Study of normal volumetric variation in the putamen with age and sex using magnetic resonance imaging

Putamen volume is seen to alter in neurological and psychiatric disorders like Parkinson's disease, depression, schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease, and in individuals treated with antipsychotics. To establish a trend in volume changes in pathologic states, studies on factors influencing normal variation in a given population become essential. This study aimed to evaluate the normal variations in putamen volume in the Indian population and correlate them with the effects of age and sex. Bilateral symmetry was also evaluated. The study included MR images of 98 individuals aged 10-87 years. Axial sections of T2-weighted spin echo sequences were used to estimate putamen volume. The putamen was delineated manually and its volume was estimated using Cavalieri's principle. Linear regression and paired t-test were used to analyze data. Bilateral putamen volume reduced with age in both sexes. This was statistically significant (P < 0.05) except for the left putamen volume in males. There was no significant age-adjusted effect of sex on putamen volume in both hemispheres (P > 0.05). Age and sex interaction was not found to be statistically significant. Hemispherical asymmetry was not established as the difference between the right and left putamen volume did not reach statistical significance in both males and females (P > 0.05). In conclusion, this study demonstrated an age related decline in the volumes of both putamen in males and females. The rate of volume reduction was not affected by sex. The study failed to establish a significant sex difference and hemispherical asymmetry in putamen volume. Clin. Anat. 30:461-466, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.