REVIEW article
Front. Aging Neurosci.
Sec. Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias
This article is part of the Research TopicImaging Biomarkers in Neurodegenerative Diseases: Advances and ChallengesView all 4 articles
Structural and Microstructural Changes in White and Grey Matter Across the Alzheimer Disease Continuum
Provisionally accepted
- Xianyang Hospital of Yan 'an University, Xianyang, China
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Alzheimer disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive brain atrophy, with pathological progression accompanied by significant structural alterations in both grey matter (GM) and white matter (WM). This review summarizes the neuroimaging features and clinical implications of brain volumetric changes across distinct the clinical phases of the AD continuum (preclinical phase, subjective cognitive decline (SCD), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and dementia phase). Our analysis reveals a key conceptual advance: the spatiotemporal pattern of WM volume loss is not merely a consequence of GM degeneration but an active and complementary contributor to clinical decline. We identify specific, underappreciated WM tracts whose atrophy rates offer unique prognostic value beyond hippocampal volume. The primary contribution of this work is a unified model of AD neuroanatomy, which challenges the isolated view of GM and WM pathology. This refined understanding is critical for developing the next generation of biomarkers and underscores the imperative to leverage artificial intelligence for analyzing these complex, multi-tissue interactions.Future research should further integrate artificial intelligence and multi-omics data to refine personalized predictive models.
Keywords: Alzheimer Disease, Grey Matter, white matter, diagnosis, Alzheimer disease
Received: 27 Aug 2025; Accepted: 30 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Lv, Guo, zhao and Zhao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Lingling Lv, lvlingling236@163.com
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