title: The relationship between regional brain volumes and the extent of coronary artery disease in mild cognitive impairment.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There are conflicting reports regarding the association between coronary artery disease (CAD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Volumetric Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) investigations have been considered as an objective biomarker for MCI. In this study, we determined the relationship between the regional brain volumes and the extent of CAD in MCI patients and cognitively normal controls.
  
  
  METHODS
  In a case-control study a subset of MCI patients (n = 20) and cognitively normal controls (n = 20), aged 66.4 ± 4.6 and 65.3 ± 3.9 respectively, from subjects who were recently admitted to cardiac catheterization facilities in two general hospitals were selected. All subjects underwent a clinical interview, biochemical measures, neuropsychological testing and Neuropsychiatry Unit COGnitive assessment tool. Video records of coronary angiography were scored with the Gensini method. For volumetric evaluation of regions of interest, brain MRI scans was processed using the FreeSurfer software package the relationship between the regional brain volumes and the extent of CAD in MCI patients and cognitively normal controls were compared.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We have found that, there were significant differences between the two groups in volumes of left fusiform (P = 0.039), left pars triangularis (P = 0.003) and left superior temporal gyrus (P = 0.009), after controlling for intracranial volumes. Higher Gensini scores were associated with reduced volumes of total cortical volume (P = 0.047, R = -0.4), left precuneus (P = 0.022, R = -0.5), right inferior parietal lobule (P = 0.011, R = -0.5) and left supra marginal gyrus (P = 0.035, R = -0.04) in MCI.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In MCI, a greater degree of coronary stenosis correlates with greater loss of gray matter in specific brain regions relevant to cognitive function. This, however, was not the case for cognitively normal subjects.
authors.affiliation: Psychosomatic Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Majid
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Barekatain
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Hedyeh
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Askarpour
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Faezeh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zahedian
authors.affiliation: Neuropsychiatry Unit, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, University of Melbourne and Melbourne Health, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Walterfang
authors.affiliation: Neuropsychiatry Unit, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, University of Melbourne and Melbourne Health, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Dennis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Velakoulis
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and Behavioral Sciences Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad Reza
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Maracy
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Cardiac Rehabilitation Research Center, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad Hashemi
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Jazi
keywords: Angiography; brain volumes; coronary artery disease; magnetic resonance imaging; mild cognitive impairment