Hippocampal volume and integrity as predictors of cognitive decline in intact elderly.
The risk of Alzheimer's disease can be predicted by volumetric analyses of MRI data in the medial temporal lobe. The present study compared a volumetric measurement of the hippocampus with a novel measure of hippocampal integrity (HI) derived from the ratio of parenchyma volume over total volume. Participants were cognitively intact and aged 60 years or older at baseline, and were tested twice, roughly 3 years apart. Participants had been recruited for a study on late-life major depression (LLMD) and were evenly split between depressed patients and controls. Linear regression models were applied to the data with a cognitive composite score as the outcome, and HI and volume, together or separately, as predictors. Subsequent cognitive performance was predicted well by models that included an interaction between HI and LLMD status, such that lower HI scores predicted more cognitive decline in depressed patients. More research is needed, but tentative results from this study appear to suggest that the newly introduced measure HI is an effective tool for the purpose of predicting future changes in general cognitive ability, and especially so in individuals with LLMD.
aDepartment of Psychology, Liverpool Hope University bSchool of Natural Sciences and Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK cDivision of Biostatistics, New York State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University, New York dNathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg eDepartments of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Population Health, School of Medicine fDepartment of Psychiatry, New York University, New York City, New York, USA gGerman Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) hDepartment of Psychosomatic Medicine, University of Rostock, Rostock, Germany.
Davide
D
Bruno
Adam
A
Ciarleglio
Michel J
MJ
Grothe
Jay
J
Nierenberg
Alvin H
AH
Bachman
Stefan J
SJ
Teipel
Eva
E
Petkova
Babak A
BA
Ardekani
Nunzio
N
Pomara
D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000473:pathology*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D003863:Depression / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales