ASL blood-brain barrier permeability is associated with amyloid and cognitive impairment

Abstract

Motivation: Blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability changes may be implicated in Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) pathophysiology. Goal(s): To investigate if the exchange time (Tex) of water across the BBB is associated with cognitive and amyloid status. Approach: We measured Tex with a multi-echo arterial spin labeling MRI sequence in 116 adults older than 50 years and studied its association with cognition (cognitively normal vs mild cognitive impaired) and amyloid (A- vs A+) status. Results: BBB water permeability is increased in A+ participants and in patients with MCI, compared to healthy controlsImpact: Our results suggest that multi-TE ASL MRI BBB water permeability can be used as a potential early imaging biomarker of AD pathophysiology.