Measurement of Interthalamic Adhesion Thickness as a Criteria for Brain Atrophy in Dogs With and Without Cognitive Dysfunction (Dementia)

Abstract

The criteria for brain atrophy in dogs have not yet been established, because of wide variation in the morphology of the ventricles and sulci of the brain depending on the breed and size. In this study, we examined the thickness of the interthalamic adhesion in a transverse magnetic resonance image to investigate normal, to examine the correlation with age, body weight, and breed, and to assess whether measurement would be a useful indicator of brain atrophy. The animals used in this study were of various breeds and weight, and had no identifiable intracranial lesion. They were divided into two groups: a normal group (0.6-15-year-old, n = 66) and a demented aging group (12-18-year-old, n = 12). The interthalamic adhesion thickness in both T1- and T2-weighted transverse images were measured in all dogs. The interthalamic adhesion thickness in the normal and demented groups was 6.79 +/- 0.70 and 3.82 +/- 0.79 mm, respectively. The interthalamic adhesion thickness in the demented group was significantly smaller. In an analysis of the correlation of interthalamic adhesion thickness with age and weight in normal dogs, significant negative and positive correlation was recognized, respectively. However, the strength of these correlations was low. These results suggest that interthalamic adhesion thickness may be a good parameter for evaluating brain atrophy in dogs with cognitive dysfunction.

A Digital Atlas of the Dog Brain

“…Individual differences in brain structure as assessed by different imaging modalities, such as cortical thickness, or diffusion tensor imaging [54], may be related to normal variations of behavior or one of many disease states. Indeed, the canine is a valuable model system for many neurological diseases, including epilepsy [55]; cortical malformations such as lissencephaly [56], [57] and polymicrogyria [58], [59]; dementia [60], [61]; and focal lesions [62], [63]. Given the good registration of high-resolution anatomy with a head model, the atlas can be used to guide source localization of EEG recording in the dog [64].…”

Relationship among interthalamic adhesion size, thalamic anatomy and neuropsychological functions in healthy volunteers

“…Although the current study could not address the mechanisms underlying how ITA size mediates this relationship, the size of the ITA could play a role in more effective connectivity between the two thalamic nuclei as well as cerebrospinal fluid circulation (Nayak and Kv 2010) that have implications for neurocognitive functioning. Although animal data are sparse, one study noted that ITA parameters may be useful for evaluating brain atrophy in animals with “cognitive dysfunction” (Hasegawa et al 2005). We did not observe significant mediation effects between age and neuropsychological functions in males.…”

Serial MRI Features of Canine GM1 Gangliosidosis: A Possible Imaging Biomarker for Diagnosis and Progression of the Disease

“…The total volume of brain parenchyma (cm 3 ) was calculated by summing the volume of brain parenchyma in each imaging series. In addition, the interthalamic adhesion thickness (mm) that has been reported as an indicator of canine brain atrophy [26] was measured in each series. Brain volume and the interthalamic adhesion thickness measurements were consistently performed by one author (D. Hasegawa) using the same criterion.…”