Publication Type Academic Article
Authors Rusinek H, Endo Y, De Santi S, Frid D, Tsui W, Segal S, Convit A, de Leon M
Journal Neurology
Volume 63
Issue 12
Pagination 2354-9
Date Published 12/28/2004
ISSN 1526-632X
Keywords Alzheimer Disease, Temporal Lobe
Abstract OBJECTIVE: To establish the progression of brain atrophy rates in patients with a known date of onset of Alzheimer disease (AD). METHODS: Each of 18 subjects had two high-resolution T1-weighted three-dimensional MRI examinations. The two MRIs were coregistered and the annual rate of brain tissue atrophy was derived both for the entire brain and regionally for the left and right medial temporal lobe (MTL). Time since onset (TSO) of AD, defined as the interval between the date of onset and the midpoint of MRI dates, ranged from -2.9 to 4.2 years. RESULTS: In patients with AD, TSO was a correlate of the atrophy rate for both the left MTL (R2 = 0.58, p = 0.001) and right MTL (R2 = 0.30, p = 0.03). When serial measurements were applied to a control group of 21 cognitively normal elderly subjects, MTL atrophy rate classified the group membership (AD vs normal cognition) with an accuracy of 92.3%. CONCLUSION: Increased annual atrophy rate in the medial temporal lobe is a potential diagnostic marker of the progression of Alzheimer disease.
DOI 10.1212/01.wnl.0000148602.30175.ac
PubMed ID 15623699
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