Memory complaints and increased rates of brain atrophy: risk factors for mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease.
OBJECTIVE
To determine rates of cerebral atrophy in individuals with symptoms of memory loss but no objective cognitive impairment (SNCI) and their association with future cognitive decline.


METHODS
Thirty-two SNCI subjects, 16 with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and 27 control subjects had clinical assessment and magnetic resonance imaging at baseline and 1 year later. Rates of whole brain atrophy (WBA), hippocampal atrophy (HA) and ventricular enlargement (VE) were measured. Our outcome was clinical diagnosis at 2 years after entry into the study.


RESULTS
The MCI group had greater rates of WBA, HA and VE than both controls and SNCI subjects. As a group SNCI subjects did not have significantly greater rates of atrophy than the controls. However, SNCI subjects who progressed to MCI or dementia had increased rates of atrophy compared with those who remained stable.


CONCLUSIONS
Individuals with memory complaints but no objective memory deficits, who progress to MCI or dementia, have increased rates of cerebral atrophy.
Archer
H A
HA
Dementia Research Centre, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, UK. harcher@dementia.ion.ucl.ac.uk
Kennedy
J
J
Barnes
J
J
Pepple
T
T
Boyes
R
R
Randlesome
K
K
Clegg
S
S
Leung
K K
KK
Ourselin
S
S
Frost
C
C
Rossor
M N
MN
Fox
N C
NC
D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000523:psychology; D001284:Atrophy / Q000473:pathology; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology* / Q000523:psychology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D042241:Early Diagnosis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000473:pathology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012307:Risk Factors