title: Fiber connections between the cerebral cortex and the corpus callosum in Alzheimer's disease: a diffusion tensor imaging and voxel-based morphometry study.
abstract: Regional cortical atrophy in Alzheimer's disease (AD) most likely reflects the loss of cortical neurons. Several diffusion tensor imaging studies reported reduced fractional anisotropy (FA) in the corpus callosum in AD. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between reduced FA in the corpus callosum and gray matter atrophy in AD. Thirteen patients with AD with a mean (+/-standard deviation) age of 68.3 years (+/-11.5) and mean Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) score of 21.8 (+/-4.8) were recruited. There were 13 control subjects with a mean age of 66.7 years (+/-6.4) and MMSE of 29.1 (+/-0.7). We used voxel-based morphometry of gray matter maps and region of interest-based analysis of FA in the corpus callosum. FA values of the anterior corpus callosum in AD patients were significantly correlated with gray matter volume in the prefrontal cortex and left parietal lobes. FA values of the posterior corpus callosum were significantly correlated with gray matter volume in the bilateral frontal, temporal, right parietal, and occipital lobes. In control subjects, no correlations were detected. Our findings suggest that decline of FA in the corpus callosum may be related to neuronal degeneration in corresponding cortical areas.
authors.affiliation: Alzheimer Memorial Center, Dementia and Neuroimaging Section, Department of Psychiatry, Ludwig-Maximilian University, Nussbaumstrasse 7, D-80366 Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Djyldyz
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sydykova
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Stahl
authors.forename: Olaf
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Dietrich
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ewers
authors.forename: Maximilian F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Reiser
authors.forename: Stefan O
authors.initials: SO
authors.lastname: Schoenberg
authors.forename: Hans-Jürgen
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Möller
authors.forename: Harald
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hampel
authors.forename: Stefan J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Teipel
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D003337:Corpus Callosum / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D010487:Periaqueductal Gray / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D012016:Reference Values