In vivo mapping of striatal neurodegeneration in Huntington's disease with Soma and Neurite Density Imaging.

Soma and Neurite Density Imaging (SANDI) detects striatal neurodegeneration in Huntington's disease, revealing reduced cell body density and increased size linked to motor decline.

• Why it matters: Understanding microstructural brain changes in Huntington's disease is crucial for developing sensitive biomarkers to monitor disease progression and evaluate treatments, as conventional MRI cannot capture cellular-level alterations.
• What they did: The study used multi-shell diffusion MRI on 56 Huntington's patients and 57 controls, applying SANDI to estimate cell body and neurite properties, then correlated these with volumetric data and motor performance.
• The result: SANDI identified significant microstructural abnormalities in the striatum, explained up to 63% of atrophy, and correlated with motor impairments, demonstrating its potential as a non-invasive biomarker for disease progression.