The Role of MRI Biomarkers and Their Interactions with Cognitive Status and APOE ε4 in Nondemented Elderly Subjects

Abstract

Purpose: (1) To investigate atrophy patterns of hippocampal subfield volume and Alzheimer’s disease (AD)-signature cortical thickness in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) patients; (2) to explore the association between the neuropsychological (NP) and the brain structure in the MCI and older normal cognition group; (3) to determine whether these associations were modified by the apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 gene and cognitive status. Methods: The FreeSurfer software was used for automated segmentation of hippocampal subfields and AD-signature cortical thickness for 22 MCI patients and 23 cognitive normal controls (NC). The volume, cortical thickness, and the neuropsychological scale were compared with two-sample t tests. Linear regression models were used to determine the association between the NP and the brain structure. Results: Compared with the NC group, MCI patients showed a decreased volume of the left presubiculum, subiculum and right CA2_3 and CA4_DG (p < 0.05, FDR corrected). The volume of these regions was positively correlated with NP scores. Of note, these associations depended on the cognitive status but not on the APOE ε4 status. The left subiculum and presubiculum volume were positively correlated with the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scores only in the MCI patients. Conclusion: Atrophy of the hippocampal subfields may be a powerful biomarker for MCI in the Chinese population.

Deviations in Hippocampal Subregion in Older Adults With Cognitive Frailty

“…The volume of the presubiculum is considered to be a promising marker of imminent memory in Alzheimer's disease (Jacobs et al, 2020). Additionally, the left presubiculum volume is positively correlated with MoCA score in MCI patients, which is in line with our study (Liang et al, 2018). The connection between the presubiculum and the retrosplenial cortex is the primary site of lesions in most forms of amnesia, and stimulation in this region is reported to enhance memory (Ferguson et al, 2019).…”

Deviations in Hippocampal Subregion Associated With Cognitive and Physical Frailty in Older Adults With Cognitive Frailty

“…The volume of the presubiculum is considered to be a promising marker of imminent memory in Alzheimer's disease [27]. Additionally, the left presubiculum volume is positively correlated with MoCA score in MCI patients, which is in line with our study [28]. The connection between the presubiculum and the retrosplenial cortex is the primary site of lesions in most forms of amnesia, and stimulation in this region is reported to enhance memory [29].…”

Cerebral Functional Manipulation of Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in Cognitive Impairment Patients After Stroke: An fMRI Study

“…All the participants were assessed for cognitive function at baseline and follow-up after 3 weeks' intervention via the MMSE and MoCA Beijing version, the widely used inspection tools for cognition status. The MMSE and MoCA scale cover multiple cognitive domains: MMSE assessed orientation, memory, delayed to recall, attention, force calculation, language and visual capacity, and the MOCA assessed naming, short-term memory, visuospatial abilities, executive function, abstraction, attention, concentration, language, and orientation (28,32). Scores of MMSE range from 0 to 30 points, with higher scores indicating better cognitive function.…”