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Updated: Jun 5, 2026
High-resolution In Vivo Manual Segmentation Protocol for Human Hippocampal Subfields Using 3T Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Published on: November 10, 2015
3 Tesla MRI detects accelerated hippocampal volume reduction in postmenopausal women
Masami Goto1, Osamu Abe, Tosiaki Miyati
1Department of Radiological Technology, University of Tokyo Hospital, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan. car6_pa2_rw@yahoo.co.jp
Purpose:
To clarify age-related structural changes specific to hippocampal volume by hierarchizing according to age, gender, and menopausal status. Many studies report the neuroprotective effects of estrogen and age-related brain volume changes; however, there are no studies regarding age-related change specific to hippocampal volume in terms of age, gender, and menopausal status.
Materials And Methods:
T1-weighted MR images were obtained in 412 healthy adults divided into eight groups according to age and gender, to analyze brain volume change focusing on hippocampal volume.
Results:
Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) revealed significantly smaller gray matter volume in the hippocampus bilaterally in females aged in their fifties (51 of 59 females were at menopause) compared with females in their forties (3 of 46 females were at menopause). No significant difference was found, however, between female groups in their fifties versus sixties, or sixties versus seventies; or between male groups in their forties versus fifties, fifties versus sixties, or sixties versus seventies. In addition, VBM revealed significant hippocampal volume reduction bilaterally in all postmenopausal women compared with all premenopausal women.
Conclusion:
The results of the current study suggest that the menopause may be associated with hippocampal volume reduction.
