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Advances in imaging-transcriptomics association studies in neurodegenerative diseases
JI Yi  LU Liujia  FANG Xiangming 

Cite this article as: JI Y, LU L J, FANG X M. Advances in imaging-transcriptomics association studies in neurodegenerative diseases[J]. Chin J Magn Reson Imaging, 2025, 16(4): 139-144. DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2025.04.022.


[Abstract] The application of multimodal MRI and other imaging techniques to detect brain phenotypic alterations in patients with neurodegenerative diseases has become pervasive in clinical diagnosis and scientific research. However, the genetic mechanisms underlying these brain phenotypic changes still remain unknown. In recent years, with the advent of brain-wide transcriptomics data (i.e., the Allen Human Brain Atlas), the field of imaging-transcriptomics association studies has emerged as a cross-disciplinary area aiming to bridge the gap between macroscopic neuroimaging phenotypes and microscopic molecular expression, which has achieved certain advancements. This review systematically summarizes the methodological framework of imaging transcriptome association studies and its latest advances in Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease and other diseases, aiming to provide researchers with neurodegenerative disease researchers with theoretical tools for cross-scale research, and provide new perspectives for elucidating disease mechanisms and developing targeted therapy strategies.
[Keywords] neurodegenerative disease；imaging-transcriptomics association studies；Allen human brain atlas；multimodal magnetic resonance imaging；magnetic resonance imaging；gene expression

JI Yi   LU Liujia   FANG Xiangming*  

Department of Medical Imaging, the Affiliated Wuxi People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Wuxi 214023, China

Corresponding author: FANG X M, E-mail: xiangming_fang@njmu.edu.cn

Conflicts of interest   None.

Received  2025-02-05
Accepted  2025-04-10
DOI: 10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2025.04.022
Cite this article as: JI Y, LU L J, FANG X M. Advances in imaging-transcriptomics association studies in neurodegenerative diseases[J]. Chin J Magn Reson Imaging, 2025, 16(4): 139-144. DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2025.04.022.

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