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Research progress of magnetic resonance elastography in Alzheimer's disease
LI Jiantao  HUANG Tao  LI Lili  LU Xianjie  FAN Miao 

Cite this article as LI J T, HUANG T, LI L L, et al. Research progress of magnetic resonance elastography in Alzheimer's disease[J]. Chin J Magn Reson Imaging, 2026, 17(8): 115-120. DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2026.08.012.


[Abstract] Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder with an insidious onset and a progressive course, characterized by persistent cognitive decline and region-specific pathologies. Early identification of AD and elucidation of its underlying biological mechanisms remain key challenges in both clinical and basic research. Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) is a rapidly evolving non-invasive imaging technique that applies low-frequency mechanical waves to brain tissue and acquires quantitative parameters reflecting tissue stiffness and viscoelasticity using MRI. It offers a novel approach to investigating the evolution of the brain's mechanical microenvironment during AD progression and shows promise in assisting early diagnosis and disease monitoring. This review systematically summarizes the current applications of MRE in AD research, covering early detection, disease progression tracking, and the association between brain mechanical property changes and pathological processes. It also identifies limitations in sample size and technical standardization, and proposes future directions toward protocol harmonization and multicenter longitudinal validation. This review aims to provide clinicians and AD researchers with a systematic reference from technical principles to clinical applications.
[Keywords] Alzheimer's disease；neurodegenerative diseases；magnetic resonance imaging；magnetic resonance elastography；biomechanical properties

LI Jiantao   HUANG Tao   LI Lili   LU Xianjie   FAN Miao*  

Department of Radiology, Guangxi Hospital of the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Nanning 530000, China

Corresponding author: FAN M, E-mail: cmu-sums@163.com

Conflicts of interest   None.

Received  2026-03-16
Accepted  2026-07-10
DOI: 10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2026.08.012
Cite this article as LI J T, HUANG T, LI L L, et al. Research progress of magnetic resonance elastography in Alzheimer's disease[J]. Chin J Magn Reson Imaging, 2026, 17(8): 115-120. DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2026.08.012.

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