Initial Correlation Analysis of Diffusion Basis Spectrum Imaging of Alzheimer's Brain and Quantitative Histology

Diffusion Basis Spectrum Imaging (DBSI), a novel MR imaging method, can be utilized as a biomarker in Alzheimer's disease (AD) staging and progression. By distinguishing diffusion effects from other concomitant disorders like axonal injury/loss and demyelination, it is capable of specifically evaluating cellularity and edema in AD brains. To test the hypothesis that DBSI cell fraction and mean cell apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) correlate with measures of cell density and neuroinflammation, we employed high‐resolution ex vivo DBSI sequences and quantitative digital histology on post‐mortem human AD brain tissue.