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Hippocampal Atrophy in Persons With Age-Associated Memory Impairment: Volumetry Within a Common Space

From the Department of Neurology and Laboratory of Neuro Imaging (M.S.M., M.L.X., J.F., M.M., J.I.D., N.P.T., A.W.T.), Alzheimer’s Disease Center (M.S.M., G.W.S.), Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences (G.W.S., S.Y.B.), The Center on Aging (G.W.S.), UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California.

Address reprint requests to: Michael S. Mega, MD, PhD, Laboratory of Neuro Imaging, Department of Neurology, UCLA School of Medicine, 710 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1769. Email: mega{at}loni.ucla.edu

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to demonstrate the assessment of hippocampal atrophy within a standard brain atlas for persons with age-associated memory impairment (AAMI) compared with cognitively intact elderly.

METHODS: High-resolution three-dimensional (3D) brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed on 20 nondemented persons: 10 had AAMI and 10 were normal elderly. Scans were aligned to a common atlas template to control for errors due to variable brain size and orientation as well as facilitating communication of results across centers. Manual outlining every 1 mm with volumes determined for both the hippocampal head and body was accomplished after coronal resampling perpendicular to the long axis of the hippocampus.

RESULTS: Subject groups were similar in age, sex ratios, and educational achievement. The AAMI group had significantly lower volumes for the right hippocampus and hippocampal head (p =.02) compared with controls.

CONCLUSION: A growing body of work suggests the right hippocampal head as an early site of atrophy in early memory impairment. Subtle atrophic changes are detectable within a common atlas template allowing imaging assessment across centers.

Key Words: brain mapping, • magnetic resonance imaging, • hippocampus, • Alzheimer’s disease.

Abbreviations: AAMI = age-associated memory impairment;; AD = Alzheimer’s disease;; MCI = mild cognitive impairment;; 3D = three dimensional;; MRI = magnetic resonance imaging;; MMSE = Mini Mental State Examination.

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