BackgroundAlthough neuromelanin‐sensitive magnetic resonance imaging (NM‐MRI) has been used to evaluate early neurodegeneration in Parkinson's disease, studies concentrating on the locus coeruleus (LC) in pre‐dementia stages of dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) are lacking.ObjectivesThe aims were to evaluate NM‐MRI signal changes in the LC in patients with mild cognitive impairment with Lewy bodies (MCI‐LB) compared to healthy controls (HC) and to identify the cognitive correlates of the changes. We also aimed to test the hypothesis of a caudal‐rostral α‐synuclein pathology spread using NM‐MRI of the different LC subparts.MethodsA total of 38 MCI‐LB patients and 59 HCs underwent clinical and cognitive testing and NM‐MRI of the LC. We calculated the contrast ratio of NM‐MRI signal (LC‐CR) in the whole LC as well as in its caudal, middle, and rostral MRI slices, and we compared the LC‐CR values between the MCI‐LB and HC groups. Linear regression analyses were performed to assess the relationship between the LC‐CR and cognitive outcomes.ResultsThe MCI‐LB group exhibited a significant reduction in the right LC‐CR compared to HCs (P = 0.021). The right LC‐CR decrease was associated with impaired visuospatial memory in the MCI‐LB group. Only the caudal part of the LC exhibited significant LC‐CR decreases in MCI‐LB patients compared to HCs on both sides (P < 0.0001).ConclusionsThis is the first study that focuses on LC‐CRs in MCI‐LB patients and analyzes the LC subparts, offering new insights into the LC integrity alterations in the initial stages of DLB and their clinical correlates. © 2024 The Author(s). Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

中文翻译：

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路易体轻度认知障碍中蓝斑的早期变化


背景尽管神经黑色素敏感磁共振成像 （NM-MRI） 已被用于评估帕金森病的早期神经变性，但缺乏专注于路易体痴呆前期 （DLB） 痴呆前阶段蓝斑 （LC） 的研究。目的目的是评估与健康对照 （HC） 相比，路易体轻度认知障碍 （MCI-LB） 患者 LC 中的 NM-MRI 信号变化，并确定这些变化的认知相关性。我们还旨在使用不同 LC 亚部分的 NM-MRI 检验尾部 - 喙部 α - 突触核蛋白病理扩散的假设。方法共有 38 例 MCI-LB 患者和 59 例 HCs 接受了临床和认知测试以及 LC 的 NM-MRI。我们计算了整个 LC 及其尾部、中部和喙部 MRI 切片中 NM-MRI 信号 （LC-CR） 的对比度，并比较了 MCI-LB 组和 HC 组之间的 LC-CR 值。进行线性回归分析以评估 LC-CR 与认知结果之间的关系。结果与 HCs 相比，MCI-LB 组的右侧 LC-CR 显著降低 （P = 0.021）。右侧 LC-CR 降低与 MCI-LB 组视觉空间记忆受损相关。与两侧的 HCs 相比，MCI-LB 患者只有 LC 的尾部表现出显着的 LC-CR 降低 （P < 0.0001）。结论这是第一项关注 MCI-LB 患者 LC-CRs 并分析 LC 亚部分的研究，为 DLB 初始阶段的 LC 完整性改变及其临床相关性提供了新的见解。© 2024 作者。由 Wiley Periodicals LLC 代表国际帕金森和运动障碍协会出版的《运动障碍》。