# Fast multiparametric MR imaging as early biomarkers of Alzheimer's Disease

> **NIH NIH R21** · EMORY UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $195,000

## Abstract

Abstract
Without a cure or prevention, Alzheimer's Disease (AD) rapidly will become an overwhelming economic and
social burden. With the failure of multiple clinical trials targeting reduction of beta-amyloid (Aβ) burden and in
general the stagnation of the development of effective treatment for AD, AD community believes that underlying
causes of AD must be attacked before emergence of the cognitive phenotype. In this context, the development
of predictive biomarkers and models is critical for identifying patients with high risk of rapid progression along
the AD continuum, i.e. transitioning from normal cognition to mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and from MCI to
dementia. Previous AD research has primarily been utilizing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for assessing
morphological changes. Our preliminary results and other studies have shown that quantitative MR parameters
such T1, T2, the magnetic susceptibility values are sensitive to normal ageing process and AD. However, their
wide spread in AD research protocols has been limited due to scan time constraints. The overarching goal of the
proposal is to establish a fast MR technique that does not increase overall scan time of a conventional MR
protocol; and in addition to providing all the information the conventional protocol provides, it will also provide
multiple quantitative parametric measurements specifically targeted to the needs of AD diagnosis and prognosis.
We will 1) develop a fast and motion-insensitive MR technique (M3FAST-ECHO) that can generate multiple
quantitative parameters within 10 minutes; 2) validate the volumetric measurement and microhemorrhage
assessment from the synthetic 3D T1-weighted and the susceptibility weighted imaging from M3FAST-ECHO
against standard ADNI protocol in 30 patients with mild cognitive impairment and 30 aged matched cognitively
normal subjects; 3) compare quantitative T1, T2* and quantitative susceptibility values in 30 MCI patients and
30 aged matched cognitively normal subjects, and to correlate these metrics with neuropsychological
measurements in the participants. The successful completion of the aims will result in a fast MR technique that
provides multiple parametric MR maps without increasing overall scan time, and provide preliminary results for
establishing values of quantitative MR parametric maps as sensitive biomarkers of AD. This will greatly enhance
our ability to evaluate and screen for early predictive biomarkers of Alzheimer's Disease. The inter-disciplinary
team and infrastructure for AD research at Emory will ensure successful execution of the study and dissemination
of the developed techniques to the entire AD research community.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9993206
- **Project number:** 5R21AG064405-02
- **Recipient organization:** EMORY UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Deqiang Qiu
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $195,000
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-08-15 → 2023-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9993206

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9993206, Fast multiparametric MR imaging as early biomarkers of Alzheimer's Disease (5R21AG064405-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9993206. Licensed CC0.

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