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Hippocampal atrophy correlates with the severity of cognitive decline

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 September 2006

Burcu Balam Yavuz
Affiliation:
Faculty of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Geriatric Medicine, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey
Servet Ariogul
Affiliation:
Faculty of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Geriatric Medicine, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey
Mustafa Cankurtaran
Affiliation:
Faculty of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Geriatric Medicine, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey
Kader Karli Oguz
Affiliation:
Faculty of Medicine, Department of Radiology, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey
Meltem Halil
Affiliation:
Faculty of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Geriatric Medicine, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey
Neslihan Dagli
Affiliation:
Faculty of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey
Eylem Sahin Cankurtaran
Affiliation:
Ankara Oncology Hospital, Department of Psychiatry, Ankara, Turkey

Abstract

Background: The aim of this study is to compare the results of magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, particularly the decline in hippocampal volume, of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) with healthy age-matched controls, to examine the reliability of hippocampal volumetry in the early diagnosis of AD and the correlation of the severity of hippocampal atrophy with the severity of cognitive decline.

Methods: Twenty-six AD, 22 MCI and 15 normal cognitive status (NCS) patients were scanned with a 3 Tesla MR scanner. Hippocampus volumes were detected manually by Osiris 4.18.

Results: Multivariate regression analysis, which was performed to adjust the covariate effects of education, age, gender, hypertension and diabetes mellitus, showed that hippocampal atrophy was correlated with AD and MCI for right hippocampus; AD, MCI and age for left hippocampus independent of other parameters. A second regression analysis revealed that MMSE was correlated with hippocampal volume.

Conclusions: Hippocampal volumetry can be used in early diagnosis of cognitive impairment, as well as grading cognitive decline.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
International Psychogeriatric Association 2006

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