Akram Hosseini, MD, MRCP, PhD, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Nottingham, UK, discusses her recent investigation into potential early imaging markers for Alzheimer’s disease using ultra-high field 7T MRI. The high resolution and high contrast provided by 7T MRI provides enhanced detail in cortical imaging and thus, may aid in the early diagnosis of neurodegeneration. In this study, subtle changes in memory were shown to correlate was subtle loss of hippocampal volume. Additionally, hippocampal volume loss was shown to associate with cerebrospinal fluid amyloid levels. Changes in quantitative susceptibility mapping in hippocampal subfields were also noted, which correlated with specific cognitive impairment. 7T MRI was also used to assess brain changes in the post-SARS-CoV2 setting to investigate potential precursors of AD after COVID infection. Compared to healthy controls or those with a mild infection, individuals who suffered from severe COVID-19 with ICU admission showed subtle changes within the hippocampus and in certain hippocampal subfields known to be affected by Alzheimer’s pathology. The study provides preliminary evidence of detectable microstructural changes in hippocampal subfields in both AD and post-COVID settings. This interview took place at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference® (AAIC) 2023 in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
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