Locus Coeruleus magnetic resonance imaging in cognitively intact elderly subjects

The locus coeruleus is the main noradrenergic nucleus of the brain and is often affected in neurodegenerative diseases. Recently, magnetic resonance imaging with specific T1-weighted sequences for neuromelanin has been used to evaluate locus coeruleus integrity in patients with these conditions. In some of these studies, abnormalities in locus coeruleus signal have also been found in healthy controls and related to ageing. However, this would be at variance with recent post-mortem studies showing that the nucleus is not affected during normal ageing. The present study aimed at evaluating locus coeruleus features in a well-defined cohort of cognitively healthy subjects who remained cognitively intact on a one-year follow-up. An ad-hoc semiautomatic analysis of locus coeruleus magnetic resonance was applied. Sixty-two cognitively intact subjects aged 60–80 years, without significant comorbidities, underwent 3 T magnetic resonance with specific sequences for locus coeruleus. A semi-automatic tool was used to estimate the number of voxels belonging to locus coeruleus and its intensity was obtained for each subject. Each subject underwent extensive neuropsychological testing at baseline and 12 months after magnetic resonance scan. Based on neuropsychological testing 53 subjects were cognitively normal at baseline and follow up. No significant age-related differences in locus coeruleus parameters were found in this cohort. In line with recent post-mortem studies, our in vivo study confirms that locus coeruleus magnetic resonance features are not statistically significantly affected by age between 60 and 80 years, the age range usually evaluated in studies on neurodegenerative diseases. A significant alteration of locus coeruleus features in a cognitively intact elderly subject might be an early sign of pathology. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11682-021-00562-0.