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Comparative Study
. 2006 May;27(5):733-40.
doi: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2005.03.021. Epub 2005 Jun 14.

Age effects on atrophy rates of entorhinal cortex and hippocampus

An-Tao Du  1 , Norbert Schuff, Linda L Chao, John Kornak, William J Jagust, Joel H Kramer, Bruce R Reed, Bruce L Miller, David Norman, Helena C Chui, Michael W Weiner
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Age effects on atrophy rates of entorhinal cortex and hippocampus

An-Tao Du et al. Neurobiol Aging. 2006 May.

Abstract

The effects of age, subcortical vascular disease, apolipoprotein E (APOE) epsilon4 allele and hypertension on entorhinal cortex (ERC) and hippocampal atrophy rates were explored in a longitudinal MRI study with 42 cognitively normal (CN) elderly subjects from 58 to 87 years old. The volumes of the ERC, hippocampus, and white matter hyperintensities (WMH) and the presence of lacunes were assessed on MR images. Age was significantly associated with increased atrophy rates of 0.04+/-0.02% per year for ERC and 0.05+/-0.02% per year for hippocampus. Atrophy rates of hippocampus, but not that of ERC increased with presence of lacunes, in addition to age. WMH, APOE epsilon4 and hypertension had no significant effect on atrophy rates. In conclusion, age and presence of lacunes should be taken into consideration in imaging studies of CN subjects and AD patients to predict AD progression and assess the response to treatment trials.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
ERC and hippocampal measurements on a 73-year-old cognitively normal subject with a scan interval of 2.1 years.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
The relationship of atrophy rates of entorhinal cortex (ERC) and hippocampus and age in cognitively normal subjects without lacunes and hypertension.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Atrophy rates of entorhinal cortex (ERC) and hippocampus in cognitively normal subjects with (○) and without (•) lacunes after correcting for age.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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