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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
PubMed
Abstract

Insights

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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