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. 2019;9(4):775-783.
doi: 10.3233/JPD-191600.

Regional Structural Hippocampal Differences Between Dementia with Lewy Bodies and Parkinson's Disease

Laura J de Schipper  1 , Anne Hafkemeijer  2   3   4 , Jeroen van der Grond  2 , Johan Marinus  1 , Johanna M L Henselmans  5 , Jacobus J van Hilten  1
Affiliations

Regional Structural Hippocampal Differences Between Dementia with Lewy Bodies and Parkinson's Disease

Laura J de Schipper et al. J Parkinsons Dis. 2019.

Abstract

Background: Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and Parkinson's disease (PD) are considered subtypes of the α-synucleinopathy continuum that show similar and dissimilar clinical and morphological features.

Objective: To further our understanding of brain abnormalities that might differentiate both disorders more clearly, we performed quantitative magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of the subcortical and cortical grey matter.

Methods: Three-dimensional T1 weighted 3 tesla MR images of 14 DLB and 62 age- and gender-matched PD patients were examined to study cortical and subcortical grey matter structure. We used volumetric measurements to study total grey matter, and volumes of the pallidum, amygdala, putamen, caudate nucleus, thalamus and hippocampus. Whole-brain and structural network-based methods were used to identify local differences in grey matter and vertex-based shape analysis was used to assess focal hippocampal changes.

Results: Volumetric, whole-brain and network-based analyses showed reduced hippocampal (p = 0.008) and right parahippocampal region volumes (p = 0.030) in DLB compared to PD patients. Shape analysis showed atrophy in the head and body of the right (p = 0.040) and in the head of the left (p = 0.030) hippocampus of DLB patients.

Conclusion: DLB patients showed atrophy of the hippocampus and parahippocampal gyrus compared to PD patients with a differential involvement of the head and body of the hippocampus. Further studies should examine if these group-based findings can be used to differentiate both disorders on an individual level.

Keywords: Lewy body dementia; Parkinson’s disease; hippocampus; magnetic resonance imaging; shape; structure.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflict of interest to report.

Figures

Fig.1
Fig.1
Flowchart of inclusion for DLB patients.
Fig.2
Fig.2
A) Brain areas showing reduced (arrows) grey matter volume in DLB compared to PD patients, overlaid on the MNI standard cerebral image with accompanying coordinates. Results with a threshold-free cluster enhancement (TFCE) family-wise error corrected p-value < 0.05 are shown. B) Grey matter structural covariance posterior cingulate cortex network, overlaid on the most informative slices of the MNI standard cerebral image with accompanying coordinates. Arrows indicate the parahippocampal gyrus and hippocampus.
Fig.3
Fig.3
Atrophy (red) of the hippocampus (blue) in DLB compared to PD patients. Results with Family-wise error corrected p-value < 0.05 are shown. The reader is referred to the web version of this article for interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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