title: A longitudinal study of brain atrophy over two years in community-dwelling older individuals.
abstract: Most previous neuroimaging studies of age-related brain structural changes in older individuals have been cross-sectional and/or restricted to clinical samples. The present study of 345 community-dwelling non-demented individuals aged 70-90years aimed to examine age-related brain volumetric changes over two years. T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging scans were obtained at baseline and at 2-year follow-up and analyzed using the FMRIB Software Library and FreeSurfer to investigate cortical thickness and shape and volumetric changes of subcortical structures. The results showed significant atrophy across much of the cerebral cortex with bilateral transverse temporal regions shrinking the fastest. Atrophy was also found in a number of subcortical structures, including the CA1 and subiculum subfields of the hippocampus. In some regions, such as left and right entorhinal cortices, right hippocampus and right precentral area, the rate of atrophy increased with age. Our analysis also showed that rostral middle frontal regions were thicker bilaterally in older participants, which may indicate its ability to compensate for medial temporal lobe atrophy. Compared to men, women had thicker cortical regions but greater rates of cortical atrophy. Women also had smaller subcortical structures. A longer period of education was associated with greater thickness in a number of cortical regions. Our results suggest a pattern of brain atrophy with non-demented people that resembles a less extreme form of the changes associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD).
authors: Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA), School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors: Jiyang
authors: J
authors: Jiang
authors: Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA), School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia; Neuropsychiatric Institute, Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick, NSW, Australia.
authors: Perminder
authors: P
authors: Sachdev
authors: Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA), School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors: Darren M
authors: DM
authors: Lipnicki
authors: Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA), School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors: Haobo
authors: H
authors: Zhang
authors: Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA), School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors: Tao
authors: T
authors: Liu
authors: State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
authors: Wanlin
authors: W
authors: Zhu
authors: Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA), School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors: Chao
authors: C
authors: Suo
authors: Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA), School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors: Lin
authors: L
authors: Zhuang
authors: Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA), School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors: John
authors: J
authors: Crawford
authors: Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA), School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors: Simone
authors: S
authors: Reppermund
authors: Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA), School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia; Department of Development Disability Neuropsychiatry, School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors: Julian
authors: J
authors: Trollor
authors: Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA), School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia; Aged Care Psychiatry, Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick, NSW, Australia; Dementia Collaborative Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors: Henry
authors: H
authors: Brodaty
authors: Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA), School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia; Neuropsychiatric Institute, Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick, NSW, Australia. Electronic address: w.wen@unsw.edu.au.
authors: Wei
authors: W
authors: Wen
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000473:pathology*; D001284:Atrophy / Q000473:pathology; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009929:Organ Size; D012737:Sex Factors
keywords: Cortical thickness; Longitudinal; Magnetic resonance imaging; Non-demented; Subcortical volume