Motivation: Blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability changes may be implicated in both Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and cerebrovascular aging. Goal(s): To investigate if the exchange time (Tex) of blood water across the BBB is associated with AD and vascular parameters. Approach: We measured Tex with a multi-echo arterial spin labeling MRI sequence in 137 adults older than 50 years and studied its association with cognitive stage, amyloid status, and vascular parameters (blood pressure and FLAIR white matter hyperintensities). Results: BBB Tex was lower in MCI patients than in healthy controls. Tex was also lwoer in amyloid positive participants. Tex was not associated with the vascular parameters. Impact: Our results suggest that multi-TE ASL MRI BBB water permeability can be used as an early imaging biomarker of AD pathophysiology.
Padrela et al. (Tue,) studied this question.