DCE-MRI of blood brain barrier leakage in subjective memory and mild cognitive impairment: The Cognitive Ageing, Nutrition & Neurogenesis Trial

Abstract

As part of the CANN trial, we compared blood brain barrier (BBB) integrity in subjective memory impairment (SMI) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI), two early indicators of Alzheimer’s disease. Also, the impact of a combined flavanol and omega-3 fatty acid-based nutritional intervention on BBB leakage was explored for the SMI cohort. Dynamic-contrast-enhanced MRI was performed to obtain fractional plasma volume (vp) and volume transfer constant (KTrans) parameters. The results suggest that BBB leakage is similar in the SMI cohort and the nutritional intervention tends to be associated with improved BBB parameters.