title: Structural brain changes in normal individuals with a maternal history of Alzheimer's.
abstract: Having a parent affected with late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD) is a major risk factor for developing the disease among cognitively normal (NL) individuals. This magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study examines whether NL with a LOAD-affected parent show preclinical brain atrophy, and whether there are parent-of-origin effects. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) on Statistical parametric mapping (SPM8) was used to examine volumetric T1-MRI scans of 60 late-middle-aged NL subjects, divided into 3 size-matched, demographically balanced groups of 20 subjects each, including NL with a maternal (FHm), paternal (FHp), or negative family history (FH-) of LOAD. There were no group differences for clinical and neuropsychological measures, and ApoE status. On VBM, FHm showed reduced gray matter volumes (GMV) in frontal, parietal, and temporal cortices and precuneus as compared with FH-, and in precuneus compared with FHp (p < 0.05, family-wise error [FWE]-corrected). Results remained significant controlling for age, gender, education, ApoE, and total intracranial volume. No differences were observed between FHp and FH- in any regions. NL FHm showed reduced GMV in LOAD-affected brain regions compared with FH- and FHp, indicating higher risk for Alzheimer's disease. Our findings support the use of regional brain atrophy as a preclinical biomarker for LOAD among at-risk individuals.
authors.affiliation: Center for Brain Health, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA.
authors.forename: Valentina
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Berti
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mosconi
authors.forename: Lidia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Glodzik
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Murray
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: De Santi
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pupi
authors.forename: Wai
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Tsui
authors.forename: Mony J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: De Leon
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology*; D001284:Atrophy; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000639:trends; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009035:Mothers; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors