Three-Dimensional Gray Matter Atrophy Mapping in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Mild Alzheimer Disease

Abstract

Background: Alzheimer disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia worldwide. Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is the recent terminology for patients with cognitive deficiencies in the absence of functional decline. Most patients with MCI harbor the pathologic changes of AD and demonstrate transition to dementia at a rate of 10% to 15% per year. Patients with AD and MCI experience progressive brain atrophy.Objective: To analyze the structural magnetic resonance imaging data for 24 patients with amnestic MCI and 25 patients with mild AD using an advanced 3-dimensional cortical mapping technique.Design: Cross-sectional cohort design.Patients/Methods: We analyzed the structural magnetic resonance imaging data of 24 amnestic MCI (mean MMSE, 28.1; SD, 1.7) and 25 mild AD patients (all MMSE scores, Ͼ18; mean MMSE, 23.7; SD, 2.9) using an advanced 3-dimensional cortical mapping technique. Results:We observed significantly greater cortical atrophy in patients with mild AD. The entorhinal cortex, right more than left lateral temporal cortex, right parietal cortex, and bilateral precuneus showed 15% more atrophy and the remainder of the cortex primarily exhibited 10% to 15% more atrophy in patients with mild AD than in patients with amnestic MCI. Conclusion:There are striking cortical differences between mild AD and the immediately preceding cognitive state of amnestic MCI. Cortical areas affected earlier in the disease process are more severely affected than those that are affected late. Our method may prove to be a reliable in vivo disease-tracking technique that can also be used for evaluating disease-modifying therapies in the future.

A Network Diffusion Model of Disease Progression in Dementia

“…The main fibers connecting these regions are the superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF), the splenium of corpus callosum, and the cingulum bundle. While agreement is good with our own volumetric findings (Figures 2 and 4, bottom rows) and excellent with the published literature (see, for instance, Apostolova et al, 2007; Thompson et al, 2003; Seeley et al, 2009), there were some areas of disagreement with our volumetric findings in the parietal, frontolateral, and frontoinsular areas. We attribute these differences to small sample size and technical limitations of tractography, co-registration, and volumetrics.…”

A Network Diffusion Model of Disease Progression in Dementia

“…The main fibers connecting these regions are the superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF), the splenium of corpus callosum, and the cingulum bundle. While agreement is good with our own volumetric findings (Figures 2 and 4, bottom rows) and excellent with the published literature (see, for instance, Apostolova et al, 2007; Thompson et al, 2003; Seeley et al, 2009), there were some areas of disagreement with our volumetric findings in the parietal, frontolateral, and frontoinsular areas. We attribute these differences to small sample size and technical limitations of tractography, co-registration, and volumetrics.…”

Voxel‐Wise Co‐analysis of Macro‐ and Microstructural Brain Alteration in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer's Disease Using Anatomical and Diffusion MRI

“…Univariate voxel‐wise analysis of macrostructural changes in MCI showed atrophy in the right anterior temporal lobe, left posterior parietal/precuneus region, WM adjacent to the cingulate gyrus, and dorsolateral prefrontal regions. Our results are consistent with the many studies showing temporal lobe, posterior parietal/precuneus, and cingulate gyrus abnormalities in MCI . Dorsolateral prefrontal atrophy was not hypothesized, but is consistent with a recent report of thinning in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of MCI patients with low executive functioning .…”

The Cortical Signature of Alzheimer's Disease: Regionally Specific Cortical Thinning Relates to Symptom Severity in Very Mild to Mild AD Dementia and is Detectable in Asymptomatic Amyloid-Positive Individuals

“…The spatial topography of regional cortical thinning that we identified in mild AD is consistent with previous observations using voxel-based morphometry ( Baron et al 2001 ; Karas et al 2003 ; Bozzali et al 2006 ; Whitwell et al 2008 ) and similar techniques ( Thompson et al 2001 ; Scahill et al 2002 ; Buckner et al 2005 ; Apostolova et al 2007 ) as well as 2 previous investigations using cortical thickness techniques ( Lerch et al 2005 ; Du et al 2007 ). Generally, these efforts have converged upon a similar pattern of atrophy that is present in the medial temporal, lateral temporoparietal, and midline parietal regions, with variable findings in frontal regions.…”

