Analysis of Brain Segmentation Pipelines in Healthy Controls, MS, and AD Subjects
Researchers compared six brain segmentation pipelines using MRI data from 20 healthy controls, 19 people with multiple sclerosis, and 50 with Alzheimer's disease. They found significant differences in volume estimates across pipelines and noted that agreement was stronger for white matter than gray and subcortical regions. Longitudinal analysis showed reduced variability in some estimates, particularly for hippocampal and thalamic measurements.
- Tags
- #MSResearch
- Most relevant to
- —
- Human efficacy
- Not established from this source
- Mechanism
- Not reported
- Evidence strength
- Not graded
- Outcome
- Not reported
Why it matters
These findings highlight variability in brain imaging analysis, which is crucial for accurate diagnosis and monitoring of neurological diseases. Understanding how different methodologies impact results can improve study designs and interpretations in future research.
What this does not prove
Despite some improvements, significant differences in pipeline estimates remained, particularly in Alzheimer's and subcortical areas, indicating that not all pipelines provide reliable stability. The findings do not determine which method is superior overall.
Next milestone
No next milestone was established from the available source.
Study facts
- Study design
- Not reported
- Participants / samples
- Not reported
- Randomised
- Not reported
- Controlled
- Not reported
- Primary endpoint met
- Not reported
- Relevant MS type
- Not reported
- Publication date
- 2026-10-16
- Evidence reviewed
- Abstract only
- Regulatory approval
- Not reported
- Research areas
- Not classified
- Biological target
- Not reported
- Pathway
- Not reported
- Population
- Not reported
- Size of effect
- Not reported
- Secondary endpoints
- Not reported
- MRI endpoints
- Not reported
- Biomarkers
- Not reported
- Safety
- Not reported
Original sources
- Primary evidenceAgreement and longitudinal repeatability of established brain volumetry pipelines across healthy controls, multiple sclerosis, and Alzheimer's disease. ↗DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2026.1917471
Supporting passages (8)
sample size basisIn this study, we performed a version-specific comparison of six established brain segmentation pipelines across healthy controls (HC; n = 20), people with multiple sclerosis (MS; n = 19), and people with Alzheimer's disease (AD; n = 50).
publication date2026-10-16
findingsBaseline volume estimates differed significantly across pipelines in 11 of 12 cohort-by-tissue comparisons (FDR-adjusted p < 0.001)
findingsInter-pipeline agreement was generally strong for white matter and lower for gray matter and subcortical structures (hippocampus and thalamus)
findingsLongitudinal processing reduced within-subject variability in selected settings, particularly for FreeSurfer-derived hippocampal and thalamic estimates
limitationsHowever, significant pipeline main effects persisted in selected tissues, especially in AD and subcortical regions, indicating residual differences in the magnitude of estimated change.
limitationsLongitudinal processing reduced within-subject variability in selected settings, particularly for FreeSurfer-derived hippocampal and thalamic estimates, but did not uniformly improve stability across all pipelines or tissues.
peer reviewedPublication types: Journal Article
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