MR-based hippocampal volumetry in the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease

Clifford R. Jack, Ronald C. Petersen, Peter C. O'brien, Eric G. Tangalos

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

717 Scopus citations

Abstract

We evaluated a new magnetic resonance (MR)-based technique for performing volumetric measurements of temporal lobe structures. The technique was designed to assist in making the clinical diagnosis of dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT). We chose specific anatomic regions of interest because of their known involvement in memory function and in the neuropathology of DAT and used a regression model to assess the effects of age on the volumes of the anterior temporal lobe (ATL) and the hippocampal formation (HF). These measurements were normalized by total intracranial volume (TIV). The volumetric measurementsof both the normalized ATL and HF were significantly smaller (p < 0.001) in DAT patients (N = 20) than in controls (N = 22) but the HF volumes provided muchbetter separation between the two groups. Eighty-five percent of the DAT patients fell below the range of the HF/TIV measurement for the control subjects. This separation held up over the entire age range studied. Normalized volumes of both the HF and ATL decreased with age significantly for both the DAT patients and the controls. These results support thecontention that MR-based HF volumetric measurements are accurate in differentiating DAT patients from cognitively normal elderly individuals. This technique may be a useful adjunct in making the clinical diagnosis of DAT.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)183-188
Number of pages6
JournalNeurology
Volume42
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 1992

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Clinical Neurology

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