A Network Diffusion Model of Disease Progression in Dementia

“…The main fibers connecting these regions are the superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF), the splenium of corpus callosum, and the cingulum bundle. While agreement is good with our own volumetric findings (Figures 2 and 4, bottom rows) and excellent with the published literature (see, for instance, Apostolova et al, 2007; Thompson et al, 2003; Seeley et al, 2009), there were some areas of disagreement with our volumetric findings in the parietal, frontolateral, and frontoinsular areas. We attribute these differences to small sample size and technical limitations of tractography, co-registration, and volumetrics.…”

Voxel‐Wise Co‐analysis of Macro‐ and Microstructural Brain Alteration in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer's Disease Using Anatomical and Diffusion MRI

“…Univariate voxel‐wise analysis of macrostructural changes in MCI showed atrophy in the right anterior temporal lobe, left posterior parietal/precuneus region, WM adjacent to the cingulate gyrus, and dorsolateral prefrontal regions. Our results are consistent with the many studies showing temporal lobe, posterior parietal/precuneus, and cingulate gyrus abnormalities in MCI . Dorsolateral prefrontal atrophy was not hypothesized, but is consistent with a recent report of thinning in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of MCI patients with low executive functioning .…”

The Cortical Signature of Alzheimer's Disease: Regionally Specific Cortical Thinning Relates to Symptom Severity in Very Mild to Mild AD Dementia and is Detectable in Asymptomatic Amyloid-Positive Individuals

“…The spatial topography of regional cortical thinning that we identified in mild AD is consistent with previous observations using voxel-based morphometry ( Baron et al 2001 ; Karas et al 2003 ; Bozzali et al 2006 ; Whitwell et al 2008 ) and similar techniques ( Thompson et al 2001 ; Scahill et al 2002 ; Buckner et al 2005 ; Apostolova et al 2007 ) as well as 2 previous investigations using cortical thickness techniques ( Lerch et al 2005 ; Du et al 2007 ). Generally, these efforts have converged upon a similar pattern of atrophy that is present in the medial temporal, lateral temporoparietal, and midline parietal regions, with variable findings in frontal regions.…”

A Network Diffusion Model of Disease Progression in Dementia

“…The main fibers connecting these regions are the superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF), the splenium of corpus callosum, and the cingulum bundle. While agreement is good with our own volumetric findings (Figures 2 and 4, bottom rows) and excellent with the published literature (see, for instance, Apostolova et al, 2007; Thompson et al, 2003; Seeley et al, 2009), there were some areas of disagreement with our volumetric findings in the parietal, frontolateral, and frontoinsular areas. We attribute these differences to small sample size and technical limitations of tractography, co-registration, and volumetrics.…”

Voxel‐Wise Co‐analysis of Macro‐ and Microstructural Brain Alteration in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer's Disease Using Anatomical and Diffusion MRI

“…Univariate voxel‐wise analysis of macrostructural changes in MCI showed atrophy in the right anterior temporal lobe, left posterior parietal/precuneus region, WM adjacent to the cingulate gyrus, and dorsolateral prefrontal regions. Our results are consistent with the many studies showing temporal lobe, posterior parietal/precuneus, and cingulate gyrus abnormalities in MCI . Dorsolateral prefrontal atrophy was not hypothesized, but is consistent with a recent report of thinning in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of MCI patients with low executive functioning .…”

The Cortical Signature of Alzheimer's Disease: Regionally Specific Cortical Thinning Relates to Symptom Severity in Very Mild to Mild AD Dementia and is Detectable in Asymptomatic Amyloid-Positive Individuals

“…The spatial topography of regional cortical thinning that we identified in mild AD is consistent with previous observations using voxel-based morphometry ( Baron et al 2001 ; Karas et al 2003 ; Bozzali et al 2006 ; Whitwell et al 2008 ) and similar techniques ( Thompson et al 2001 ; Scahill et al 2002 ; Buckner et al 2005 ; Apostolova et al 2007 ) as well as 2 previous investigations using cortical thickness techniques ( Lerch et al 2005 ; Du et al 2007 ). Generally, these efforts have converged upon a similar pattern of atrophy that is present in the medial temporal, lateral temporoparietal, and midline parietal regions, with variable findings in frontal regions.…”