Data from: Microglial activation in early Alzheimer trajectory is associated with higher grey matter volume

Objective: To investigate the influence of microglial activation in the
early stages of Alzheimer’s disease trajectory, we assessed the
relationship between microglial activation and grey matter volume and
hippocampal volume in MCI patients. Methods: In this study, fifty-five
participants (37 early stages MCI and 18 controls) underwent [11C]PBR28
PET, a marker of microglial activation; volumetric MRI to evaluate grey
matter and hippocampal volumes as well as clinical and neuropsychometric
evaluation. [11C]PBR28 VT (volume of distribution) was calculated using
arterial input function and Logan Graphical analysis. Grey matter volume
and hippocampal volumes were calculated from MRI for each subject.
Statistical parametric mapping software was used to perform voxel-wise
correlations and biological parametric mapping analysis. Amyloid status
was assessed using [18F]Flutemetamol PET. Results: Higher [11C]PBR28 VT in
different cortical areas correlated with higher grey matter volume in both
amyloid positive and negative MCI. Additionally, higher hippocampal volume
correlated with higher cortical [11C]PBR28 Logan VT. Conclusions: In this
in vivo study, we have demonstrated that microglial activation quantified
using [11C]PBR28 PET was associated with higher grey matter volume and
higher hippocampal volume in MCI patients. This may suggest that
microglial activation may not always be associated with neuronal damage,
and indeed it may have beneficial effect in early stages of Alzheimer’s
trajectory. While further longitudinal studies are necessary, these
findings have significant implications on therapeutic strategies targeting
microglial activation.