Human brain mapping
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Human brain mapping · Sep 2010
Hippocampal atrophy patterns in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease.
Histopathological studies and animal models suggest that hippocampal subfields may be differently affected by aging, Alzheimer's disease (AD), and other diseases. High-resolution images at 4 Tesla depict details of the internal structure of the hippocampus allowing for in vivo volumetry of different subfields. The aims of this study were as follows: (1) to determine patterns of volume loss in hippocampal subfields in normal aging, AD, and amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI). (2) To determine if measurements of hippocampal subfields provide advantages over total hippocampal volume for differentiation between groups. ⋯ The patterns of subfield atrophy in AD and MCI were consistent with patterns of neuronal cell loss/reduced synaptic density described by histopathology. These preliminary findings suggest that hippocampal subfield volumetry might be a better measure for diagnosis of early AD and for detection of other disease effects than measurement of total hippocampus.