Volume of hippocampal subfields and cognitive deficits in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders

Aquaporin-4 (AQP4) water channel is involved in hippocampal plasticity and is the target of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD) autoimmunity. We measured volumes of hippocampal subfields and their association with cognitive performance in AQP4-seropositive NMOSD patients.

Global and regional hippocampal volumes were derived from 28 AQP4-seropositive NMOSD patients and 101 healthy controls (HC) from 3D-T1-weighted images. Normalized brain volumes were also calculated. A neuropsychological evaluation, including the Brief Repeatable Battery of Neuropsychological Tests, was performed in patients. Based on HC data, we estimated mean z-scores of volumes in the whole NMOSD group and compared them according to the status of global and domain-selective cognitive impairment.

Global cognitive impairment was detected in 46.4% of NMOSD patients, with attentive (60.7%) and executive (21.4%) domains being the most affected. NMOSD patients had left hippocampal atrophy at global (p = 0.012) and regional level (fimbria, Cornu Ammonis [CA] 3, molecular layer, dentate gyrus [DG], and subicular complex, p values ranging between 0.033 and <0.001). On the right side the fimbria and hippocampal tail were atrophic (p = 0.024 for both). Cognitively impaired patients showed atrophy in the left CA3 and CA4 (p = 0.025-0.028), while patients presenting verbal and visual memory impairment had significant CA3 and DG atrophy. Those patients with attentive or executive impairment had preserved brain and hippocampal volumes.

NMOSD patients showed hippocampal atrophy associated with verbal and visual memory impairment. Such damage did not explain attention and executive function alterations, which were the most common cognitive deficits in this population.