Correlations between gray matter reductions and cognitive deficits in dementia with Lewy Bodies and Parkinson's disease with dementia.
There is controversy regarding whether Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB) and Parkinson's disease with dementia (PDD) may or not be different manifestations of the same disorder. The purpose of the present study was to investigate possible correlations between brain structure and neuropsychological functions in clinically diagnosed patients with DLB and PDD. The study sample consisted of 12 consecutively referred DLB patients, 16 PDD patients, and 16 healthy control subjects recruited from an outpatient setting, who underwent MRI and neuropsychological assessment. Voxel-based morphometry results showed that DLB patients had greater gray matter atrophy in the right superior frontal gyrus, the right premotor area and the right inferior frontal lobe compared to PDD. Furthermore, the anterior cingulate and prefrontal volume correlated with performance on the Continuous Performance Test while the right hippocampus and amygdala volume correlated with Visual Memory Test in the DLB group. In conclusion, DLB patients had more fronto-temporal gray matter atrophy than PDD patients and these reductions correlated with neuropsychological impairment.
Sanchez-Castaneda
Cristina
C
Dementia Unit, Department of Neurology, Bellvitge University Hospital, Barcelona, Spain.
Rene
Ramon
R
Ramirez-Ruiz
Blanca
B
Campdelacreu
Jaume
J
Gascon
Jordi
J
Falcon
Carles
C
Calopa
Matilde
M
Jauma
Serge
S
Juncadella
Montserrat
M
Junque
Carme
C
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020961:Lewy Body Disease / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric