What occurs in medial temporal lobe atrophy (MTA) in early dementia? Pathological background and the utility of MTA grading

Motivation: A practical method for evaluating early-stage Alzheimer's disease (AD) such as medial temporal lobe atrophy (MTA) grading has been required. Goal(s): To clarify the pathological background of MTA and the utility of MTA grading. Approach: Correlations between MTA scores and each diffusion metric and cerebrospinal flow (CSF) biomarker were statistically analyzed for both AD pathology and non-AD pathology in early dementia. Results: MTA scores were more correlated with diffusion metrics and CSF biomarkers in AD pathology than in non-AD pathology. MTA grading might be a practical method for assessing both neurodegeneration and severity of tau pathology in early-stage AD. Impact: MTA grading that reflects both neurodegeneration and severity of tau pathology might be a practical method for evaluating early-stage AD and it can be a predictor for the effect of disease-modifying therapy by assessing the severity of tau pathology.