title: Global cerebral atrophy in early stages of Huntington's disease: quantitative MRI study.
abstract: Global brain atrophy was determined in 70 patients suffering from Huntington's disease (HD) and 70 healthy controls, using brain parenchymal fractions calculated from 3D MRI data in a standardized procedure. In HD patients, brain parenchymal fractions were significantly reduced compared to controls in all age groups; the physiological decline with age was less pronounced in HD. However, brain parenchymal fraction values did not allow the prediction of clinical impairment (as assessed by clinical scores). Global brain parenchyma reduction seems to be an early or even constitutional feature of HD, but clinical symptoms appear to reflect regional rather than global atrophy. Overall, MRI-based brain volume quantification correlated with clinical scores clarifies the functional impact of morphological brain alterations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Ulm, Germany. jan.kassubek@medizin.uni-ulm.de
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kassubek
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bernhard Landwehrmeyer
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ecker
authors.forename: Freimut D
authors.initials: FD
authors.lastname: Juengling
authors.forename: Rainer
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Muche
authors.forename: Sabine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schuller
authors.forename: Adolf
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Weindl
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Peinemann
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001284:Atrophy / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006816:Huntington Disease / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012016:Reference Values