title: Volumetric brain changes in thalamus, corpus callosum and medial temporal structures: mild Alzheimer's disease compared with amnestic mild cognitive impairment.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  It is widely known that atrophy of medial temporal structures is present in the mild stage of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI). However, structures such as the thalamus and corpus callosum are much less studied.
  
  
  METHODS
  We compared the volumes of the entorhinal cortex, hippocampus, thalamus and the corpus callosum in 14 controls, 14 patients with mild AD and 15 with aMCI and correlated these volumes with neuropsychological data. MRI was obtained at 2 T followed by manual segmentation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found atrophy in hippocampi and thalami of MCI patients compared to controls, and in the bilateral entorhinal cortex of aMCI compared to AD patients. All the structures showed atrophy in AD patients compared to controls, including the corpus callosum.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study confirms that thalamic areas are atrophied in aMCI, and the corpus callosum might represent a good structural marker for mild AD. Those areas were associated with cognitive functions already described in the literature.
authors.affiliation: Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Neurology, FCM, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, Brazil.
authors.forename: Tatiane
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pedro
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Weiler
authors.forename: Clarissa L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Yasuda
authors.forename: Anelyssa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: D'Abreu
authors.forename: Benito P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Damasceno
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cendes
authors.forename: Marcio L F
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Balthazar
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D000647:Amnesia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001284:Atrophy; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D001938:Brazil; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D060825:Cognitive Dysfunction / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D009929:Organ Size; D012044:Regression Analysis