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Alzheimer's disease and head circumference.
Patricio S Espinosa1, Richard J Kryscio, Marta S Mendiondo
1Department of Neurology, Sanders- Brown Center on Aging - University of Kentucky Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Lexington, KY 40536-0284, USA. psespi2@uky.edu
Journal of Alzheimer'S Disease : JAD
|April 22, 2006
Summary
Head circumference (HC) was smaller in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients compared to controls. However, HC did not significantly predict the conversion to AD in a longitudinal study.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Gerontology
Background:
- Larger brain size may offer a cognitive reserve against Alzheimer's disease (AD).
- Head circumference (HC) is a proxy for brain size and may correlate with AD risk or progression.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between head circumference (HC) and Alzheimer's disease (AD).
- To determine if HC predicts conversion to dementia in non-demented individuals.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional analysis compared HC in 592 AD patients and 459 controls.
- Prospective analysis followed controls for conversion to dementia, assessing HC as a predictor.
Main Results:
- AD patients had smaller mean HC than controls, but this difference was not significant after adjusting for age and education.
- HC did not significantly predict time to conversion to AD in the prospective analysis.
- Age, education, apolipoprotein-E (ApoE) genotype, and family history were significant factors in AD conversion.
Conclusions:
- While AD patients showed smaller HC, AD itself minimally explained this difference.
- Head circumference is not a significant predictor of conversion to Alzheimer's disease.