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Hippocampal atrophy in persons with age-associated memory impairment: volumetry within a common space
Michael S Mega1, Gary W Small, Mina L Xu
1Department of Neurology and Laboratory of Neuro Imaging, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California 90095-1769, USA. mega@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.