Voxel-based meta-analysis of gray matter volume reductions associated with cognitive impairment in Parkinson's disease

Abstract

Brain gray matter volume (GMV) reduction has been reported in Parkinson's disease (PD) with mild cognitive impairment (PD-MCI) and in PD patients with dementia (PDD) with cumulative evidence using voxel-based morphometry (VBM). However, the findings of these studies have not been entirely concordant. Whole-brain VBM studies comparing PD-MCI with PD patients without cognitive impairment (PD-NCI) and comparing PDD with PD patients without dementia (PDND) were systematically searched in PubMed and EMBASE databases from January 1995 to December 2015. Coordinates with significant differences were extracted from each cluster. Meta-analysis was performed using AES-SDM to quantitatively evaluate the GMV changes. Five studies comparing 92 PD-MCI with 192 PD-NCI patients were included in the PD-MCI vs. PD-NCI meta-analysis. Ten studies with 168 PDD and 233 PDND patients were included in the PDD vs. PDND meta-analysis. Compared with PD-NCI, GMV reductions were observed in left superior temporal lobe, left insula and left superior frontal lobe in PD-MCI patients. Significant GMV reduction were found in bilateral superior temporal lobe extending to hippocampus, and left superior frontal lobe in PDD patients comparing with PDND. Meta-regression of PDD studies showed that disease duration was negatively correlated with GMV in the left superior frontal lobe. GMV reductions in the frontal-limbic-temporal regions were main features of cognitive decline in PD. Unilateral-to-bilateral development of GMV reduction in the frontal-limbic-temporal regions is a possible indicator for PD-MCI to PDD progression, whereas significant hippocampal GMV reduction may not be a marker for early cognitive decline in PD.

Keywords: Gray matter volume; Meta-analysis; Parkinson’s disease dementia (PDD); Parkinson’s disease with mild cognitive impairment (PD-MCI); Signed differential mapping; Voxel-based morphometry.