Abstract
Background: Mutations in the progranulin gene (PGRN) have recently been identified as a cause of frontotemporal lobar degeneration with ubiquitin-positive inclusions (FTLD-U) in some families. Objective: To determine whether there is a difference in the patterns of atrophy in FTLD-U cases with and without PGRN mutations. Design: Case-control study. Setting: Brain bank of a tertiary care medical center. Patients: Eight subjects who had screened positive for PGRN mutations (PGRN-positive) and who underwent volumetric magnetic resonance imaging were identified. Subjects were then matched by clinical diagnosis to a group of 8 subjects with a pathological diagnosis of FTLD-U who had screened negative for PGRN mutations (PGRN-negative). All subjects were then age-matched and sex-matched to a control subject. Main Outcome Measures: Voxel-based morphometry was used to assess the patterns of gray matter atrophy in thePGRN-positive group compared with thePGRN-negative group and compared with controls. Results: The PGRN-positive group showed a widespread and severe pattern of gray matter loss predominantly affecting the frontal, temporal, and parietal lobes. The PGRN-negative group showed a less severe pattern of gray matter loss restricted mainly to the temporal and frontal lobes. On direct comparison, the PGRN-positive group showed greater gray matter loss in the frontal and parietal lobes compared with the PGRN-negative group. Conclusion: Findings from this study suggest that PGRN mutations may be associated with a specific and severe pattern of cerebral atrophy in subjects with FTLD-U.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 371-376 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Archives of neurology |
Volume | 64 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Mar 2007 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
- Clinical Neurology