Electroencephalography-driven approach to prodromal Alzheimer's disease diagnosis: from biomarker integration to network-level comprehension

Davide Vito Moretti Rehabilitation in Alzheimer’s Disease Operative Unit, IRCCS San Giovanni di Dio, Fatebenefratelli, Brescia, Italy Abstract: Decay of the temporoparietal cortex is associated with prodromal Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Additionally, shrinkage of the temporoparietal cerebral area has been connected with an increase in α3/α2 electroencephalogram (EEG) power ratio in prodromal AD. Furthermore, a lower regional blood perfusion has been exhibited in patients with a higher α3/α2 proportion when contrasted with low α3/α2 proportion. Furthermore, a lower regional blood perfusion and reduced hippocampal volume has been exhibited in patients with higher α3/α2 when contrasted with lower α3/α2 EEG power ratio. Neuropsychological evaluation, EEG recording, and magnetic resonance imaging were conducted in 74 patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Estimation of cortical thickness and α3/α2 frequency power ratio was conducted for each patient. A subgroup of 27 patients also underwent single-photon emission computed tomography evaluation. In view of α3/α2 power ratio, the patients were divided into three groups. The connections among cortical decay, cerebral perfusion, and memory loss were evaluated by Pearson’s r coefficient. Results demonstrated that higher α3/α2 frequency power ratio group was identified with brain shrinkage and cutdown perfusion inside the temporoparietal projections. In addition, decay and cutdown perfusion rate were connected with memory shortfalls in patients with MCI. MCI subgroup with higher α3/α2 EEG power ratio are at a greater risk to develop AD dementia. Keywords: prodromal AD, EEG, SPECT, MRI, alpha rhythm, hippocampal atroph