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Published on: October 13, 2016
Mild cognitive impairment: differential atrophy in the hippocampal subfields
B J Hanseeuw1, K Van Leemput, M Kavec
1Department of Neurology, Saint-Luc University Hospital, Brussels, Belgium. bernard.hanseeuw@uclouvain.be
AJNR. American Journal of Neuroradiology
|August 13, 2011
Summary
Measuring specific hippocampus subfield volumes, particularly the subiculum and CA2-3, significantly improves the detection of early Alzheimer disease (aMCI). This enhanced MRI sensitivity aids in diagnosing mild cognitive impairment.
Area of Science:
- Neuroimaging
- Alzheimer Disease Research
- Computational Anatomy
Background:
- Hippocampus volumetry is a known marker for Alzheimer disease.
- Current methods lack sensitivity for detecting early stages like amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI).
- Specific hippocampus subfield atrophy patterns may exist in aMCI.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if specific hippocampus subfield volumes are reduced in aMCI.
- To determine if measuring these subfield volumes enhances MRI sensitivity for aMCI detection.
Main Methods:
- Evaluated episodic memory and hippocampus subfield volumes in 15 aMCI patients and 15 controls.
- Utilized a novel, fully automated computational method for hippocampus subfield segmentation.
- Employed Bayesian modeling for image segmentation inference.
Main Results:
- Subiculum and CA2-3 subfields showed significant atrophy in aMCI patients compared to controls.
- Total hippocampus volume and other subfields did not differ significantly.
- Episodic memory was the primary factor influencing hippocampus volumes in aMCI.
- Sensitivity for diagnosing aMCI increased from 40% to 73% by segmenting subfields.
Conclusions:
- Measuring CA2-3 and subiculum volumes improves the diagnostic sensitivity for aMCI.
- This targeted volumetric analysis offers a more sensitive MRI approach for early Alzheimer disease detection.
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