Multi-center comparison of medial temporal atrophy in patients with Alzheimer's disease--data from the ICTUS study.
OBJECTIVE
To study multi-center variability of medial temporal lobe atrophy (MTA) in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) recruited in a European observational study of AD.


METHODS
117 mild to moderate AD patients from 5 European centers (Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Brescia and Genova, Italy; Mannheim, Germany; Pamplona, Spain) had magnetic resonance imaging scans performed as part of the routine diagnostic examination. MTA was assessed with the visual Scheltens scale.


RESULTS
AD patients from Brescia, Genova, Pamplona, and Mannheim had a mean 32% prevalence of no or borderline MTA vs. 62% of patients from Amsterdam (p = 0.002 for the difference between Amsterdam and all the other centers). The peculiar distribution of MTA in the Amsterdam patients may be attributable to younger age (70.7 +/- 8.4 vs. 75.3 +/- 6.8 years, p = 0.002), milder dementia severity (score 0.5 on the clinical dementia rating scale: 52 vs. 23%, p = 0.003), and less frequent depression (14 vs. 49%, p < 0.0005 in Amsterdam vs. all the other centers, respectively).


CONCLUSIONS
Patients with probable AD recruited in different centers of Europe generally have similar MTA distribution, even if peculiar demographic and clinical findings might explain occasional differences. These results have implications for clinical trials in AD with biological markers as outcome measures.
LENITEM Laboratory of Epidemiology, Neuroimaging and Telemedicine, IRCCS Centro S. Giovanni di Dio Fatebenefratelli, Brescia, Italy.
Samantha
S
Galluzzi
Erika
E
Talassi
Michela
M
Belussi
Philip
P
Scheltens
Laura
L
van de Pol
Flavio
F
Nobili
Guido
G
Rodriguez
Lutz
L
Froelich
Marinella
M
Damian
Pablo
P
Martinez-Lage
Teresa
T
Gomez-Isla
Emma
E
Reynish
Pierre Jean
PJ
Ousset
Bruno
B
Vellas
Giovanni B
GB
Frisoni
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000473:pathology*; D001284:Atrophy; D002561:Cerebrovascular Disorders / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000473:pathology*