Imaging early brain characteristics of alzheimer’s disease: Structure, function and symptomatology

Beta-amyloid and tau are important proteins involved in Alzheimer's disease. We can measure elevations of these proteins in the cerebrospinal fluid, often years before cognitive symptoms appear. However, from previous autopsy and animal research it becomes clear that many processes already occur in the brain even before these elevations are observed. In this PhD thesis, the goal was to identify additional early brain characteristics associated with the accumulation of beta-amyloid and tau. This research has shown that we can obtain additional information about early brain characteristics in Alzheimer’s disease using various MRI techniques. This knowledge can help to better understand the early disease processes of Alzheimer's disease and can help improve patient selection for clinical trials at an early stage.