along the Alzheimer's disease (AD) continuum. CoDA also uncovered the genetic vulnerability of specific brain regions at each stage of the disease along the continuum. CoDA is capable of integrating magnetic resonance imaging data from two different cohorts without stringent requirements for harmonization. This translates as an advantage, compared to traditional methods, and strengthens the reliability of cross-study comparisons by standardizing the data despite different labeling agreements, facilitating collaborative and large-scale research. The algorithm is sensitive to AD-specific effects, as the main compositional brain scores display little overlap with the age-specific compositional brain score. CoDA provides a more accurate analysis of brain imaging data addressing its compositional nature, which can influence the development of targeted approaches, opening new avenues for enhancing brain health.
Authors
- Blanca Rodríguez‐Fernández (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5664-111X)
- Manel Esteller (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4490-6093)
- Diego Garrido-Martín (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4131-4458)
- M. Luz Calle (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9334-415X)
- Raffaele Cacciaglia (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9216-949X)
- Arcadi Navarro (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2162-8246)
- Juan Domingo Gispert (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6155-0642)
- Patricia Genius (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1836-5123)
- Natàlia Vilor‐Tejedor (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4935-6721)
- Carolina Minguillón (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2782-6908)
Institutions
- Universitat de Vic - Universitat Central de Catalunya (ES)
- Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ES)
- Radboud University Nijmegen (NL)
- Universitat Pompeu Fabra (ES)
- Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ES)
- Radboud University Medical Center (NL)
- Spanish National Centre for Cardiovascular Research (ES)
- Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute (ES)
- Biomedical Research Networking Center in Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (ES)
- Pasqual Maragall Foundation (ES)
- Barcelonaβeta Brain Research Center (ES)
- Hospital Del Mar (ES)
- Institut de Biologia Evolutiva (ES)
- Centre for Genomic Regulation (ES)
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Fragilidad y Envejecimiento Saludable (ES)
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Cáncer (ES)
- Universitat de Barcelona (ES)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Alzheimer s & Dementia
- Published
- 2025-01-27
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.14490
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Alzheimer's disease research and treatments
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.33
Funders
- Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative
- “la Caixa” Foundation
- Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación
- National Institutes of Health
- Agencia Estatal de Investigación