title: Effect of the XbaI polymorphism of estrogen receptor alpha on postmenopausal gray matter.
abstract: The frequent polymorphism XbaI (A351G) in the estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha) gene has been associated with some postmenopausal pathologies' risk such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) or cognitive decline. In the present study, we explored whether the XbaI polymorphism leads to different gray matter volumes using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) on 20 magnetic resonance images of healthy postmenopausal women. Subjects carrying the less common XbaI/X allele were contrasted to non-carriers in groups well balanced by relevant confounding variables. The XbaI/X allele carriers displayed clusters ranging from 9 to 28% of tissue reductions in the cerebellar (cluster size, z, stereotactic coordinates: 16 mm(3); 3.17; 14, -94, -38) and cerebral cortex, in particular in the occipital lobe (272 mm(3); 3.76; -38,-68,-16), in the middle frontal gyrus (192 mm(3); 3.71; 38, 12, 38) and in the middle temporal gyrus, while the opposite comparison was negative. The XbaI/X allele in ERalpha gene is associated to smaller gray matter volumes of the cerebral and cerebellar cortex. This allele might increase the susceptibility for senile neurodegenerative conditions, being associated to smaller cerebral reserve.
authors.affiliation: LENITEM (Laboratory of Epidemiology, Neuroimaging and Telemedicine), IRCCS San Giovanni di Dio-FBF, Brescia, Italy.
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Boccardi
authors.forename: Catia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Scassellati
authors.forename: Roberta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ghidoni
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Testa
authors.forename: Luisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Benussi
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bonetti
authors.forename: Luisella
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bocchio-Chiavetto
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gennarelli
authors.forename: Giuliano
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Binetti
authors.forename: Giovanni B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Frisoni
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D001284:Atrophy / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D019610:Cytoprotection / Q000235:genetics; D004252:DNA Mutational Analysis; D003704:Dementia / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology; D015252:Deoxyribonucleases, Type II Site-Specific; D018450:Disease Progression; D047628:Estrogen Receptor alpha / Q000235:genetics*; D004967:Estrogens / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease / Q000235:genetics; D005820:Genetic Testing; D005838:Genotype; D006579:Heterozygote; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008875:Middle Aged; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D017698:Postmenopause / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D047628:Estrogen Receptor alpha; D004967:Estrogens; C025580:endodeoxyribonuclease XBAI; D015252:Deoxyribonucleases, Type II Site-Specific