Time-dependent diffusivity is sensitive to pathology in an Alzheimer’s disease mouse model: a multidimensional MRI pilot study

Motivation: Earlier diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) could significantly improve patient outcomes and enhance the effectiveness of treatment strategies, highlighting the need for advancements in early detection methods. Goal(s): Derive novel imaging biomarkers from relaxation-diffusion multidimensional (MD) MRI to enable earlier diagnosis of AD. Approach: The ex-vivo study collected MD-MRI data from eight mouse brains, euthanized at around eight months of age. The sample included four wild-type (WT) mice and four 5xFAD transgenic mice, a widely used AD model. Results: Time-sensitive diffusion metrics revealed significant differences between AD and WT groups in gray matter, suggesting increased water diffusion restriction linked to AD pathology. Impact: Our findings establish the reliability of diffusion-time dependent metrics and their sensitivity to AD pathology, supporting further large-scale studies to explore the potential of md-MRI for earlier AD diagnosis and improved prognostic outcomes.